Free Republic

The enhanced Z-10ME with anti-submarine and special forces capabilities was showcased at Airshow China in Zhuhai in October. (Photo: Vladimir Karnozov) Aviation Industry Corporation of China’s Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) subsidiary recently showcased new and improved features for the Z-10ME exportable attack helicopter at the Airshow China in Zhuhai, including capabilities to support anti-submarine and special forces operations. The Z-10ME sported the Chinese character for "Osprey" on the tail rotor, although the standard Z-10 in service with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is often referred to as the Thunderbolt. Likely to target markets from the Middle East and Africa,...

Pakistan’s Army has for the first time publicly revealed the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10 Thunderbolt attack helicopter during this year’s Pakistan Day parade, Defense News reports. The Z-10 is the first modern attack helicopter designed and produced domestically by the People’s Republic of China and been in service with the People’s Liberation Army since 2012. The helicopter gunship has been undergoing performance evaluations (on and off the battlefield) since 2015 when Pakistan purportedly received three Z-10s (along with one Z-19 Black Hurricane armed scout helicopter). Up to now, the Pakistan Army has not made an official announcement on...

That's a whole lot of pie! An undisclosed customer bought a million BlackBerrys from the smartphone maker formerly known as Research In Motion -- marking the largest ever single purchase in the company's history. These aren't the business basic gadgets of years past, of course: The Canadian company unveiled the new BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 in January to rave reviews from tech watchers worldwide. The company hopes the redesigned BlackBerry will fuel a comeback -- and orders of this magnitude suggest it may be working. The pioneering brand lost its cachet not long after Apple's 2007 release of the...

HELI-EXPO: Chinese WZ-10 attack helicopter based on Kamov design The Changhe Aircraft WZ-10 attack helicopter is based on a Russian design commissioned by the Chinese, Kamov's chief design engineer says. In 1995, Kamov developed a preliminary design in the 6t weight class under a contract with the Chinese government, says Sergey Mikheev, Kamov's chief design engineer, speaking at the Heli-Expo trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. "Due to understandable reasons, this information was kept secret," he says. Dave Majumdar/Flightglobal The Project 941 design was not based on any Soviet-era attack helicopter project and was strictly designed for China's unique requirements,...

U.S. frustrated with Canadian control of weapons exports: Cable By Jordan Press, Postmedia NewsSeptember 8, 2011 OTTAWA - Nine months after the U.S. State Department began probing how Canadian parts ended up in a Chinese attack helicopter, American officials were frustrated with Canada's lack of co-operation in the investigation, a leaked cable shows. That frustration extended beyond the perceived lack of help from Canadian security agencies, to a perception that Canada was ineffective in stopping weapons from being exported into the wrong hands. At a meeting with the RCMP, CSIS and the Canada Border Services Agency, Frank Ruggiero, a senior...