On September 27, 2022, with the press conference of the 14th China International Aviation Aerospace Exhibition (referred to as Zhuhai Air Show) being held in Beijing, this year's Zhuhai Air Show has entered the final sprint stage. According to the summary and analysis of the current news from all parties, this year's Zhuhai Air Show will be a "serious" air show , which is definitely not the "responsible" of the last air show (which was postponed from 2020 to re-organized in September 2021 due to the epidemic). And a sentence from Shen Jinke, spokesperson of Chinese Air Force : "You can see flight displays that you have never seen in the past in the air, and you can see weapons and equipment that you have never seen in the past on the ground." It also makes everyone look forward to this air show!
The grand occasion of the last air show
So what surprises does this year's air show bring to you? Today, the author will make a prediction on the types of flight performances and static display aircraft that may appear at this year's air show.
First of all, it is very likely that this year's Zhuhai Air Show will be the first time that the "Three 20" that the People's Liberation Army has already served in the service will work together! At previous Zhuhai Air Shows, the Y-20 "Kunpeng" that flew for the first time in 2013 and equipped with troops in 2016 was the first to debut (2014). The J-20 "Weyron" which represents the highest level of China's aviation technology has been on stage since 2016, and the Z-20 helicopter, which represents the highest level of China's helicopter industry, has never had the opportunity to show its style at the Zhuhai Air Show.
2014 Games-20 first participated in the exhibition, sliding over the front of C-17
direct-20's first public debut was at the 70th anniversary military parade of the National Day in 2019, and then publicly performed and displayed at the subsequent Tianjin Direct Expo. Since the Army Air Force is an important organizer of the Direct Expo, the main stage of the Mainland Air Helicopters is basically in the Direct Expo. Although the Mainland Air Force comes every session at the Zhuhai Air Show, it is basically just a "moment" and not a key point. At this year's Zhuhai Air Show, it has been confirmed that China Airlines will send "active helicopters to participate in the exhibition and fly display". As the most proud domestically produced Z-20 helicopter in China Airlines, it will appear 100% at this year's air show and fly display.
2019 Direct-20 publicly displayed for the first time at the Tianjin Direct Expo
As for how the specific demonstration and performance of Land Airlines will arrange this time, the author feels that there is a high probability that Land Airlines will move the entire set of performances and quiet exhibitions prepared for the Direct Expo to the Zhuhai Air Show. Since the last direct expo was held in 2019, the direct expo has been postponed due to the impact of the epidemic and has been delayed for a long time. As a very important new combat force of the People's Liberation Army, it has lost the most important display platform. Therefore, when China Airlines participated in the Zhuhai Air Show, it is likely that it will send all the latest equipment currently equipped, including Zhi-20, Zhi-8L, Zhi-10 and Zhi-19, to Zhuhai. Among them, the flight performance will continue to be undertaken by Zhi-10, Zhi-19 and Zhi-20, and Zhi-8L will carry out quiet development and bear the support work. Given that a certain air assault brigade of the Southern Theater Command Land Aviation is equipped with such a complete set of latest aircraft, the probability of realization is very high. The China Airlines Helicopter formation performance at the Direct Expo
This exhibition of China Airlines is not the "first" exhibition mentioned in the news. At the Zhuhai Air Show in 2010, China Airlines, which had just made a big splash at the 60th anniversary parade of the National Day in 2009, sent a batch of Z-9 helicopters to perform formation flight performances at the Zhuhai Air Show. However, as the Direct Expo matured, the main display platform was placed in Tianjin. However, compared with those days, China's mainland aviation is no longer comparable, especially the performance of the large aircraft fleet formation is quite shocking and exciting. As an avid helicopter enthusiast, this may be the program that I look forward to the most this year!
2012 Direct-10 debuted at Zhuhai Air Show
The most heavyweight exhibitor at each Zhuhai Air Show is undoubtedly the Chinese Air Force. What surprises will this year's Zhuhai Air Show give you? Looking back at the exhibition lineup of the Chinese Air Force in previous years, it is not difficult to find that each air show has corresponding themes and focus.Take the last air show for example. The display of the J-16D electronic warfare aircraft and the J-7A "Flying Leopard" with electronic jamming pods, as well as the appearance of two strategic unmanned combat platforms, namely the J-16D electronic warfare aircraft and the J-7A "Flying Leopard" equipped with electronic jamming pods, as well as the debut of the two strategic unmanned combat platforms, namely the electronic warfare and the unmanned combat capability.
21 J-16D's sudden public display is indeed very unexpected
With the recent continuous unveiling of the new oil-20 aerial refueling aircraft, the theme of the Air Force's exhibition this year is likely to be "Air refueling". Therefore, the two projects of the static display of the oil-20 and the simulated aerial refueling performance will be without any suspense and will definitely appear in Zhuhai. Simulating aerial refueling performances will likely show the scene of refueling J-16 and J-20 while displaying these days. Therefore, this performance will likely be led by a Fuel-20, with a J-16 and a J-20 following behind, and a formation of air refueling through the air show site in an air refueling formation. What's more, the aerial refueling performance is combined with the J-20's flight performance. After the formation is completed, the J-20 stand-alone aircraft will leave the formation and directly start a stand-alone performance display performance. If there is really such a choreography, it will bring a brand new experience to the audience.
fuel transport-20 refueling the J-20
ground static development, in addition to old faces such as J-10C and J-7A, based on the theme of "air refueling", the KJ-500 early warning aircraft and H-6K strategic bombers that were must-visited in each session in the past may be replaced with the new KJ-500A early warning aircraft and H-6N strategic bombers with air refueling capabilities. This will be the first time these two large strategic aircraft have publicly static displays. It is noted that compared with the old Aerial Refueling Boat-6, the biggest improvement of the Oil-20 is that in addition to the ability to refuel tactical aircraft, it also has the ability to refuel large strategic aircraft in the air. Therefore, such flight performances and quiet exhibition arrangements are very suitable for displaying the achievements of the "Strategic Air Force" construction of the Chinese Air Force and are more verified with the words of the Air Force spokesperson.
Hong-6N
performance team, the Air Force "August 1" flight performance team and "Red Eagle" flight performance team will continue to perform the blue sky dance in Zhuhai. This year's "August 1" flight performance team will "show flight performances in a higher-level formation". The author's understanding should be that the eight-aircraft formation performance that has been displayed in a small range. "August 1" team has always used the program arrangement of 6-machine performances, and this number is also the most commonly used by most performance teams in the world that use supersonic fighter for performances. The 8-machine formation will be the largest number of aircraft in the world except for the Russian "Warrior + Swift" 9-machine mixed performance program!
Bayi Team Flying Performance
However, the author is more concerned about whether the "August 1" team will fly the brand new J-10CY performance aircraft to Zhuhai this year. This special J-10C performance aircraft equipped with a back fuel tank was mistakenly considered by military fans as the new J-10 fighter , but it was later confirmed that it was actually a performance aircraft modified for the performance team. Despite this, this idea of installing a back fuel tank also provides a possibility for the future development of the J-10 series. Judging from the time when these performance aircraft appeared, it is very likely that the J-10CY will appear in Zhuhai. In any case, this year's air show will be the last time that the "August 1" team's J-10AY/SY performance aircraft performed over Zhuhai. According to a certain aerial photography tycoon, if you can shoot, take more photos, and you will never see these early versions of the performance aircraft again.
J-10CY new performance aircraft
There are probably many surprises in civil aircraft. Since its first flight in 2015, the domestic large civil aircraft, C919, has been busy with adjustments and test flights and evidence collection, so it has not participated in the Zhuhai Air Show so far. This year, C919 has finally completed all test flights for evidence collection. Before National Day, airworthiness certificate will be issued and put into commercial operation. Therefore, I finally have time to participate in the Zhuhai Air Show. The C919 is likely to be a flight show at this air show.
C919 aircraft group
Another large aircraft AG600 amphibious aircraft will definitely appear in Zhuhai. After all, Zhuhai is its "home field". Moreover, the new configuration of the fire-extinguishing AG600M has just completed the 12-ton fire extinguishing test for water draw, and signed a procurement agreement for 4 aircraft and an intent procurement agreement for 2 aircraft. Continuing to "spray water and cool down" the hot spot at the Zhuhai Air Show will be a retention program for the Zhuhai Air Show.
AG600M will "fight at home" again
The brand new large civil helicopter AC313A is also very likely to appear in Zhuhai. Although this helicopter still uses the name of the "Zhi-8" series, it is already brand new in terms of power and reducer layout, and has long been a world of difference from the traditional Zhi-8. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a brand new model. Moreover, the second prototype of this helicopter has been added to the test flight work, so it is entirely possible to dispatch one to the Zhuhai Air Show, but it is highly likely that it will only perform static displays without flying performances.
AC313A
Finally, let’s talk about the drones that have emerged in recent years. China's drones have developed extremely rapidly in terms of technical level and application capabilities, and various drones are emerging one after another! Moreover, the Chinese Air Force's drone confidentiality level is very high. It is powerless to make a judgment on the display of drone equipment. Like the last session, the situation where the most cutting-edge strategic-level drone was suddenly made public, and it may happen again this year. This surprise can only be left to everyone to discover on the spot! However, one thing is certain that this year's air show will most likely not be held again. Although the drone flight performance at the last air show was very novel, it was limited by the slow speed and poor maneuverability of the drone, which brought very limited sensory stimulation to the audience. Therefore, it is almost certain that the drone flight performance was cancelled this year and the limited performance time was left for other manned aircraft.
Power Dragon 2 flight performance at the 2021 Air Show
or above are just speculations made by the author based on existing information. The Zhuhai Air Show is about to open in 40 days. What kind of surprises will this year's air show bring to you? We will announce it together in Zhuhai on November 8!
