[Military Martial Arts Plane] Author: Lele
On October 10, the domestic official National Defense and Military Morning Post gave a summary report on the development of the People's Navy in its "Extraordinary Ten Years·Strengthening Military Journey" column. It specifically mentioned that the Navy Type 075 Hainan ship was launched. After entering service and forming combat effectiveness, the ship-based Zhi-8 transport helicopter was equipped with Marines, and tacitly cooperated with other combat units to complete the historical change from plane landing to three-dimensional landing. Looking back at the problems that the Navy had to face during the cross-sea landing exercise 26 years ago, due to its backward equipment, it makes people feel deeply moved.
▲ Marines lined up to wait for boarding
According to the video information in the National Defense and Military Morning Post, Hainan ship , with full load of domestically produced Z-8C carrier-based helicopters, began to practice the three-dimensional tactics of carrying Marine Corps in scale, and with the support of other friendly units, cross the ocean to restrict landing operations. As a 13-ton medium-sized helicopter that imitates the French " Super Hornet ", although the Z-8C has limited appearance, its ability to load personnel is very considerable. On land, there are also imported Russian-made Mi-171 to suppress its edge, but at sea it is already the best transportation force of our army at present. In the video, whether it is the Marines waiting in line to board the plane or the large number of straight-8Cs flying over the ocean, it is a spectacular scene that the outside world has been thinking about day and night. Considering the limitations of the previous beach-striking plane landing operations, the advantages of this three-dimensional landing being less restricted by the terrain and being able to avoid the defense party’s preparation of fortifications in advance are self-evident.
▲On land, the mi-171 personnel transportation task is mainly completed by
. At present, although the domestic 075 amphibious assault ship has not been launched for a long time, its performance is very considerable. Its tonnage is second only to the US Navy's " American " and "Hornet"-level in the world. As the first amphibious assault ship equipped by our navy, although the 075 was born on the basis of the design and construction of the domestic 002 aircraft carrier and the 071 dock landing ship , the final achievements are so dazzling. So much so that when the Russian Navy failed to purchase the French "Northwest Wind" amphibious assault ship in that year, the special military operation ended in an inadequate attempt to land on Ao Sard, Russian civilians had the view to purchasing the export model of 075. What’s more interesting is that at the Russian Military Exhibition in September 2022, the delegation from China did bring the derivative model of 075, and the meaning behind it is self-evident.
▲075's platform performance is very considerable
Of course, in addition to this series of achievements, 075 also has a very obvious shortcoming, that is, its carrier-based helicopter . As of now, the outside world has found that the main model of the 075 is the Zhi-8C. In theory, there should be Zhi-9S search and rescue helicopters that undertake rescue tasks exist, but they rarely leave the country. In addition, the Ka-31 early warning helicopter , which was previously prepared for the ski-jump aircraft carrier, also appeared on Hainan ships and existed as an air command platform. The new generation of Z-20 general-purpose helicopters have also been queued on the 075, but they have not been equipped on a large scale yet. Of course, it has attracted the most attention from the outside world and is also the most needed Martial-10 armed helicopter. There are no signs of being officially launched on the 075. It is just occasionally tested and linked on the 071, which means that there is still a lot of room for development for the naval landing combat weapons.
▲075 is still equipped with a large number of Zhi-8C
Currently, the largest number of Zhi-8C is not particularly suitable for the needs of the navy. Although the capacity of this 13-ton helicopter transports personnel is considerable, because the rear cabin door cannot be opened, it actually does not have the ability to carry light vehicles (such as the "Boncat"). This air vehicle that can only deliver light infantry greatly limits the attack range of three-dimensional login. In contrast, as a new and improved model of the Self-8 series, the Zhi-8L specially designed the basics for transporting "Boncats", and the equipment performance and combat radius have also been improved to a certain extent.However, the demand for new-style direct-8L at present is very strong, so the Navy can only use old-style direct-8C for the time being. In fact, it actually chose the former between a large number of direct-8Cs and a small number of direct-8Ls.
▲Zhi-8L
, which can open the rear hatch door, compared with the Z-20, as a new generation of 10-ton general-purpose helicopter produced in China, is actually more suitable for use as personnel transportation equipment. In addition to being more flexible, the Z-20 also has the ability to support firepower outside the cabin and transform into an armed transport type. This skill that greatly enhances the survivability of the battlefield is also a level that the Z-8C does not have. Finally, there is the Martial-10 that has been discussed many times. The development process of this domestic armed helicopter is very bumpy. However, with the emergence of the latest Marine-10M, its maximum take-off weight has reached about 8.5 tons, which is basically equivalent to the latest AH-1Z of the US Marine Corps . It is only a matter of time before it is used on the 075 as an air support force. The procurement case of Card-52K, which was once noisy in September 2021, has disappeared with the performance of the Russian military Card-52 on the battlefield.
▲Upgraded type of Wuzhi-10M smoke exhaust port is changed to upward
In general, the current situation of using Zhi-8C as the absolute main force is just a transition, in order to quickly form combat power, especially to complete the transformation from plane login to three-dimensional login. With the current and short-term development trend of helicopters in China, it is undoubtedly a more reasonable structure to have the Zhi-8L responsible for equipment transportation, the Zhi-20 carriers, and the Wu Zhi-10 responsible for firepower suppression. Of course, the Navy is currently actively changing in this direction, but whether it is equipment logistics support, personnel training or combat cooperation, it will undergo drastic changes with the upgrade of the main combat weapons. These will take time to solve them, and the replacement of the 075 helicopter is not as fast as the outside world expects. In the long run, the Z-8L, which can only transport "Boncats" in the cabin, is actually an elimination equipment. The AHL 38-ton heavy helicopter jointly developed by China and Russia is the main equipment that can truly transport medium-sized armored vehicles. Its combination with the Z-20 and the Marine-10 is the best platform for the Marine Corps to perform the landing mission from sea to land.
▲AHL heavy helicopter model
Unconsciously, the Hainan ship, as the first ship of 075, has been in service for more than a year, and the outside world has become accustomed to this 40,000-ton giant ship that has started a new era of naval amphibious landing. As of now, as the three 075s gradually enter service, the construction of the new batch of warships by the Navy in the field of amphibious assault ships is expected to begin soon. The legendary next-generation "076" is expected to bring greater surprises.
