Months after their debut at the Zhuhai Airshow 2024, the Chinese Navy’s new Z-20J helicopters have begun to be deployed from its Type 075 amphibious assault ships, thereby strengthening its landing operation capabilities. This development comes from multimedia content published for a report by Chinese state television, in which these platforms can be seen on the deck of the ship Hainan (hull number 31), as it sailed on the open sea.
Expanding on the details, the video from the report shows a total of four Z-20J naval helicopters lined up on deck, accompanying a larger group of eight Z-8C helicopters also present on the ship. It should be highlighted that this is the first time the Z-20J has been seen as part of the forces aboard a Chinese Navy ship since its public unveiling in November 2024. Previously, and more specifically since military parades held in 2019, various flights of the carrier-based variant of the Z-20 had been unofficially observed.
During their appearance at the aforementioned Zhuhai Airshow 2024, both the Z-20J and the Z-8C demonstrated their capabilities in an air-to-ground assault exercise alongside elements of the Chinese Marine Corps, integrating into a three-dimensional combat force specifically designed for rapid deployments. According to local reports at the time, the event served to reaffirm that the new helicopters could seamlessly take on troop transport tasks in the event of a similar deployment in combat environments.
Reviewing some of the known features of these new helicopters, it is worth mentioning that they are equipped with a five-blade main rotor and a more angular tail-to-fuselage junction structure compared to the U.S. SH-60 Seahawk, a model with which parallels were drawn during its introduction. The Z-20Js also feature a fly-by-wire design that provides greater maneuverability and are powered by domestically produced WZ-10 turboshaft engines delivering up to 1,600 kW and enabling an ascent ceiling of up to 4,000 meters. Their main advantage, however, lies in their ability to be deployed from Chinese Navy ships, a capability that applies to both the aforementioned Type 075 ships and the Type 071 models.
*Images used for illustrative purposes only
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