Mainland China’s new Z-20 helicopter reports for duty in Hong Kong
- The Z-20 is a multirole aircraft that can meet a range of needs in the city, according to observers
- The helicopter will add to the Z-9s and Z-10s at the PLA garrison
Photos of Z-20 helicopters flying over Pat Heung, home to the garrison’s airfield, have been posted on Chinese social media platform Weibo, indicating the new advanced copter has started operations in Hong Kong.
The Z-20s will add to the smaller Z-9 and Z-10 aircraft already at the garrison but will fulfil a different need, according to former PLA instructor Song Zhongping.
“The Z-20 has a capacity of 10 tonnes, a good size for use by the military and police in anti-terrorist, disaster relief, anti-submarine, early warning and transport operations, among others,” Song said.
“What Hong Kong needs is a multirole aircraft like the Z-20 to help the garrison and local police deal with forest fires and public emergencies.”
Song said the smaller Z-9 had a capacity of just 4 tonnes and could not stay in the air as long as the Z-20.
Macau-based military commentator Antony Wong Tong said the Z-10 was “too powerful and fierce”, which did not match the requirements of the city.
The Z-9s have been at the garrison since the 1997 handover but the Z-10s were only deployed in June.
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The Z-20 was developed by Avic subsidiary Harbin Aircraft Industry Group and entered service in 2019.
It was promoted as a replacement for China’s nearly four-decade-old Black Hawks and its Russian-built Ka-28s to provide air cover for warships.
The Government Flying Service also used Black Hawks since its establishment in 1993 before the aircraft were completely phased out in 2002-3.
Earlier reports said the Z-20 was deployed to the Himalayas for high-altitude and extreme weather weapons tests and training in March. Three months later, three of the copters were seen in Henan province on a flood relief, the first time the helicopter had taken part in such a mission.
In March, the Z-20 was deployed to the paramilitary People’s Armed Police to support the larger Z-8G transport helicopter in anti-terrorist, disaster relief and emergency rescue tasks, according to a PAP social media post.
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The Z-20 comes in various versions depending on whether they go into service in the army, air force and navy.
The ones deployed to Hong Kong are the air force Z-20K variant, raising questions about whether the garrison’s naval personnel will have their own Z-20H ship-borne copters.
Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, said this was unlikely.
“Unlike the fighting forces on the mainland, garrisons based in Hong Kong and Macau are designed as hybrid armed forces to bring ground, air force and navy together,” Zhou said.
“Hong Kong is a tiny city with very limited flight space. The Z-20K has been used to work with the navy and ground troops, so there’s no need to send any other Z-20 variants.”
