A Z-18 helicopter (in VIP configuration) landed and took off from China's first domestically developed aircraft carrier for the first time on Saturday morning, reported Global Times.
A Z-18 VIP helicopter on the deck of China's first domestically developed aircraft carrier in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, May 5 2018.
The Z-18 helicopter took less than five minutes to land and take off from the deck of the as-yet unnamed Type 002 carrier, which was launched in April last year.
An analyst from news portal Sina.com.cn noted that China's first carrier, Liaoning, began sea trials five days after the completion of its first helicopter landing test in 2011.
A Z-18 VIP helicopter takes off from Type 001 aircraft carrier in Dalian, in northeast China's Liaoning Province, May 5 2018. (Photo/Global Times Photo)
About Type 002
The Type 002 was launched in Dalian on April 26 2017, three days after the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Navy Day, and the outfitting work only took about one year.
The speed with which the Type 001A was built was the fastest in the history of aircraft carrier construction, as it only took two years from keel laying to its launch. For the time being, no delivery date has been officially communicated by the PLAN, but commissioning could happen during the second half of 2019.
About Z-18
The Z-18 is a new generation military transport helicopter from China. It was developed by Changhe Aircraft Industry Group (CAIG) and is reportedly based on the civilian Avicopter AC313 (Harbin Z-8) itself based on the 1960ies Aerospatiale SA321 Super Frelon.
The maritime variant is designated Z-18F "Sea Eagle" and will be capable of ASW missions (with Yu-7K lightweight torpedoes) as well as anti-surface warfare (ASuW) missions with YJ-9 anti-ship missiles.
Note that half of the helicopter wing aboard the PLAN aircraft carrier Liaoning is composed of Z-18F. The typical airwing of the Liaoning being 4x Z-18Js early warning helicopters, 6x Z-18Fs anti-submarine helicopters, 2x Z-9Cs search and rescue helicopters and 24 J-15s carrier-based fighter jets.
