China's Z-19E armed helicopter makes maiden flight

The China-developed Z-19E armed helicopter made its maiden flight Thursday in Harbin in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

The Z-19E featured hovering maneuvers, close ground-effect maneuvering and low passes above the airport to demonstrate its performance.

The new generation export-oriented model was developed by the AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry to meet the requirements of the international military trade market, according to the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

The helicopter is the latest narrow-body tandem-seat armed helicopter. It is also the country's first export-oriented helicopter made especially for attack purposes.

"It is able to be deployed for battlefield support and a variety of other missions in a complicated battlefield environment during both day and night," said Li Shengwei, deputy chief designer of AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industry.

The helicopter has a tandem dual-seat cabin layout, providing both pilots in the front and back with a wide horizon. Its maneuverability and survival possibilities on the battlefield are great improvements, according to Li.

With a maximum take-off weight of 4,250 kilograms, the Z-19E is a light armed helicopter with obvious advantages in cruising speed, climb rate, and usable ceiling, according to its developer.

The Z-19E is mainly intended to attack tanks, armed vehicles, defense works and other targets on the ground.

It can provide direct fire support to ground troops, attack helicopters and other low-altitude targets, fly at a very low altitude and fly as part of a convoy of helicopters. Endi