Gareth Jennings, London - Jane's Defence Weekly

27 February 2020

 

The Chinese-built Z-10 attack helicopter could be procured by Pakistan should its first two preferences of the AH-1Z and T-129 not be delivered. Source: Via CCTV

如果巴基斯坦首批两种AH-1Z和T-129无法到货，可以获得中国制造的Z-10武装直升机。资料来源：通过央视

 

Pakistan will procure the Chinese-built Z-10 attack helicopter if Turkey and the United States fail to deliver on their orders of the T-129 and AH-1Z respectively, a senior offer said on 26 February.Speaking at the IQPC International Military Helicopter conference in London, the commander of Pakistan's Army Aviation, Major General Syed Najeeb Ahmed, said that the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10ME "remains an option" if the Turkish Aerospace T-129 and Bell AH-1Z Viper prove to be unobtainable for different reasons.

 

The Pakistan Army has a pressing need to replace its 32 ageing Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopters that have been in service for more than 30 years, with Gen Ahmed's predecessor, Major General Nasir D Shah, telling Jane's and other defence media in January 2018, "The AH-1 helicopters have provided effective close support for our ground forces engaged in counterinsurgency [COIN] operations, but they cannot be employed effectively in high-altitude operations above 8,000 ft."
巴基斯坦陆军迫切需要更换32架已经服役30多年的老化贝尔AH-1“眼镜蛇”武装直升机，阿赫迈德的前任纳西尔·沙阿少将在2018年1月告诉简氏和其他国防媒体， “ AH-1型直升机为我们从事反叛乱[COIN]行动的地面部队提供了有效的密切支援，但不能有效地用于8,000英尺以上的高海拔作战。”

 

In the near-term, the army partially offset these limitations with the four Mil Mi-35s that it ordered from Russian some years ago, and which were delivered to the country in late 2017. Further to the Mi-35s, it evaluated the AH-1Z, T-129, and the Z-10 attack helicopters.

 

In January 2016 it was announced that Bell had been awarded a contract for 12 AH-1Zs, and in April 2017 Jane's reported that the first three of 12 would be delivered in mid‐2017, with a second order to follow. However, the aircraft were yet to be delivered, and while there has been no official statement concerning reasons for delay it is understood to result from the current strained Pakistan-US relations.

2016年1月，宣布贝尔已获得12架AH-1Z的合同，并在2017年4月，简氏报道称12架AH-1Z的前三架将在2017年中期交付，随后还有第二份订单。然而，这些直升机尚未交付，虽然没有关于延误原因的官方声明，但据了解，这是由于当前巴基斯坦与美国关系紧张造成的。