TSAMTO, July 30. Judging by photos and videos posted on social media during this month, China has begun supplying Pakistan with new Z-10ME attack helicopters.
There is currently no official confirmation from the Chinese or Pakistani side about the start of deliveries of the Z-10ME, as well as information about the details of the signed contract regarding the number of ordered machines, their cost and delivery dates to the customer.
Recall that in 2022, Pakistan refused to purchase T-129 ATAK attack helicopters from Turkish Aerospace due to the refusal of the United States to issue a permit for the export of LHTEC-T800 engines with American components.
The official representative of the Pakistani army, Major General Babar Iftikhar, said on January 5, 2022, that Islamabad "no longer believes that Turkey will be able to solve the problem with the LHTEC-T800 engine (Light Helicopter Turbine Engine Company, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Honeywell), therefore, they are starting to look for an alternative option for the purchase of attack helicopters for Land the country's troops."
It was also announced that 12 AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters manufactured under a 2016 contract for the Pakistani Army aviation are still located on the territory of the 309th Group of the United States Air Force (AMARG) at the Davis-Monthan storage base (Arizona, USA) as of 2018. The Americans diplomatically called the refusal to transfer them "technical problems related to the contract."
Thus, the only solution remained the upgraded export version of the Chinese Z-10ME, which, according to the assurances of the Chinese side, meets all the requirements of the Pakistani military.
Since 2020, Pakistan has been considering the possibility of purchasing Chinese-made Z-10 attack helicopters if Turkey and the United States do not fulfill their obligations to supply T-129 and AH-1Z vehicles, respectively.
Major General Syed Najib Ahmed, Commander of Pakistan's Army Aviation, said at the IQPC International Military Helicopter international conference in London in February 2020 that the purchase of the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10ME "remains an option" in case Turkish Aerospace and American Bell are unable to supply T for various reasons.-129 and AH-1Z "Viper".
Earlier, the Pakistani Armed Forces assessed the possibility of purchasing one of their first versions of the Z-10, but the Z-10ME differs from it with an improved set of weapons and combat systems.
Pakistan's military forces are in urgent need of replacing 32 obsolete AH-1 Cobra helicopters, which have been in operation for more than 30 years. These vehicles are used for direct air support of army units in operations against militants, but cannot be effectively used at high altitudes (over 2,440 m). The need to accelerate the purchase of attack helicopters of the Armed Forces of Pakistan is also explained by an increase in the fleet of this type of aircraft in the Indian Armed Forces.
Earlier, the Pakistani military partially compensated for its problems by purchasing four Mi-35s from Russia in 2018, after which they began to consider the possibility of purchasing AH-1Z Viper and T-129 helicopters.
