Chinese designers have developed the world's largest turboprop amphibious aircraft
Active use of hydroaviation for military purposes occurred in the first half of the twentieth century. Until the advent of effective means of air defense, seaplanes and amphibious aircraft solved a wide range of tasks, often making an important contribution to victory in a battle or even a local war. But as jet aviation rose to its feet, seaplanes and amphibious aircraft lost their advantages and gave way to their young counterparts one niche after another.
THE RETURN OF AMPHIBIANS
However, do not forget that about 70% of the surface of our planet is occupied by water. And the World Ocean is not only a giant transport artery and a huge arena for naval battles, but also one of the most important sources of mineral resources and food. That is why China, one of the leading countries in the Asia–Pacific region, formed around the largest ocean on the planet, is actively developing its hydroaviation, including for military purposes. Chinese specialists independently developed, built and lifted into the air a heavy amphibious aircraft AG-600 "Jiaolong" ("Water Dragon"), which today is the largest turboprop machine of this class in the world. The AG-600 program was officially launched in 2009. The aircraft was developed at the Research Institute of Special Equipment of the AVIC Corporation.
Initially, it was planned that the first prototype would take to the air in 2013, and deliveries of serial amphibians would begin in 2014. But when creating the AG-600, Chinese specialists seem to have encountered numerous problems, which led to a backlog of work for three to four years from the originally planned schedule.
The assembly of the AG-600 is carried out in Zhuhai at the aircraft factory of Zhuhai Yanzhou Aircraft Corporation of the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Corporation AVIC. In total, about 150 institutes and research centers and 70 industrial enterprises of the People's Republic of China are involved in the development and production of the AG-600. According to Chinese media, about 3 billion yuan has already been spent on the AG-600 program since 2009.
In its aerodynamic layout, the Chinese "Water Dragon" is similar to the Japanese amphibian US-2. This is a monoplane with a high-mounted wing, equipped with advanced mechanization and a T-shaped tail. Like the Japanese machine, the emphasis in the design of the aircraft was placed on achieving a long flight range and high seaworthiness. The AG-600 powerplant includes four Chinese WJ-6 turboprop engines with six-bladed JL-4 propellers.
The main tasks of the amphibian, its creators call the performance of marine patrol and search and rescue operations, as well as extinguishing fires. According to the developers, in the "water bomber" variant, the Chinese "Water Dragon" will be able to take up to 12 tons of water in 20 seconds on planing. According to the above calculations, at one refueling, the AG-600 will be able to dump up to 371 tons of water on fire centers. In the search and rescue version, the AG-600 can take on board up to 50 victims – at a distance of 1600 km from the departure airfield.
Despite the declared peaceful tasks assigned to the AG-600, most likely, its "habitat" will still be disputed island territories in the waters of the South China Sea. However, the creators of the amphibian themselves note that in addition to those mentioned above, it is possible to create other modifications, including military ones.
And the Chinese state news agency Xinhua bluntly called the plane "the defender of the seas, islands and reefs." The Chinese press notes that the new amphibian, based on the Chinese island of Hainan, is capable of reaching the coastal waters of the Indonesian-Malaysian island of Kalimantan (Borneo) without refueling. According to Chinese official sources, an order has been issued for 17 "Water Dragons". In total, China's needs are estimated at 50 amphibious aircraft of this type.
EXTINGUISHING FIRES IN ALL SENSES
For a long time, the only Chinese seaplane was the Be-6. Flying boats of this type were supplied to the "Great Neighbor" in the 1950s, when the Soviet Union and Red China jointly built a bright future. By the end of the 1960s, the Be-6 had become obsolete both morally and physically, and the Chinese, for certain circumstances, could no longer count on the help of the USSR. Under these conditions, the Chinese aviation industry was tasked with creating a flying boat with promising turboprop engines to replace the Be-6.
Work on another aircraft, designated SH-5 (Shuihun-5), began at the Research Institute of Hydroaviation and the Design bureau of the Harbin Plant in 1968. In December 1973, the first flight copy was made in Harbin, but only three years later the crew of Chinese test pilots lifted the flying boat into the air. Such a long development time was typical for all Chinese aircraft created in those years. The consequences of the cultural revolution affected – the lack of qualified specialists. Flight tests, in which six seaplanes took part, were completed in 1985.
Currently, in order to strengthen control over the territories adjacent to the PRC, aviation forces and means capable of controlling the sea area within the borders of the "first line of islands" are being used. Anti-submarine aviation is represented by Shuihong-5 seaplanes. These aircraft perform the tasks of providing the command of the Chinese Navy with intelligence information, patrolling sea and coastal zones, conducting search and rescue operations.
These vehicles can patrol and search for submarines at a distance of up to several tens of kilometers from land bases or carrier ships.
The aircraft is armed with two 23-mm aviation guns, capable of carrying up to 6000 kg of aviation bombs (including depth charges), which can be placed in the bomb compartment in the fuselage and on four suspension nodes under the wings. Also, two Yingji-1 (YJ-1) (S-101) anti-ship missiles, up to six light torpedoes or depth charges can be placed under the wings.
There is information that some of the aircraft are equipped with electronic intelligence equipment. One "Shuihong-5" is converted to extinguish forest fires and can lift up to 8 tons of water.
In China, preparations have begun for the serial production of the Che-27 amphibious seaplane, developed by Russian specialists from the SCB LA SSAU at the Samara State Aviation University. BADA Corporation (Harbin) is testing the first production model of the four-seat seaplane BADA-205 with the participation of Samara specialists.
The prototype of the BADA-205 was the amphibian Che-25, developed at the SCB LA SSAU in 2002-2003. BADA Corporation is preparing serial production of BADA-205 aircraft at a rate of 1000 units per year. Currently, work is underway to certify this type of aircraft.
Thus, China gives priority to the development of hydroaviation for military and civilian purposes, which has become a new direction for the development of aviation in the country. Among the factors determining the development of this type of aviation, it is necessary to note the rather long coastline of the Chinese coast, which requires a large number of military cargo delivery vehicles with the ability to land on water.
VIETNAMESE TROPHIES AND ALLIED SUPPLIES
While China is actively developing hydroaviation, in neighboring Vietnam it came to naught after the decommissioning of AN-2 biplanes in the float version. The top military and political leadership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV) preferred to focus on other programs, primarily to increase the power of the national air force. This approach is justified by the unstable military-political situation in the region, which manifests itself in a multitude of unresolved territorial disputes and the need for continuous monitoring of the situation by potential opponents. In such conditions, one of the tasks facing the command of the SRV Air Force is to improve the helicopter fleet.
The development of helicopter technology in North Vietnam began in 1956, when a group of 110 people was sent to study in the USSR and China. In China, they had to be trained on Mi-4 helicopters. A group of 30 people went to the Soviet Union to master Mi-4 helicopters.
The first group of pilots returned from China after three years of training and immediately began to transfer their experience and knowledge to others. In early 1959, the training of Mi-4 helicopter crews began. These crews were to become the basis for the formation of a transport aviation regiment.
After the conflict in Vietnam, the Iroquois Bell UH-1 helicopters, widely used by American units, went to the SRV Air Force. A total of 7,013 American UH-1 helicopters participated in combat operations during the war. Of this number, 3305 vehicles were destroyed, and a significant part was left to South Vietnam.
The UH-1 Iroquois helicopter has become a real symbol of the Vietnam War. Being used in mass quantities, it allowed to put into practice the concept of airmobile actions. The first Iroquois arrived in Vietnam in the summer of 1961. From June 1963, light airmobile companies began to form. Each of them included two platoons of transport helicopters and a platoon of fire support. Iroquois were in service with all three platoons, UH-1B helicopters were used only as fire support vehicles, and UH–1D and UH-1H helicopters were used as transport vehicles.
Between 1953 and 1991, about 120 helicopters were delivered to North Vietnam from the USSR and China. In addition, Vietnam in 1986-1990 received from the Soviet Union eight Ka-28 helicopters (tail numbers 7520-7527) of new construction, which are part of the 954th Aviation Brigade (formerly the 954th Regiment) of the Air Force and Air Defense of the SRV, acting in the interests of the Vietnamese Navy. One of the priorities today is the modernization of their anti-submarine weapons.
MOTLEY AND SHABBY PARK
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (Great Britain), given in the annual bulletin with a review of the military capabilities of the world's states called Military Balance 2023, the Air Force and air Defense of the SRV have six multi-purpose Mi-17 helicopters and about 28 military transport medium and light helicopters, including 14 Mi-8, three Mi-171, 11 Bell 205.
Two EC725 Super Cougar military transport helicopters were purchased from France in 2009. Unlike air defense systems, Vietnam's purchases of military helicopters in the 2010s were limited.
The Vietnamese transport aviation currently has up to 26 Mi-24D combat helicopters (plus six Mi-24A in storage). Multipurpose and transport helicopters: four American UH-1H (plus six in storage), up to 46 Mi-8, 10 Mi-17. In naval aviation, 12 helicopters are in service (six Russian Ka-28, two more in storage, as well as two Ka-32T, two Mi-17, two Franco-German EC225).
According to the British specialized publication Jane's Information Group, in the near future, the military and political leadership of Vietnam intends to purchase more combat support helicopters for naval aviation (including the French AS-565MB Panther) and improve the system of basing fleet forces, including infrastructure on the islands of the Spratly archipelago.
SUPPLY PROSPECTS
The implementation of tasks for the development of the helicopter fleet implies the development of Vietnam's military-technical cooperation with foreign partners. European companies are showing the greatest interest in the Vietnamese helicopter market. For example, the Franco-German company Airbus Helicopters SAS (in 1992-2014 known as Eurocopter). However, the negative practice of piloting helicopters of this campaign has so far kept the Vietnamese from making a principled decision.
In 2016, the Eurocopter EC130 T2 training helicopter of the Vietnamese Air Force crashed in the mountains in the south of the country. There were a pilot and two trainee pilots on board the aircraft. It was reported that the helicopter took off from the military airfield of Vung Tau, located in the province of Baria-Vung Tau.
Another possible contender is the Eurocopter AS565 Panther, a French multi–purpose helicopter, a military version of the civilian Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin. It is used to solve a wide range of tasks: air support, combat landings, fighting ground targets, anti-submarine defense, search and rescue operations and evacuation of the wounded.
In the last five years, Indians have shown a special interest in helicopter technology in Vietnam. India is implementing various programs to modernize Vietnam's main weapons of Soviet origin. She was engaged in the modernization of Vietnamese Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopters. India has also repeatedly offered Vietnam to purchase light combat helicopters from it.
Vietnamese enterprises specializing in the repair and maintenance of helicopters in service with the country's Air Force are developing. In particular, Vietnam, with the support of Russia, has mastered the repair and maintenance of Mi-8/17 military helicopters.
COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA
Uncertainty remains around the prospects for further re-equipment of the Vietnamese Air Force. It is not yet clear whether they will develop through further purchases of Russian aircraft, or will the supply of foreign equipment be diversified?
A new form of cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow is the licensed production of Russian weapons, military and special equipment (VVST) on the territory of the SRV. The construction of a plant for the production and repair of VVST has begun, which is scheduled to be launched in 2025. In October 2018, a contract was signed for the construction of a Helicopter Maintenance and Repair Center. It is being built in the city of Vung Tau at an existing repair base of the Vietnamese Air Force. The center is designed to service helicopters not only in Vietnam, but also in neighboring countries.
The Civil Aviation Service of the SRV validated the type certificate of the Mi-171A2 helicopter produced at the Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant of the Russian Helicopters Holding. This event opens the Vietnamese market for a new modification of the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters. In March 2020, the Federal Air Transport Agency of the Russian Federation (Rosaviation) and the SRV signed a working agreement on airworthiness issues aimed at supporting and simplifying the validation of Russian aircraft exported to Vietnam.
The helicopter was certified according to category A, which provides for the fulfillment of the most stringent flight safety requirements imposed on civilian helicopters. The car can perform search and rescue, medical, transport operations, extinguish fires or transport passengers.
Vasily Ivanov
Vasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.
