Harbin Z-9WZ

[I_Am_Bob224]

Would You Like To See This In-Game?

• Yes
• No

Where Should It Go?

• Folder With Z-9WA
• After Z-9WA - Before Z-19
• Premium/Event
• Other Idea
• Don’t Add

Battle Rating?

• 11.0
• 11.3
• 11.7
• Other
• Don’t Add

Harbin Z-9WZ

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General Description

The Z-9WZ, developed as a successor to the Z-9WA, was first flown in December 2004. Adding onto the developments of the Z-9WA, the Z-9WZ features the improved WZ-8H engines and a new fire control system with a laser designator. This allowed it to fire KD-9/10 anti-tank guided missiles more effectively with FN-6 or TY-90 air-to-air missiles. Some Z-9WZs were also seen with further improvements, such as an electro-optical turret for battlefield surveillance, and a Beidou antenna for enhanced navigation, similar to GPS.

The Z-9WZ was designed to improve and enhance the combat effectiveness of its predecessor. Alongside its brand-new fire control system, it can carry up to eight KD-9/10 ATGMs or FN-6/TY-90 AAMs. The Z-9WZs also retain all of the advancements from the Z-9WA, such as the improved cockpit armor, flare launchers, datalink, and night-vision goggle capability for the cockpit. It is widely believed that all Z-9WAs were upgraded to the Z-9WZ standard.

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Development & History

Information

The Z-9, also known as the Harbin Z-9, is a Chinese multi-purpose helicopter and an upgraded version of the French SA365 Dauphin. The Harbin Aircraft Industry Group licensed and manufactured the Z-9 and its first flight was in 1981, with domestic production beginning in 1982.

Z-9W the weaponized variant, first flew in October 1988 and was used in weapon tests the same year. It passed the design review in December 1995 and was approved for production in May 1996. This development was desperately needed as China had a widespread shortage of dedicated anti-tank helicopters.

With improved armor protection, the Z-9W was also equipped with the HJ-8 anti-tank guided missiles and was capable of using various other weapons such as rocket pods, 23mm gun pods, and various other missiles. However initial missile launches caused problems due to the shock waves, recoil, and high temperatures damaging the helicopter. Testing was done for capability and improvements, this led to the development of a non-penetrating pylon crossbeam taken from French designs.

The Z-9WA was a further improvement, with additions such as a bent beam suspension for bomb loading and an all-composite metal structure. The Z-9WA was also designed for night operations, including a low-light TV/IRST turret, and RWR antennas installed on both sides, a mast-mounted millimeter wave radar prototype was also tested. The Z-9WA also received better armor protection, a flare launcher, a datalink, an NVG-compatible cockpit, and an air data sensor.

In-Depth History & Development: Part 1, Part 2

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Technical Specifications

Dimensions
Total Length: 13.46 Meters (45 Feet)
Body Length: 11.44 m (37 ft)
Height: 4.01 m (13 ft)

Rotor Diameter: 11.93 m (39 ft)
Tail Rotor Diameter: 1.1 m (4 ft)

Weight
Max Takeoff Weight: 4,100 kg (9,100 lbs)
Empty Weight: 2,050 kg (4,500 lbs)

Crew
Crew: 2
Max Passenger Number: 12

Propulsion:
Engines: 2 x Zhuzhou Aeroengine Factory WZ-8H
Power per Engine: ~900hp

Main Rotor Blades: 4
Tail Rotor Blades: 11

Performance:
Max Speed: 315 km/h (196 mph)
Cruising Speed 280 km/h (174 mph)

Max Vertical Rate of Climb: 252 m/min (827 ft/min)
Max Forward Rate of Climb: 396 m/min (1,300 ft/min)

Service Ceiling: 6,000 m (19,700 ft)
Hover Ceiling (No Ground Effect): 1,600 m (5,250 ft)
Hover Ceiling (In Ground Effect): 2,600 m (8,500 ft)
Max Range: 860-1000 km (534-621 mi)

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Armament

Hardpoints: Two

Anti-Tank Missiles:
4 x 2 HJ-8A/B/C/E
4 x 2 HJ-9
4 x 2 KD-8
4 x 2 KD-9
4 x 2 KD-10

Historical Data

Z-9W with ATGMs

Z-9WZ with KD-9s

KD-9 ATGM

KD-10 ATGM

WT Details

HJ-8E:

HJ-9:

KD-8:
Sources Required, Any Help Appreciated
KD-9:

KD-10:

Anti-Air Missiles:
4 x 2 FN-6
4 x 2 TY-90

Historical Data

Z-9W with FN-6

Z-9 with TY-90

WT Details

FN-6:

TY-90:

Unguided Rockets:
18 x 2 57mm Type 57-1
7 x 2 90mm Type 90-1
7 x 2 90mm FS70

Historical Data

Z-9WZ with Rocket Pods

WT Details

Type 57-1:

Type 90-1:

FS70:

Gun Pods:
2 x 1 12.7mm QJK-99-12.7-1 Machine Guns
2 x 1 23mm Type 23-1 Cannons

Historical Data

Gun Pods

WT Details

QJK-99-12.7-1:

Type 23-1:

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Other Specifications

Equipment:
Nose-Mounted Low-Light TV/IRST Turret
Laser Designator
Datalink Antenna [Underneath Boom]
Air Data Sensor [Starboard Side of Cabin]
NVG Compatible Cockpit
2 x Radar Warning Receivers [One Each Side of Fuselage]
72 x Chaff/Flare Dispensers

Equipment Details

Prototype Mast-Mounted Millimeter Wave Radar

Electro-Optical Turret

Other Information:
Total Produced: 30-40
Country of Origin: Peoples Republic of China
First Flight: 2004

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In War Thunder

Placement
Rank: VI
Battle Rating: 11.0 - 11.7 [in Realistic Battles]
Location: In Folder with Z-9WA, after Z-9WA before Z-19, or Event/Premium

Comment(s): Feel free to share any new sources or information below. I’ll do my best to update the post accordingly if anything new or incorrect is discovered. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the suggestion.

Personal Opinions

In War Thunder, Chinese helicopters are currently positioned in a unique balance area. Despite their Anti-Tank guided missiles having a shorter range or capabilities compared to counterparts at their own Battle Rating, their overall effectiveness remains high due to the exceptional Air-to-Air missiles. Specifically, the TY-90 remains one of the best AAMs in the entire game, especially for helicopters, and remains extremely competitive even if you massively uptier any machine they are on.

This results in these helicopters having higher efficiencies, causing their vehicle’s Battle Rating to be higher than they might otherwise be if they were equipped with less capable or shorter range AAMs since their ATGM capabilities don’t vastly surpass other Helicopters at their BR.

I am looking forward to receiving any feedback from you guys about the vehicle’s Battle Rating and placement. In my personal opinion, the KD-10’s would not be significantly better than other helicopter ATGMs at 11.3/11.7 and would be fine in a folder with the Z-9WA, however, due to the TY-90’s, it might result in a higher BR.

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Sources

Chinese Military Aviation Helicopters I

Chinese Military Aviation Missiles II

AirForceWorld Z-9 Helicopter Part 1

AirForceWorld Z-9 Helicopter Part 2

SinoDefence Z-9W/G Attack Helicopter

Aviastar HAI Z-9

Attack-Helicopter Blogspot WZ-9 PLA

Army-Technology Z-9W

BlueSkyRotor Z-9WZ

Ruslet Z-9WZ/ZH

Aviation Week Z-9WZ Rare Media Access

Global Security WZ8 Turboshaft

China Defence Today Air-Launched Weapons

Wikipedia Harbin Z-9

[thethrill8284257]

Do you think its possible that this mounts the newly developed FS70 Snake rockets also mounted On Z10/19/Mi-17?

[I_Am_Bob224]

While I didn’t find anything specific for the FS70, the websites/information mostly just mention rocket sizes and payload capacities.

Given that this is a brand new helicopter modification and still in active service today, it more than likely can use developments like the FS70 rockets.

I will update it above since it’s more than likely it could operate them, but will try my best to find any hard proof. Thank you for mentioning it I didn’t think about it at the time.

[thethrill8284257]

Aw my bad, while yes it can probably use FS70, i was talking about the guidance kit for them, which makes them behave like APKWS.

[Insanerobert]

If it gets access to 4x2 KD-10 missiles, then it should be between Z-19 (which gets only KD-9s) and Z-10. Or as a separate line, but set in BR between these 2 helicopters.