Pak China Military Coperation - The reverse-engineering of Black Hawk helicopters used in Abbotabad operation
The China Helicopter Research
and Development Institute is a division of the Aviation Industry Corporation of
China (AVIC), a behemoth of China's aerospace sector.
According to China's Global Times, the model, believed
to be a variant of the Chinese Z-20 helicopter, was displayed when a local
official of the Chinese Communist Party visited the institute on May 19.
However, the model triggered a buzz on social media towards the end of May as
international experts argued it bore similarities to a mysterious, yet iconic
aircraft: The 'stealth' Black Hawk helicopter of the US military.
The US military used customised versions of its Black Hawk
helicopters that had features to reduce their radar and infra-red signatures to
reach the compound used by Al Qaeda Leader Osama Bin Laden in
Abottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011.
One of these 'stealth Black
Hawks' crashed in the raid that ended with the US killing Bin Laden. The US
military destroyed the wreckage of the crashed helicopter using explosives, but
its tail remained intact.
At the time, the raid triggered uproar in Pakistan as Islamabad
vehemently protested against the violation of its sovereignty. Soon after the
raid, reports emerged that Pakistan allowed experts from China to examine the wrackage of
the crashed stealth Black Hawk. Reports claimed Chinese officials were allowed
to take photographs and samples of the materials used on the stealth Black
Hawk.
Why
tech of stealth Black Hawk was important
Stealth aircraft typically use
multiple methods to reduce their chances of detection by radars and infrared
(heat) sensors. These include modifying parts of the airframe to weaken
reflected radar signals, redirecting engine exhausts to reduce heat and using
'radar-absorbent' material in construction.
US defence website The Drive claimed the Stealth model of the Z-20 on
display had a 'trapezoidal airframe' similar to earlier US studies into stealth
versions of the Black Hawk. The Drive claimed Pakistan seized the tail of the
crashed stealth Black Hawk, which included extensive use of composite material
to reduce noise, weight and radar signature. Pakistan returned the wreckage
three weeks later after intensive diplomacy. Tyler Rogoway, the author of the
article on The Drive, explained the importance of the tail
design as he wrote "loss of that tail upped China's knowledge base on
low-observables by at least a decade, especially when it comes to helicopter
applications".
Why
Z-20 matters
The Z-20 helicopter, which
according to Chinese reports first flew in 2013, has emerged in recent years as
the most important addition to China's rotary aviation capabilities. The Z-20
is a 'medium-lift' helicopter meant for a range of missions in the Chinese army
and navy such as troop and cargo transport, evacuation and anti-submarine and
anti-ship missions. Maritime variants of the Z-20 have emerged in the past two
years, some touting small anti-ship missiles.
The Drive article speculated a stealth
version of the Z-20 could have potential applications in Chinese operations
against Taiwan.
The Z-20 has design
similarities to the Black Hawk. Experts attribute this to the fact that the US
sold China a small fleet of a civilian version of the Black Hawk in the early
1980s.
History
of Pak - China Military tech Co-operation (The reverse-engineering of US technology)
Osama Bin Laden was the world's
most wanted man for decades. But he proved to be the means for China to
leapfrog technical barriers in its development of military technology. With a
little help from Pakistan!
Shortly after the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher wrote a letter to his colleagues on May 9, 2011, about
Pakistan's strategic relationship with China. Rohrabacher alleged Pakistan had
transferred to China a Tomahawk cruise missile that the US Navy fired in 1998
in an attack on Bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan. At least one of the Tomahawk
missiles malfunctioned in flight. Rohrabacher wrote, "In 1998, Pakistan’s
military and intelligence services facilitated the transfer to Communist China
of a Taliban-recovered unexploded American Tomahawk cruise missile, which we
fired in an attempt to kill Osama Bin Laden and members of al-Qaeda. The
Communist Chinese reverse-engineered the missile and dissected its components
allowing them to learn its vulnerabilities and defeat its capabilities."
The US had launched the attack on Bin Laden in 1998 to retaliate
against suicide bomb strikes against its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania
earlier that year. Ironically, back then itself, US experts had expressed
concerns of Pakistan handing over technology from the Tomahawk to China as
Pakistani officials claimed they were studying the missile.
In 2020, former Pakistan prime
minister Nawaz Sharif claimed that Pakistan had reverse-engineered the Tomahawk
missile that malfunctioned. The US attack on Bin Laden in 1998 happened when
Sharif was prime minister.
Comments
Post a Comment