Two prototypes of China's new Z-20 medium transport helicopter recently surfaced in Tibet, resulting in new photos of the illusive helicopter. Like other Chinese helicopter designs, the Z-20 was developed from Western exports sold to the country before the brutal crackdown on pro-democracy students in 1989.

During the late 1980s, a warming period between China and the West resulted in a number of arms sales to the Chinese government. Beijing, eager to modernize the People's Liberation Army, went on a spending spree, purchasing equipment it had difficulty building on its own, particularly aircraft and naval technology. China purchased a wide range of helicopters, including the French Super Frelon and Dauphin helicopters and the American S-70, the export version of the U.S. Army's UH-60 Blackhawk.

U.S. Army UH-60M helicopters of the 10th Mountain Division on exercise with 105-millimeter howitzers. John Moore Getty Images

The massacre of pro-democracy students in Beijing in June 1989 resulted in an arms embargo, and China's helicopter purchases hit a brick wall. China still had a need for hundreds if not thousands more military helicopters. At the same time, China's economy was beginning to take off, eventually becoming the powerhouse it is today.

The solution to the arms embargo: Start up the Xerox machine. The Aerospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon heavy lift helicopter became the Changhe Aircraft Industry Group Z-8 search and rescue and naval utility helicopter. The Eurocopter Dauphin helicopter became the Z-9 utility and Z-19 attack helicopters. While China retained the rights to build civilian copies of some technology, including the Dauphin, that technology and manufacturing know-how clearly spilled over into the military sector.

Z-20 helicopter in flight. Via Chinese Internet.

Meanwhile, China really wanted more medium sized transport helicopters, and that meant more S-70s. An effort to reverse engineer the S-70 began in the late 1990s, but hit a number of developmental snags. In particular, the engines and transmission were beyond China's ability to build locally.

The first prototype of the "new" helicopter, dubbed Z-20, flew in 2013. Very little is known about the helicopter, with pictures being the best source of information. Externally, the helicopter is very similar to the Blackhawk, with a shorter nose and five rotor blades instead of four. We can reasonably assume that the Z-20 carries at least 11 personnel, the same number as the Blackhawk. Chinese media sources report it has a larger internal cabin, but the question is, did China develop engines powerful enough to accommodate heavier loads?

Currently there are four prototypes. The Tibet sighting is likely in order to test the aircraft at higher altitudes, where the air is thinner and air-breathing internal combustion engines experience reduced efficiency. According to a Chinese media report , two of the newer helicopters are sporting new UHF/VHF antennas and a GPS/Beidou (China's version of GPS) receiver.

Meanwhile, as China struggles to field the Z-20, the U.S. military's Future Vertical Lift - Medium program aims to replace the Blackhawk with one of three completely new helicopter designs, including an Osprey-like tiltrotor, the V-280 Valor.

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