Images show Chinese Z-10 attack helicopter fitted with new engine exhaust outlets

Chinese state-owned media have released images of a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Zhishengji-10 (Z-10) attack helicopter fitted with new engine exhaust outlets pointing upwards – instead of the previous outward/sideways configuration – in an apparent effort to reduce the helicopter’s infrared signature as seen from the ground.

Such an outlet configuration designed to channel hot exhaust gases upwards had previously been seen in the export variant of the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) Z-10 – the Z-10ME – but not in the variants operated by the PLA.

The modified Z-10 was photographed during a military exercise with the PLA’s 80th Group Army on 8 February, according to the PLA’s WeChat account.

The modification to the exhaust outlet may have been incorporated into newly built Z-10s. If this is the case, it is unclear, how many units of this modified variant have been produced and whether any other modifications have been incorporated into the platform.