On 25 September, a photo emerged on Chinese social media of an apparent fifth Pakistan Army Aviation Corps (PAA) Z-10ME-02 attack helicopter undergoing test flights. The new unit sports the designation number “786-305”, indicating it is the fifth unit.
The PAA formally inducted its first Z-10ME-02 in August 2025, following years of seeking the AH-1Z Viper and T129 ATAK from the United States and Türkiye, respectively.
Manufactured by Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation (CAIC) and sold by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), the Z-10ME-02 is an upgraded variant of the Z-10. It features reinforced armour around the canopy and under the fuselage, improved sand and small debris filtration, revised engine exhaust, and improved electronics subsystems.
Currently, the PAA is operating two Z-10ME-02 attack helicopters in its fleet, with orders in place for an undisclosed number of units. However, inferring from the PAA’s past attempts at procuring attack helicopters in the early-2010s, the initial tranche of Z-10ME-02s seems to be in the range of 12 to 15 units. The PAA is likely planning for a total of 45-60 units.
Compared to the Bell AH-1F/S Cobra, which is the PAA’s current workhorse rotary attack platform, the Z-10ME-02 delivers significant qualitative improvements.
These improvements include capabilities that are now standard in modern platforms, such as the capacity to use fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM), electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) turrets, and integrated defensive aids suite (DAS).
Overall, these capabilities imbue the Z-10ME-02 with greater capacity to undertake all of the Cobra’s current roles, such as close air support (CAS), anti-armour, and anti-infantry. But the Z-10ME-02 also imbues the PAA with new capabilities it never possessed before.
These new capabilities include stand-off range weapons (SOW) and air-to-air missile (AAM) compatibility and the capacity to use millimeter-wave (mmW) radars.
Leveraging SOWs like the CM-501GA and mmW radars, the PAA’s vision for the Z-10ME-02 not only ties into conventional operations (i.e., against India), but in the capacity of a capable force-multiplier asset more so than solely a traditional anti-armour/infantry platform.
