Z-9WA
| This page is about the Chinese attack helicopter Z-9WA. For the other version, see Z-9W. |
Contents
Description
The Z-9WA is a rank VI Chinese attack helicopter with a battle rating of 9.7 (AB/SB) and 11.0 (RB). It was introduced in Update "Drone Age".
It is commonly known to the Chinese community as 海豚 "Haitun" (Dauphin). This revised version of the Z-9W comes with better avionics and upgraded firepower thanks to the revision on pylons. While it still lag behind counterparts at its BR due to its original design as a transport helicopter, the armament onboard is available in greater numbers and make sure the Z-9WA would still stand a chance against enemy targets with better ATGMs and more AAMs.
The overall appearance of the Z-9WA is mostly identical to a Z-9W other than the camouflage itself (opted for a black camouflage instead), rearranged optical trackers (from the top of aircraft to the belly) and shared a similar mobility. The overall armament is surprisingly good for its tier.
General info
Flight performance
The Z-9WA shares a similar mobility to the Z-9W as it didn't receive a powerplant upgrade. It does not have the speed of dedicated attack helicopters and carries more weapon but the installation of this new armament does not cause severe performance reduction, and it can still be utilized to sneak behind enemy lines and strike them from the rear.
| Characteristics | Max Speed (km/h at 1,000 m) |
Max altitude (metres) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | ||
| Stock | ___ | ___ | 4200 |
| Upgraded | ___ | ___ | |
Survivability and armour
Players of the previous Z-9s will be extremely familiar with the overall protection of the Z-9WA: this version still doesn't provide any extra protection against projectiles or shrapnel from enemies. Any hit will very likely cause damage to component or the pilots; but it still comes with self-sealing fuel tanks that might help survive if set ablaze.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | ||
|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) |
 |
|
|
Offensive armament
The Z-9WA is armed with:
- A choice between two presets:
- Without offensive armament
- 72 x countermeasures
Suspended armament
The Z-9WA can be outfitted with the following ordnance presets:
- 36 x Type 57-1 rockets
- 2 x 12.7 mm QJK99-12.7-1 machine guns (1,000 rpg = 2,000 total)
- 4 x HJ-8E missiles
- 14 x Type 90-1 rockets
- 8 x HJ-8E missiles
- 8 x HJ-8H missiles
- 8 x TY-90 missiles
- 2 x 23 mm Type 23-1 cannons (240 rpg = 480 total)
Custom loadout options
| 1 | 2 |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 mm Type 23-1 cannons (240 rpg) | 1 | 1 | |
| 12.7 mm QJK99-12.7-1 machine guns (1,000 rpg) | 1 | 1 | |
| Type 57-1 rockets | 18 | 18 | |
| Type 90-1 rockets | 7 | 7 | |
| HJ-8E missiles | 4 | 4 | |
| HJ-8H missiles | 4 | 4 | |
| TY-90 missiles | 4 | 4 |
Usage in battles
Players will easily get on hand with the WA variant thanks to its mostly identical flight performance and very similar weaponry to the Z-9W. The Z-9WA has an unrivaled TVD camera with very high magnification at x81, for those who struggle to find targets at intense battlefield on at bad weather/at night, this will come very handy to players. What really hinders Z-9WA is its ATGMs, although having at most an extra kilometre than its predecessor and having 2 times more missiles, both HJ-8E and H fly at 260 m/s which are still slow for this BR (for comparison, the BGM-71C/D fly at 296 to 329 m/s and the 9M114 reaches a whopping 500 m/s). The overall penetration is still sufficient and the tandem charge does help penetrating targets with ERA, make sure every shot counts as enemies might be aware of such a slow missile heading towards them. While the TY-90 is the same as all its predecessor/successors with its extremely good manoeuvrability, targets in its range are unlikely to escape their fate of being blown out of the skies by this 20G overload missile even with flares. While there are rocket pods and gunpods at your disposal, they are more efficient at helicopter EC for light targets such as recoilless guns, light tanks, APCs, etc.
Like the Z-9W, make sure to sneak around in the battlefield for maximum survivability as it is still unprotected; but thanks to better avionics, it will have a faster searching time than predecessors and helps a lot for staying out of the battlefield. Alternatively it can still serve as another "flying SPAAG" and make sure any aircraft will hit the ground before they even have the chance to do damage to your team.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Decent manoeuvrability
- Can carry up to 8 ATGMs or AAMs
- Access to faster and slightly more penetrating HJ-8E and HJ-8H
- TY-90 AAMs are very effective against air targets
- Has access to flares
- Excellent optics with thermal sights for easy targeting
Cons:
- Slow top speed
- Very little armour
- No internal gun
- Limited range on its air-to-ground missiles
History
The Z-9WA is the upgraded version of the Z-9W with revised pylon that was bolted onto the airframe instead of going through the main airframe itself, a new 3-in-1 tracker with daytime/TVD/laser tracking and some revision on the nose of the helicopter. The project was started in November 2001 and contracts were signed in January next year, first seen as part of the PLA Hong Kong Garrison Aviation Corps at Shek Kong Airfield (石崗機場) in the early 2000s. The Z-9WA was the dedicated attack helicopter of PLAGF Aviation Corps before Project 941 (Z-10) until the Z-9WA's successor, the Z-19, came into service.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the helicopter;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
| Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (哈尔滨飞机工业(集团)有限责任公司 ) | |
|---|---|
| Jet Bombers | H-5* |
| Helicopters | |
| Z-9 | Z-9W · Z-9WA |
| Z-19 | Z-19 · Z-19E |
| *Unlicensed and modified copy of the IL-28. | |
| China helicopters | |
|---|---|
| Attack/Utility | Z-9W · Z-9WA · Z-10 · Z-11WA · Z-19 · Z-19E |
| ␗OH-58D (USA) | |
| Attack | ␗AH-1W (USA) |
| Utility | SA.342L Gazelle (France) |
| Pakistan | ▄Mi-35M |
