# Changhe Z-8 (直-8)
**Changhe Z-8 (直-8)** is a Chinese three-engine heavy helicopter, a reverse-engineered and license-built version of the [Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon](https://www.edgepedia.org/aerospatiale-sa-321-super-frelon), for which France licensed the Z-8 designation in 1981.[3](https://militaryarchive.org/en/weapons/sa-321-super-frelon) It first flew on December 11, 1985 and was delivered to the [People's Liberation Army Navy](https://www.edgepedia.org/peoples-liberation-army-navy) from August 1989, making the Navy its first user.[1](https://www.sastind.gov.cn/n10086205/n10086403/c10256030/content.html) • [2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) • [4](https://vertipedia.vtol.org/milestones/getMilestone/milestoneID/413) • [1](https://www.sastind.gov.cn/n10086205/n10086403/c10256030/content.html) Powered by three WZ-6 turboshafts, it carries up to 39 passengers or 27 fully equipped troops.[5](https://aviationweek.com/changhe-z-8ac313) • [2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) The series has grown into a family of more than 40 variants serving the PLA Army, Navy, and Air Force, with total output of nearly 150 aircraft, and forms the basis of the civil AC313 helicopter.[1](https://www.sastind.gov.cn/n10086205/n10086403/c10256030/content.html) • [2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) • [7](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/z-8.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Origin | Reverse-engineered and license-built version of the Aérospatiale SA 321 Super Frelon; France licensed the Z-8 designation in 1981[3](https://militaryarchive.org/en/weapons/sa-321-super-frelon) |
| First flight / service | December 11, 1985 at Lumeng airfield; first delivery to the PLA Navy on August 24, 1989[4](https://vertipedia.vtol.org/milestones/getMilestone/milestoneID/413) • [1](https://www.sastind.gov.cn/n10086205/n10086403/c10256030/content.html) |
| Configuration | Three-engine helicopter with a boat hull, stub wings, and capacity for up to 39 passengers or 27 fully equipped troops[5](https://aviationweek.com/changhe-z-8ac313) |
| Original engines | Three WZ-6 turboshafts, Chinese copies of the Turboméca 3C III, each rated at 1,512 hp (1,128 kW)[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) |
| Main rotor diameter | 18.90 m[6](https://vertipedia.vtol.org//aircraft/getAircraft?aircraftid=448) |
| Production | Total output of the Zhi-8 series is nearly 150 aircraft, developed into a wide range of variants[7](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/z-8.htm) |
| Civil derivative | AC313, a 13.8-ton civil transport helicopter powered by three Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-67A turboshafts, first flown March 2010[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) |
## Origins in the Super Frelon purchase
The Z-8 program began with a Chinese purchase of the SA 321 Super Frelon, a three-engine heavy helicopter developed by the French national aerospace industry in the early 1960s.[7](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/z-8.htm) China took delivery of navalized Super Frelons in anti-submarine and search-and-rescue configurations between December 1975 and April 1977; one account gives the batch as 12 aircraft, while other production records state 13 SA 321Ja helicopters bought in 1977/78.[3](https://militaryarchive.org/en/weapons/sa-321-super-frelon) • [8](https://www.airhistory.net/files/st/chinese_designed_licence_built.pdf) These were the first helicopters in Chinese naval aviation history able to operate from a ship's flight deck, and their pilots, trained in shipborne operations at Qingdao, supported wreckage recovery during China's DF-5 missile test in May 1980 and its first [submarine-launched ballistic missile](https://www.edgepedia.org/submarine-launched-ballistic-missile) test in 1982.[3](https://militaryarchive.org/en/weapons/sa-321-super-frelon) • [9](https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/Infrastructure/2019-08-02%20Lumbering_Forward_Aviation_Industry.pdf)
## Development of the Z-8
**A slow start.** Changhe Aircraft Industries began reverse-engineering the Super Frelon in 1976, under the authority of designer Li Zaijian, before the French deliveries were complete.[3](https://militaryarchive.org/en/weapons/sa-321-super-frelon) • [10](https://aviationsmilitaires.net/v3/kb/aircraft/show/1031/changhe-z-8) The program encountered enormous technical difficulties and was suspended in 1979 for financial reasons; the Jiangxi Helicopter Factory kept it alive by a policy of supporting the military program with profits earned from civil production.[8](https://www.airhistory.net/files/st/chinese_designed_licence_built.pdf) • [11](https://www.globalsecurity.org-www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/z-8-dev.htm) France formally agreed in 1981 to allow China to build the Super Frelon under the Z-8 designation.[3](https://militaryarchive.org/en/weapons/sa-321-super-frelon) • [12](https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/stratperspective/china/ChinaPerspectives-4.pdf)
The first Chinese-produced Z-8 prototype flew on December 11, 1985, with a second prototype flying in October 1987.[4](https://vertipedia.vtol.org/milestones/getMilestone/milestoneID/413) The type was delivered to the PLA Navy beginning on August 24, 1989, making the Navy its first user, and passed national technical appraisal the same year.[1](https://www.sastind.gov.cn/n10086205/n10086403/c10256030/content.html) Design finalization was certified only in 1994, nearly a decade after first flight.[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) A 1997 Air Force magazine report noted that China's Helicopter Design and Research Institute claimed to have developed the virtually identical Z-8, and that it remained uncertain whether the 12 Z-8s delivered to the Navy by the end of 1996 were new-production aircraft or upgrades of the original Super Frelons.[13](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/1997/10/1097_Oct1997.pdf)
## Engines and the Z-8F
The basic Z-8 is externally identical to the Super Frelon and is powered by three WZ-6 turboshafts, Chinese copies of the Turboméca 3C III.[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) The WZ-6/-6A proved the type's main weakness, with low power, high weight, high fuel consumption, short service life, and a high failure rate.[14](https://ruslet.webnode.cz/technika/cinska-technika/letecka-technika/vrtulniky/z-8f/) Because no domestic engine could meet the required performance, CAIC selected the Canadian Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-67A turboshaft, a specially developed version rated at 1,877 hp with FADEC digital engine control, roughly 30 percent more powerful and about 100 kg lighter than the WZ-6.[14](https://ruslet.webnode.cz/technika/cinska-technika/letecka-technika/vrtulniky/z-8f/)
The resulting Z-8F, an improved utility variant announced at Airshow China in November 2002, also introduced a composite main rotor with a new airfoil and electric anti-icing, revised engine air intakes, and lighter, more reliable avionics; it first flew on August 31, 2004.[6](https://vertipedia.vtol.org//aircraft/getAircraft?aircraftid=448) • [14](https://ruslet.webnode.cz/technika/cinska-technika/letecka-technika/vrtulniky/z-8f/) Its design goal was flight at 6,000 m altitude over a 600 km range carrying a 600 kg load.[14](https://ruslet.webnode.cz/technika/cinska-technika/letecka-technika/vrtulniky/z-8f/) The Z-8B, another improved variant, was in production by 2010.[15](https://dasandata.strategypage.com/htmw/htairmo/articles/20201009.aspx)
## Variants and service
The Z-8 series has developed into a "one aircraft, many types" family of more than 40 variants, widely fielded across the PLA.[1](https://www.sastind.gov.cn/n10086205/n10086403/c10256030/content.html) In Chinese service the helicopters are used in tactical transport, search-and-rescue, and naval combat roles.[5](https://aviationweek.com/changhe-z-8ac313) Documented variants include:
- **Z-8A**, an army variant whose development began in the mid-1990s and was certified for design finalization in February 1999.[8](https://www.airhistory.net/files/st/chinese_designed_licence_built.pdf)
- **Z-8G**, optimized for high-altitude flight, which is necessary in western China.[16](https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/Other-Topics/2022-08-15%20PLA%20Primer%203rd%20edition.pdf)
- **Z-8K/KA**, a dedicated search-and-rescue helicopter fielded by the Chinese Air Force in 2007; from 2022 these began to be replaced by the Harbin Z-20KH for SAR duties.[8](https://www.airhistory.net/files/st/chinese_designed_licence_built.pdf) • [17](https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/APDR-Feb-2024-WHOLE-MAG-interactive.pdf)
- **Z-8L**, a wide-body 13-tonne-class heavy-lift variant publicly debuted on July 1, 2021, which may be deployed by the PLA Ground Force and Navy Marine Corps on amphibious assault ships; Chinese media have called it China's largest active-duty helicopter and an effective instrument for island landings.[18](https://indsr.org.tw/uploads/indsr/files/202206/8b03c6d4-b3a2-48fa-aa6e-fd883ecb679c.pdf) • [19](https://www.nbr.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/publications/the-plas-long-march-toward-a-world-class-military-october-2025.pdf)
The Z-8 remains the standard heavy-lift platform for both the PLA Army and the PLA Navy. A US Army training assessment describes it as fast and long-ranged with a substantial payload, but notes that the underlying 1960s design is inefficient and maintenance-heavy compared with modern helicopters, and that its size and poor agility make it vulnerable to ground fire, likely confining it to transport roles in deeper operational areas.[20](https://date.army.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-06/ATP%207-100.3.pdf) PLAN Z-8 shipborne helicopters continue to fly regular maritime takeoff and landing training.[21](https://eng.chinamil.com.cn/MEDIA/PhotosChina/16371399_4.html)
## Civil derivatives: AC313 and AC313A
The Avicopter AC313 is a triple-engine, 13.8-ton civil transport helicopter developed from the Z-8, powered by three PT6B-67A turboshafts and the largest helicopter developed in China to date; it first flew in March 2010 and makes extensive use of composite materials, roughly 50 percent by volume.[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf) It was certified in China in 2012.[22](https://howmany.travel/pages/rotorcraft_models/avic-z8-z18-ac313-family.php) Its modernized version, the AC313A, a 13-tonne-class large multipurpose civil helicopter developed for emergency air rescue in all-terrain and all-weather environments, completed its first round of cold-weather flight tests at Mohe, China's northernmost city, in February 2024 as part of airworthiness certification.[23](https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202402/14/content_WS65cc77ecc6d0868f4e8e4043.html) Technology from the AC313 later fed the PLAN's Z-18 medium transport helicopter.[24](https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/safran-letter-final-3.19.2026.pdf)
## References
1. [中国大型运输直升机从这里起飞, SASTIND](https://www.sastind.gov.cn/n10086205/n10086403/c10256030/content.html)
2. [Ready for Takeoff: China's Advancing Aerospace Industry, Library of Congress](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/21/76/08/41/2021760841/2021760841.pdf)
3. [SA 321 Super Frelon — Heavy Lift Helicopters, Military Archive](https://militaryarchive.org/en/weapons/sa-321-super-frelon)
4. [First flight of Changhe Z-8 heavy helicopter, Vertipedia](https://vertipedia.vtol.org/milestones/getMilestone/milestoneID/413)
5. [Changhe Z-8/AC313, Aviation Week](https://aviationweek.com/changhe-z-8ac313)
6. [Vertipedia — Changhe Z-8F](https://vertipedia.vtol.org//aircraft/getAircraft?aircraftid=448)
7. [Z-8 Helicopter (Super Frelon), GlobalSecurity.org](https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/z-8.htm)
8. [Chinese designed and licence-built aircraft production list, Air History](https://www.airhistory.net/files/st/chinese_designed_licence_built.pdf)
9. [Lumbering Forward: China's Aviation Industry, CASI, Air University](https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/Infrastructure/2019-08-02%20Lumbering_Forward_Aviation_Industry.pdf)
10. [Changhe Z-8, Aviations Militaires](https://aviationsmilitaires.net/v3/kb/aircraft/show/1031/changhe-z-8)
11. [Z-8 Helicopter (Super Frelon) — Development, GlobalSecurity.org](https://www.globalsecurity.org-www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/z-8-dev.htm)
12. [China's Quest for Advanced Military Aviation Technologies, NDU Press](https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Portals/68/Documents/stratperspective/china/ChinaPerspectives-4.pdf)
13. [SA 321 Super Frelon and Z-8, Air & Space Forces Magazine (October 1997)](https://www.airandspaceforces.com/app/uploads/1997/10/1097_Oct1997.pdf)
14. [Changhe Z-8F, Ruslet](https://ruslet.webnode.cz/technika/cinska-technika/letecka-technika/vrtulniky/z-8f/)
15. [China Reinvents Aviation Brigades, StrategyPage](https://dasandata.strategypage.com/htmw/htairmo/articles/20201009.aspx)
16. [PLA Primer, 3rd edition, CASI, Air University](https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Research/Other-Topics/2022-08-15%20PLA%20Primer%203rd%20edition.pdf)
17. [APDR February 2024, Asia Pacific Defence Reporter](https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/APDR-Feb-2024-WHOLE-MAG-interactive.pdf)
18. [New-generation Military Equipment of the PLA Ground Force, INDSR](https://indsr.org.tw/uploads/indsr/files/202206/8b03c6d4-b3a2-48fa-aa6e-fd883ecb679c.pdf)
19. [The PLA's Long March toward a World-Class Military, NBR](https://www.nbr.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/publications/the-plas-long-march-toward-a-world-class-military-october-2025.pdf)
20. [ATP 7-100.3, Australian Army](https://date.army.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-06/ATP%207-100.3.pdf)
21. [Ship-borne helicopters in day-and-night training, China Military Online](https://eng.chinamil.com.cn/MEDIA/PhotosChina/16371399_4.html)
22. [Z-8 / Z-18 / AC313 family, howmany.travel](https://howmany.travel/pages/rotorcraft_models/avic-z8-z18-ac313-family.php)
23. [China's AC313A large civil helicopter completes first cold-weather flight tests, gov.cn](https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202402/14/content_WS65cc77ecc6d0868f4e8e4043.html)
24. [Letter to Secretary Hegseth regarding Safran, US House Select Committee on the CCP](https://chinaselectcommittee.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/safran-letter-final-3.19.2026.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Transport and spaceflight › Aviation › Military aviation › Military aircraft by type and era › Military rotorcraft › Utility and transport helicopters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license