China Rolls Out Massive New Amphibious Flying Boat [1/2] - china new plane.jpg (1/1)

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The Aviation Industry Corporation of China, better known as AVIC, rolled out its
massive quad-turboprop amphibian, dubbed the AG600, on July 23 at its Zhuhai
assembly plant. The aircraft’s unique lines and throw-back pedigree are sure to
make it an aerospace aficionado favorite, but a real military capability lies
beneath all the nostalgia.

China is no stranger to amphibious aircraft, with a handful of SH-5s still in
service, but the AG600 is a whole different animal. It is the largest amphibious
aircraft currently being produced, beating-out Japan’s ShinMaywa US-2 which
previously held the title.

The AG600 has a max gross-weight of nearly 110,000 pounds and a wingspan of 127
feet. It is powered by a quartet of WJ6 turboprop engines, each putting out
5,100 horsepower. It can fly for 12 hours, has a range of nearly 3,000 miles and
a top speed of 350 mph. It can carry up to 50 passengers or 12 tons of water for
firefighting operations. Most notably, the AG600 only needs about eight feet of
water to operate in, making it ideal for flying in and out of shallow littorals.

Although China’s official stance is that these big amphibians will be used for
dousing blazes and maritime rescue operations, they will most certainly also be
used for patrolling large swathes of water, namely the contested and resource
rich waterways of the South China Sea.

Similar to how China’s super-sized “coast guard” ships are used in the region,
the AG600 will likely be used for spotting, monitoring, and tracking fishing
fleets, energy exploration vessels and other nations’ claims and readouts around
the highly disputed body of water.

The AG600 may also offer enhanced access to China’s smaller man-made island
outposts in the South China Sea, especially those without runways. By using a
hub and spoke system, leveraging China’s new runway on Fiery Cross Reef, which
is capable of handling any aircraft, the AG600 could deliver personnel, fuel and
other supplies to smaller islands that were only accessed by vessels and
helicopter in the past. With the aircraft’s long-range It could also fly
missions to these locales direct from the mainland while still offering a large
useful load. By adding fixed-wing accessibility to more of its man-made islands,
China would drastically up their strategic value and utility.

Really what China has in the AG600 is a new amphibious platform that can be
adapted to a whole variety of roles than a specific plane for a specific task.
And like so many indigenous Chinese designs, we will likely see multiple
variants of this type in the not so distant future.

The AG600 could easily be weaponized at least in the surveillance role. Even
adding a fighter-sized radar under the aircraft’s large radome and a data-link
could allow the aircraft to provide real-time remote targeting of naval vessels
for land-based and sea-based anti-ship missiles. It will also be interesting to
see if future iterations include under-wing hardpoints for mounting stores and
sensors. If so, the AG600 could be turned into a deadly amphibious sea-control
platform or a more elaborate anti-submarine warfare aircraft.

The AG600, like the giant Zubr class hovercraft, is just another unique platform
that China has procured as part of an ongoing initiative to fortify its
abilities to operate in shallow waters and to sustain small cadres of personnel
on remote islands far from the mainland. It is also another reminder of just how
militarized the area is becoming.

China has ordered 17 of the amphibians so far and is looking to export the plane
as well. We will let you know when it takes to the air for the first time.





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