Pakistan Navy criticizes 'Made in China' helicopters for maintenance
The Pakistani Navy was forced to buy weapon systems sold by China. Due to which now Pakistan is facing a lot of problems in its maintenance. Because it is badly affected by the poor maintenance capabilities of the Chinese supplier.
Abhilasha 
Pakistan bought the Chinese Z-9EC helicopters in 2006 which is an ASW variant specially built for the Pakistani Navy and Air Force. However this is affected by the poor maintenance capabilities of the Chinese supplier. Pakistan had bought these helicopters equipped with pulse compression radar, low-frequency sonar, radar warning receiver and Doppler navigation system keeping India in mind. However, this has little chance of harming New Delhi.
The problem is mainly related to the poor maintenance capabilities of the Chinese supplier as they are not fully capable of repairing the damaged helicopters, compromising the operational capabilities of the Pakistani Navy anti-submarine aircraft. , This is certainly not the first time that Chinese weapon systems have come under harsh criticism from Pakistan and naval circles.
In fact, many countries that are militarily dependent on low-cost supplies from Beijing have been complaining of major deficiencies, especially from a maintenance standpoint. The z-9EC helicopters, as mentioned earlier, have been launched on the Zulfikar-class frigates, while the latter are jointly designed and manufactured at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in China and KS&EW Ltd in Pakistan . These naval units carry out missions such as air defence, restraining enemy navigation and patrolling in the EEZ.
Cause of trouble for Chinese helicopter crew
In 2009, the then Chief of Staff of the Pakistan Navy, Admiral Noman Bashir, claimed that Chinese technology was compatible with Western technology. But within a short span of time, the Pakistani Navy was facing serious problems with the helicopters.
The most serious problem was the failure of the tail rotor blades, which was directly affecting the airworthiness of the helicopters. Explain that without a tail rotor blade, the helicopter tends to swing suddenly, uncontrollably, which, if not corrected, can create dangerous situations for the crew.
Having a problem like this on a combat mission can have dire consequences. The second major problem relates to the serious defects found in the main rotor blades. These blades have a life limit of 3,000 hours, but some of them should have been replaced long ago as they were experiencing severe corrosion caused by seawater.
The third serious problem is related to the condition of the brake distribution valve, which led to multiple tire bursts during the landing phases in the period 2018-2019. Even after the construction of a special facility set up at Mehran Naval Base for repair and maintenance, the problems are far from solved.
Pakistani Navy officers had reported incomplete processing of spare parts imported from China. However, it appears that the Pakistani Navy was forced to buy weapon systems sold by China.
