China Shoots Down Missiles

The Strategy Page ^ | 1/14/2010 | The Strategy Page

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

China announced that its domestically developed and manufactured HQ-9 anti-aircraft system had successfully shot down a ballistic missile. No details were released, indicating this was an intercept most anti-aircraft missiles of this type are capable of. In other words, a short range missile like a SCUD. It's unclear why China is doing this, although the fact that they could is probably the most likely one. Although China continues to buy Russian S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, most of their air defense systems are home made. The best of these are the HQ-9. Roughly equivalent to the U.S. Patriot, the Russian built S-300 was known as the SA-10 to NATO, when the system first appeared in the early 1980s. The latest version is called the SA-20. About 30 percent of Chinese long range antiaircraft systems are S-300. But 70 percent of are the Chinese designed and manufactured HQ-9. The S-300 missiles weigh 1.8 tons each and are 26 feet long and about 20 inches in diameter. The missiles have a range of some 200 kilometers and can hit targets as high as 100,000 feet. The missile has a 320 pound warhead.

A decade ago, China began introducing the HQ-9. Over a decade of development was believed to have benefitted from data stolen from similar American and Russian systems. The HQ-9 missile is similar to the U.S. "Patriot," and is deployed in ships as well. The radar apparently derived much technology from that used in the Russian S-300 system.

The HQ-9 missile has a max range of about 100 kilometers, weighs 1.3 tons and has a passive (no broadcasting) seeker in the missile. China is now offering its HQ-9 anti-aircraft missile system for export, as the FD-2000.