The HQ-9 () is a long-range
semi-active radar homing
Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range Air-to-air missile, air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is ...
(SARH)
surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
(SAM) developed by the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
The naval variant is the HHQ-9 ().
Description
The HQ-9 is a derivative of the Russian
S-300.
Justin Bronk describes the missile as a "hybrid design based on a Russian
SA-20 but with radar, seeker head and C2 elements heavily influenced by American and Israeli technology."
Early HQ-9s may use
track-via-missile
Track-via-missile or TVM refers to a missile guidance technique which combines features of semi-active radar homing (SARH) and radio command guidance. This avoids the problems with terminal accuracy normally seen by command guided missiles, esp ...
guidance developed from a
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
MIM-104 Patriot
The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar compon ...
missile purchased from
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
or
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
According to a 2001 article from ''Defence International'', the HQ-9 is 6.8 m. long with a mass of nearly two tons. The diameters of the first and second stages are 700 mm and 560 mm, respectively. The warhead mass is 180 kg, and the maximum speed is
Mach 4.2. The HQ-9 may use
fire-control radar
A fire-control radar (FCR) is a radar that is designed specifically to provide information (mainly target azimuth, elevation, range and range rate) to a fire-control system in order to direct weapons such that they hit a target. They are sometim ...
s from other Chinese SAM systems.
Variants
; Air defense
*
* — Naval surface-launched variant.
* — Improved version, first tested in 1999 and service entry in 2001.
* — Improved version with 300 km range and added passive infrared seeker.
Reportedly tested in February 2006.
; Ballistic missile defense and anti-satellite
* – Anti-ballistic missile variant, reportedly designed to counter ballistic missiles that have a range of between 1000 and 3000 km. It targets ballistic missiles in their midcourse and terminal phases, and it is comparable to the US
THAAD
Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), formerly Theater High Altitude Area Defense, is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system designed to shoot down short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their termina ...
. The missile may have "begun preliminary operations" by 2018.
; Export
* – Export variant with a range of 125 km.
May be fitted with YLC-20
passive radar
Passive radar systems (also referred to as passive coherent location, passive surveillance systems, and passive covert radar) encompass a class of radar systems that detect and track objects by processing reflections from non-cooperative sources of ...
against stealthy targets.
May use the HT-233 target-acquisition radar,
Type 120 low-altitude search radar, and Type 305A
AESA
Aesa or Aisa ( grc, Αἶσα) was a town of ancient Macedonia. Aesa belonged to the Delian League since it appears on a tribute list to Athens in 434/3 BCE. The editors of the Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World identify Aesa wi ...
search radar.
* – Export variant with a range of 200 km.
* – Custom variant for
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. Range of over 100 km for interception against aircraft and around 25 km against
cruise missile
A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...
s.
Foreign interest
Turkey
The HQ-9 was a contender in Turkey's T-LORAMIDS program, and it was reportedly selected as the winner in September 2013. The United States responded by blocking funds to integrate the Chinese system into NATO defenses. However, through 2013 there was no confirmation that the deal had been finalized.
In February 2015, the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...
was informed by the Ministry of National Defence that the evaluation of bids was complete and that the chosen system would be used by Turkey without integration with NATO; the system was not explicitly named. However, other Turkish officials reported that no winner had been selected.
Later in the month, Turkish officials revealed that negotiations were ongoing with multiple bidders; the Chinese bid had not yet satisfied requirements concerning technology transfer.
In March 2015, a
China Daily
''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
Overview
''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
article reported that it was "well-known that the Chinese FD-2000 system, a HQ-9 model for export, was chosen for the contract with Turkey in 2013" based on comments made by a CPMIEC representative at the 2015
Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition
Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) is a maritime and aerospace exhibition that takes place once every two years in Langkawi, Malaysia. The last event took place in 2019.
The event is one of the largest maritime and a ...
; the article was misleadingly called "Missile sale to Turkey confirmed."
In November 2015, Turkey confirmed it would not purchase the HQ-9, opting for an indigenously developed system instead.
Operating history
China
In July 2015, the PLA deployed the HQ-9 close to Kashmir along the
LAC
Lac is the resinous secretion of a number of species of lac insects, of which the most commonly cultivated is ''Kerria lacca''.
Cultivation begins when a farmer gets a stick that contains eggs ready to hatch and ties it to the tree to be infes ...
in preparation for a potential territorial conflict with India. The air defense systems were sent to the Hetian airfield located south of the Xinjiang region, which is only 260 km away from the Kashmir region. According to Kanwa Defense Review, a Chinese-language magazine based in Canada, radar vehicles of HQ-9 air defense missiles have been spotted at the base and assessed that they are intended to defend China's western border from any potential air strikes launched by the Indian Air Force.
On 17 February 2016, the
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
defense ministry said it had "learned of an air defence missile system deployed" by the Chinese on
Woody Island in the
Paracel Islands
The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoang Sa Archipelago ( vi, Quần đảo Hoàng Sa, lit=Yellow Sand Archipelago), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.
The archipelago includes about 130 small coral ...
. It would not say how many missiles had been deployed or when, but told the
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they would be capable of targeting civilian and military aircraft from Vietnam or the Philippines. The commander of the US Pacific Fleet confirmed the deployment to Reuters news agency. Adm Harry Harris said such a move would be "a militarisation of the South China Sea in ways" Chinese
had pledged not to make.
Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said there were "serious concerns" over China's "unilateral move to change the status quo" in the region, and "we cannot accept this fact." Satellite images show a close-up of a section of beach, the shape of which resembles the northern coastline of Woody/Yongxing Island in the Paracels as it appears on other images, and point out two missile batteries. Each battery is made up of four launchers and two control vehicles. Two of the launchers appear to have been erected, says the report. Fox News quoted a US defence official as saying the missiles appeared to be the HQ-9 air defence system, with a range of about 200 km (125 miles).
operates the HQ-9/P variant.
Negotiations for the purchase of the HQ-9 and HQ-16 by Pakistan began in early 2015.
The missiles officially entered service on October 14, 2021.
- Four batteries of FD-2000B purchased in 2016. The first battery was expected to be delivered in 2020 or 2021.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130714001451/http://www.armyrecognition.com/china_chinese_army_missile_systems_vehicles/hq-9_ground-to-air_medium_range_air_defense_missile_technical_data_sheet_specifications_pictures_.html HQ-9 medium-to-long range air defense missile system(Army recognition)]