The Chinese approach to the creation of modern military equipment is widely known. Unable to make any combat vehicle or system on its own, China turns to other countries in order to purchase and copy the necessary equipment or initiate the start of a joint project. The results of one of such joint projects, in which Russia acted as China's partner, appeared in the army at the beginning of the last decade. Since then, the new anti-aircraft missile system HQ-16 (HongQi-16 - "Red Banner-16") has been added to the composition of several large air defense units.
As stated in some sources during the appearance of the first information about the HQ-16, when creating this air defense system, China took advantage of Russian help. As a result, the Chinese-made missile system is a modified and seriously modified anti-aircraft system "Buk-M1" or "Buk-M2". It is noteworthy that some elements of the new HQ-16 ground-based anti-aircraft missile system were also used in the ship's air defense systems. So, one of the first carriers of such an air defense system were frigates of the 054 project, which have been under construction since the middle of the two thousandth years. For some reason, China first equipped its ships with new anti-aircraft missiles and only then completed the design of the ground version of this complex.
All combat vehicles of the HQ-16 complex are mounted on the same six-wheeled four-wheel drive truck chassis. The complex includes a combat vehicle with a missile launcher and two vehicles with radar detection and guidance stations. To ensure the interaction of the machines of the complex, there is a separate command post. In addition, for the full-fledged operation of the anti-aircraft battery, transport-charging vehicles, trucks, etc. are required. auxiliary equipment.
The three-coordinate radar of the complex with a passive phased antenna array can find targets at ranges of up to 140 kilometers and at altitudes up to 20. The radar electronics are capable of simultaneously finding up to 144 targets and accompanying 48 of them. The illumination and guidance radar station, located on a separate vehicle, provides missile guidance at a distance of up to 85 kilometers and with the help of its own equipment can "see" six targets and take four of them for escort. In this case, the illumination station can simultaneously work with eight missiles.
The combat vehicle with a launcher, which is part of the HQ-16 complex, carries a lifting structure with attachments for six transport and launch missile containers. The combat vehicle is equipped with its own hardware compartment, located immediately behind the cockpit. The container lifting unit, in turn, is located at the rear of the machine. The purpose of the HQ-16 complex - air defense of stationary objects - made it possible to use the vehicle stabilization system during launch. In a combat position, it stands on the outriggers.
The HQ-16 anti-aircraft complex uses a joint Russian-Chinese missile, which is a further development of, presumably, the 9M38 ammunition from the Buk air defense missile system. During the upgrade, the capabilities of the rocket have significantly increased. So, the maximum launch range has increased to 40 kilometers. The target's maximum flight altitude has not changed. Moreover, these figures are valid only for the attack of aircraft. If the HQ-16 air defense system is forced to fire a cruise missile, then the maximum range of destruction is significantly reduced and is 10-12 kilometers. The declared probability of hitting an aircraft-type target by one missile is 85%. For cruise missiles, this figure is 60%.
The anti-aircraft guided missile of the HQ-16 complex is equipped with a combined guidance system. So, during the first moments of flight, after leaving the transport and launch container, the rocket is controlled by an inertial system. The task of the latter is to bring the rocket to the desired direction. Next, a semi-active radar homing head is turned on, which leads the missile to the target, receiving the reflected radio signal. Target illumination is carried out by a separate radar. According to reports, the combat vehicle of the HQ-16 air defense missile system should simultaneously launch no more than two missiles. This is due to the fact that there is only one illumination and guidance radar for four vehicles with a launcher in an anti-aircraft battery.
The supply of HQ-16 anti-aircraft missile systems to the Chinese army, according to some sources, began in the middle of the last decade, but acquired a massive character only a few years later. In the structure of China's echeloned air defense system, the new air defense systems occupy a tactical niche between the short-range HQ-7 and long-range HQ-9 complexes. With the joint operation of all three anti-aircraft systems, reliable echeloned cover of objects within a radius of several tens of kilometers is provided. Since 2011, China has been offering for purchase an export version of the HQ-16 air defense system, called the LY-80.
