The long-range air defense system HQ-9 (HongQi-9 with the whale. Red Banner - 9, export designation FD-2000) is used to destroy aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles at all altitudes of their use at any time of the day and in all weather conditions. This complex is the most advanced complex of the air defense system of China and is distinguished by a sufficiently high combat effectiveness when operating in a difficult environment of radar suppression and the massive use of air attack weapons by the enemy. Also, this complex became the first in China to have the ability to intercept tactical ballistic missiles of the surface-to-surface class.
HQ-9 was created by the China Academy of Defense Technology. The development of its early prototypes began in the 80s of the last century and continued with varying success until the mid-90s. In 1993, China purchased from Russia a small batch of S-300 PMU-1 air defense systems. A number of design features and technical solutions of this complex were largely borrowed by Chinese engineers during the further design of the HQ-9.
In the late 1990s, the People's Liberation Army of China (PLA) adopted the HQ-9 air defense system into service. At the same time, work on improving the complex was continued using the available information on the American Patriot complex and the Russian S-300 PMU-2. The latter in 2003, the PRC purchased in the amount of 16 divisions. Currently in development is the HQ-9A air defense system, which should be more effective, especially in the field of missile defense. It is planned to achieve significant improvement primarily by improving the electronic filling and software.
The first information about the export versions of the air defense system appeared in 1998. The complex is currently being actively promoted on the international market under the name FD-2000. In 2008, he took part in a Turkish tender for the purchase of 12 long-range air defense missile systems. According to a number of experts, the FD-2000 can compete significantly with the Russian export versions of the S-300 system. So far, the main advantage of the Chinese complex over the Russian one is called its cost. Along with this, the words of Chinese engineers about the perfection of the system and its technical superiority over the S-300 are questionable.
Launcher complex HQ-9
Complex composition
The inclined firing range of the complex is from 6 to 200 km, the altitude of the targeted targets is from 500 to 30,000 meters. According to the manufacturer, the air defense missile system is able to intercept guided missiles within a radius of 1 to 18 km., Cruise missiles within a radius of 7 to 15 km. and tactical ballistic missiles within a radius of 7 to 25 km. (in a number of sources 30 km). The time to bring the complex into combat condition from the march is 6 minutes, the reaction time is 12-15 seconds.
The HQ-9 air defense system includes
- multifunctional radar for illumination and guidance HT-233;
- radar for detecting low-flying targets Type-120
- launchers on Taian self-propelled chassis
- SAM - anti-aircraft guided missiles;
- means of technical operation of the complex (transport-charging machines, power supply machines, etc.).
The anti-aircraft guided missile of the complex is made according to the normal aerodynamic design. The rocket body has a cylindrical bicaliber shape (diameters 700 and 560 mm), in the rear of the body there are 4 aerodynamic rudders. The missile is 9 meters long. The rocket is equipped with a 2-mode solid-propellant rocket engine with a low-smoke composite fuel charge. The warhead of the high-explosive fragmentation missile, directed type of action with a total mass of 180 kg., The warhead is equipped with a radio fuse with a triggering radius of 35 meters. The maximum flight speed of the SAM is Mach 2, the flight time to the maximum range is 2 minutes, the transfer overload is up to 22g.
The rocket launches vertically without first turning the launcher in the direction of the target. Guidance of the missile at the target is carried out using an inertial control system using the proportional navigation method with a gradual transition to a semi-active radar guidance system "target tracking through a missile" when the missile defense system approaches the target. Corrective commands are transmitted to the missile using a two-way radio channel using guidance radar and target illumination. A number of sources report that at present, the PRC is in the final stage of work on the completion of an active radar homing head for missiles of this complex. Equipping the HQ-9 missile with an active homing head confirms the fact that the air defense system continues to improve in the direction of the best air defense systems S-400, Patriot PAC-3 and the European SAMP-T today. In addition, the improvement of the rocket occurs through the increasing use of composite materials in its design, the use of an engine based on polybutadiene with terminal hydroxyl groups and the introduction of new charges.
Multifunctional illumination and guidance radar HT-233 surrounded by two launchers
The launcher of the HQ-9 complex is based on the Taian TA-5380 self-propelled chassis with an 8x8 wheel arrangement and looks very much like the launcher of the Russian S-300 air defense system. The launcher has a package of 4 transport and launch containers (for 4 missiles) and an autonomous power supply system. The maximum speed of the Taian TA-5380 on the highway reaches 60 km / h. The interval between missile launches is 5 seconds. When put into a combat position, the launcher is fixed with the help of hydraulic supports.
The multifunctional radar for illumination and guidance HT-233 includes an antenna post and a hardware container mounted on a single wheeled chassis of a Taian TAS5501 vehicle with a 10x10 wheel arrangement and a carrying capacity of 30 tons. The antenna device of the HT-233 radar is a phased antenna array (4000 emitters) with digital control of the beam position. The radar field of view is 360 degrees in azimuth and from 0 to 65 degrees in elevation. The target detection range is 120 km, their tracking - 90 km. The radar is capable of detecting more than 100 targets and auto-tracking and capturing more than 50 of them, as well as determining their nationality, capturing, tracking and guiding missiles. The station allows you to simultaneously aim 6 missiles at 6 targets. In order to minimize the amount of equipment and side radio emissions, a system for determining the nationality of targets "friend or foe" is mounted in the upper part of the main antenna of the radar.
The radar station operates in the X-band, it is likely that the HT-233 station has the ability to operate in frequency hopping mode, using pseudo-random angular scanning algorithms. The design of the HT-233 station allows it to implement the ability to work with LPI - Low Probability of Intercept - a low probability of detection by the enemy, taking into account the limitations dictated by the 300 MHz bandwidth.
Low-flying target detection radar - Type-120
The command post contains the commander's and operators' seats, functional control equipment and a multiprocessor computer. The computer is built on VLSI - very large integrated circuits. The workstations of the radar operators are equipped with 20-inch high-resolution multifunctional LCD displays for the best display of the air situation, monitoring and control of the state of the radar. In the development of hardware and software for the information and control system HT-233, COTS technology (Commercial of The Shelf - ready-to-use modules for commercial purposes) was widely used. As a result, according to the information of the creators, it was possible to achieve a higher automation of combat work, maintainability and reliability compared to its prototype - the 30N6E illumination and guidance radar from the S300 PMU-1 complex. During the development of the radar, advanced data processing methods were used, which make it possible to ensure target selection and protection against all kinds of electronic countermeasures. The HT-233 is equipped with an autonomous power supply and radio communication.
Low-flying target detection radar - Type-120, which is part of the complex, is used to detect and measure the coordinates of targets flying at low altitudes in a difficult jamming environment. The station is capable of detecting cruise missiles with very little reflective surfaces. The Type-120 radar station operates in the L-band with a wavelength of 23.75 cm. The radar is fully automated and provides the transmission of target designations for the HQ-9 air defense system. This station is interfaced with the command post of the battery or battalion HQ-9. The flat antenna array of the station consists of 16 rows of emitters and rotates at a speed of 10 rpm. The antenna has the following dimensions - 2.3 m in the stowed position and 7 m in the working position. The Type-120 radar plays the same role as the 76N6 target detector from the S-300 PMU-1 complex. As part of the Chinese radar, there is no tower similar to 40V6M, which has a positive effect on the mobility of the station, but reduces the detection range of low-flying targets. This radar is installed on a 6x6 vehicle chassis.
The standard anti-aircraft missile division HQ-9 consists of a command platoon and 3 starting batteries of 3 launchers in each, 4 radar stations NT-233, 2 power supply vehicles and 12 transport-charging vehicles. All batteries of the complex can be combined into a single network using a radio channel, fiber-optic or cable communication lines. The controls for the HQ-9 complex are compatible with the controls for the Russian S-300 complex, which allows them to be combined and deployed in any required combination.
