The HQ-9 ( zh, s=红旗-9, t=紅旗-9, p=Hóng Qí-9, l=Red Banner-9;

NATO reporting name NATO uses a system of code names, called reporting names, to denote military aircraft and other equipment used by post-Soviet states, former Warsaw Pact countries, China, and other countries. The system assists military communications by providi ...

: CH-SA-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 and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive dete ...

(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 or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

(SAM) developed by the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The naval variant is the HHQ-9 ( zh, s=海红旗-9, t=海紅旗-9, p=Hǎi Hóng Qí-9, l=Sea Red Banner-9).

Description

The HQ-9 is a derivative of the Russian S-300. Justin Bronk of the

Royal United Services Institute The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI, Rusi) is a defence and security think tank with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1831 by the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley ...

describes the missile as a "hybrid design based on the Russian SA-20 but with

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

, seeker head and C2 elements heavily influenced by American and Israeli technology." The missile uses

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, espec ...

(TVM) guidance combining inertial guidance, mid-course uplink, and terminal active radar. The TVM used on earlier missiles may have been developed from a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

MIM-104 Patriot The MIM-104 Patriot is a mobile interceptor missile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary such system used by the United States Army and several allied states. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives it ...

missile purchased from

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. 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 The Mach number (M or Ma), often only Mach, (; ) is a dimensionless quantity in fluid dynamics representing the ratio of flow velocity past a Boundary (thermodynamic), boundary to the local speed of sound. It is named after the Austrian physi ...

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 someti ...

s from other Chinese SAM systems. HQ-9 Surface-to-air missiles 20170919

Variants

; Air defense * — Original variant. NATO reporting name: CH-SA-9. * — Naval surface-launched variant. NATO reporting name is CH-SA-N-9. * — Improved version, first tested in 1999 and service entry in 2001. * — Improved version with a range of up to 260 km and added passive infrared seeker. Reportedly tested in February 2006. NATO reporting name is CH-SA-21. * — Naval surface-launched variant of HQ-9B; NATO reporting name is CH-SA-N-21. ; Ballistic missile defense and anti-satellite * (NATO reporting name: CH-AB-2) – Anti-ballistic missile variant, reportedly designed to counter

medium-range ballistic missile A medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) is a type of ballistic missile with medium range (aeronautics), range, this last classification depending on the standards of certain organizations. Within the United States Department of Defense, U.S. D ...

s. 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 intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in th ...

. 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 (also referred to as parasitic radar, passive coherent location, passive surveillance, and passive covert radar) is a class of radar systems that detect and track objects by processing reflections from non-cooperative sources of illu ...

against stealthy targets. May use the HT-233 target-acquisition radar, Type 120 low-altitude search radar, and Type 305A AESA search radar. * – Export variant with a range of 250 k

* – Custom variant for

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Range of 125 km for interception against aircraft and around 25 km against

cruise missile A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...

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 ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

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'' ( zh, s=中国日报, p=Zhōngguó Rìbào) 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 ...

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 which takes place once every two years, held on odd-numbered years. It is held in Langkawi, Malaysia, and the last event took place in 202 ...

; 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

China has deployed HQ-9s near or in disputed territory. Missiles were deployed in July 2015 to

Hotan Hotan (also known by other names) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an administrative area in its own right i ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

, close to

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

across the

Line of Actual Control The Line of Actual Control (LAC), in the context of the Sino-Indian border dispute, is a notional demarcation lineAnanth KrishnanLine of Actual Control , India-China: the line of actual contest, 13 June 2020: "In contrast, the alignment of ...

, and in February 2016 to Woody Island in the

disputed Controversy (, ) is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an oppo ...

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

Pakistan

The

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

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.

Operators

; *

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...

- 196 HQ-9, 96 HQ-9B as of 2024 ; *

Royal Moroccan Army The Royal Moroccan Army ( ''Al-Quwwat al-Bariyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah'', ''tasrdast tagldant'') is the branch of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Royal Moroccan Army is about 215,000 t ...

- Four batteries of FD-2000B purchased in 2016. The first battery was expected to be delivered in 2020 or 2021. ; * Turkmen Air Force ; *

Uzbekistan Air and Air Defence Forces The Air and Air Defence Forces (; ) are the aerial arm of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan. It was formed following the collapse of the Soviet Union, in 1991, though the military was not created by the government of Uzbekistan, Uzb ...

; *

Pakistan Air Force The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...

; *

Egyptian Air Defense Forces The Egyptian Air Defence Forces (EADF) () is the Anti-aircraft warfare branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is responsible for protecting the Egyptian airspace against any hostile air attacks. The EADF was established in accor ...

- Reports revealed that as of 2025, Egypt has obtained Chinese HQ-9B systems.

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

HQ-9 missile launch photos, Chinese Air Force
AirForceWorld.com

*[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)]
HQ-9 / FT-2000 SAM
Sinodefence
Naval HQ-9 SAM
Sinodefence

Missilethreat.com
CHINA OFFERS FD-2000 / HQ-9, FK-1000 AND FL-3000N MISSILE SYSTEMS TO THAILAND
6 November 2013 {{Chinese_Missiles, state=collapsed Missile defense Surface-to-air missiles of the People's Republic of China Weapons of the People's Republic of China Naval surface-to-air missiles Anti-ballistic missiles of the People's Republic of China Military equipment introduced in the 1990s