China Chinese air defence missile ‘shows world-leading ability to find its target’

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Chinese air defence missile ‘shows world-leading ability to find its target’​

  • Video released by state broadcaster CCTV shows QW-12 missile catching a target drone among eight decoy flares
  • No previous missile has demonstrated this level of ability to distinguish targets from decoys, the report says



Published: 9:23pm, 15 Feb, 2022

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CCTV’s video shows the QW-12 missile intercepting a target during tests. Photo: CCTV

China’s new portable air defence missile has shown a world-leading ability to distinguish targets from decoys and hit them during tests, according to state media.

The QW-12 is a domestically made infantry missile designed to counter helicopters, jets, drones and cruise missiles. It was shown accurately catching a target drone among eight decoy flares in an undated video released last week by state broadcaster CCTV.

“Our missile was not distracted by the decoys at all and hit right on the target,” the CCTV report said. “No missile of this kind in the world has yet publicly demonstrated such capability.”

In the video of the tests, the QW-12 was shown being operated by a crew of three, with a launcher placed on the ground. After it was sent into the air by the chief operator, the missile ignited its main engine to speed up as it tracked the infrared signal of the target.

The decoys were set off when the air defence missile approached the target aircraft, and simulated attack helicopters by mimicking their infrared signals to potentially confuse the incoming missile. But the QW-12 ignored the decoys and hit the drone correctly, the footage suggested.

Besides the slower target of the drone, the test also included the QW-12’s precision interception of a faster-moving 122mm-calibre rocket, which was used to represent a cruise missile or plane.

The CCTV report said the high-speed target was taken down by the missile thanks to its laser proximity detonator, which was triggered when the QW-12 moved close to the rocket, creating shock waves.

The footage showed that a sensor system was attached to the launcher. The report said the sensors were being used to collect data from the exercise for further analysis.

The highly portable weapon is a successor of the QW-2 and is designed to be compact and lightweight with high firepower. It can be operated by being carried by soldiers or mounted on vehicles, with multiple QW-12s able to be fired from one vehicle.

The tests were carried out at a test range in northern China, but CCTV did not when they took place.

The QW series, which has been exhibited previously at defence expos, could also prove attractive in the international arms market, military expert Shi Hong told Chinese nationalistic tabloid Global Times.

The test showed the QW-12’s abilities in a complex battlefield environment, Shi said.

China is one of the few countries to have developed portable air defence missiles. The most popular portable air defence missile is still the United States’ FIM-92 “Stinger”, which has been widely bought and used by armed forces as well as guerilla militants across the world since the 1980s.

However, the QW-12, with its newer technologies, has much better anti-decoy capability than its decades-old competitors.

 
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