Saturday, April 16, 2011

HQ-10 (aka Chinese RAM) for close in air defense

Back in 2008's Zhuhai airshow, a mysterious SAM called FL-3000N was shown and looked a lot like RIM-116 (aka RAM). You can see my commentary on this system at the bottom of my blog entry on Zhuhai 2008.

At the time, I thought it was more of an export project, since Zhuhai airshow tend to display those more prominently. I was also under the impression that PLAN was going the route of using new air defense guns as the next generation CIWS. It turned out with the recent Varyag photos, that they have decided to field both this new SAM (domestic designation is supposedly HQ-10) and what looks to be Type 730 (commonly found on most recent PLAN warships) on Varyag.

You can see them clearly on Varyag now that their tarp (at least 3 identified installations on Varyag) are finally uncovered.



As with many new weapon systems in PLAN, they are tested on the 892 test ship. We can basically identify two variants of HQ-10. The first one is installed in the front of the ship with 24 launch tubes. You can see it clearly with the first 2 pictures. The second is installed on a platform on top of the helipad of the ship with 18 launch tubes. You can see it clearly with the last 2 pictures taken about 3 weeks apart. Now, it seems like the one in the back is the one installed on Varyag if we count up the number of launch tubes. It also seems like there is a storage compartment beneath the platform it was installed on, which would indicate that it is storing missiles for automatic reload. The one in the front is unlikely to require deck penetration, since it is installed directly on the deck of 892. I don't think they would do the extra work of modifying the front section of 892 just for testing this out. So, that would tell me that the version in front is used for installations that do not allow for deck space below and the version at back is used for installations that do allow for one level of penetration. It also would explain why the version in front carries 24 launch tubes instead of 18.



8 comments:

William said...

Does anyone know what is HQ10 based on? QW2 or QW3?

duskylim said...

This is one of those systems that I wish they would retrofit onto all other PLAN vessels, particularly the escorts (like the frigates and destroyers) as well as their amphibious LPD's and UNREP ships.

It has the potential of greatly improving PLAN anti-air and anti-missile defenses.

Feng said...

I'm actually not too clear on the missile itself. Gotta look that up.

As for retrofitting this. They are probably doing it for 112, but I don't think we should retrofit it on ships that already have Type 730. The great potential with this is that it comes in different sizes. So it could potentially work with larger and smaller ships.

Nanxin said...

Hi Feng, do you think HHQ10 will be widely used to replace the HHQ7 used on 052A, 053H3 and HHQ61 on 053H2G? Or even installed on those 051 and early versions of 053 if they are not expected to decommission soon?

Feng said...

I only think it will be used to refit 052, because it looks like 112 is going through the necessary works to take in HQ-10. Although, I personally would prefer 112 to use HH-16 system, since it is already completely stripped down.

As for Jiangwei class, I really can't say. They certainly have enough space to fit them. But I think with the number of 054A they are planning to build, there is really no need to upgrade Jiangwei when HH-7 serves their current roles pretty well. As for 051, they could possibly upgrade several of the newer ones. We've already seen quite a bit of refitting works on some ludas. Remember, there is more that goes into a ship than just its missiles. You have to think upgrading the sensors, the power supply, the combat system. And then adding these things could affect the balance of the ships.

Kiron said...

There are pictures of the missile on the CDF forum. The missile body is quite large, definitely not MANPAD size. The motor may be based on existing AAM like the RAM, but the control surface arrangement are not like any other serving Chinese AAM. Actually it looks very similar to RAM. The seeker is dual mode, passive RF(probably homing on the AShM's active radar) and imaging IR, also like RAM.

Nanxin said...

Hey Feng, there is a post on HSH showing a pic of 113 after mid-term refit. You might be disappointed to know that the original HHQ-7 is still there. But rumor had it the CIWS has been changed to 630 or 730.

Koon said...

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good article and valuable post, thank for idiot sharing okkk
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How to Get Into Acting
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How to Impress Woman
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Cuisinart TOB-195
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500 payday loan
acne inversa
VIZIO M261VP
checkmate payday loans
Pengurusan Masa