2022 Zhuhai Airshow Land Systems
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Wait. So those images of thinner missile containers are not hq16fe then?
Or did hq16fe get a second missile type, with thinner missiles not shown at zhuhai?
Active guidance is not a surprise but 160km range is. Wow. That's about on par with most potent boosterless sm-2, given the size difference.
Not sure what 8 batch of 12 batch for simultaneous guidance means... 8 is a bit low for today's standard, if it means total number of targets engaged.
Or did hq16fe get a second missile type, with thinner missiles not shown at zhuhai?
Active guidance is not a surprise but 160km range is. Wow. That's about on par with most potent boosterless sm-2, given the size difference.
Not sure what 8 batch of 12 batch for simultaneous guidance means... 8 is a bit low for today's standard, if it means total number of targets engaged.
Of course not. It wouldn't be a HQ-16 then. If you trim down the diameter by about half its previous diameter and make it shorter, it shouldn't be considered the same missile.
160km is for newer HQ-16 and an export variant at that. How much a particular platform's export version is trimmed in performance by really depends so in this case, perhaps the range isn't trimmed at all.
Reasons for trimming range of long range AD like HQ-9E and reasons for not trimming med range AD like HQ-16E are manifold including technical reasons relating to rocket motor and fuel type to export. Other concerns would include politics, who the buying nation is, who their adversary is, how they relate to China, and long range AD is quite a lot more strategic and sensitive than med range. Having said that, FD-2000 (HQ-9 export version from 2000s) still would have had real slant range probably similar or approaching to this HQ-16FE from 2020s.
The thing is, HQ-16 always had the internal capacity to really boost range well above 100km. Compare the size and weight of HQ-16 with other medium range SAMs that have 50km to 100km slant range and those other missiles are about half or less the volume of HQ-16 missile (yeah many of those other missiles are two stage missiles). The often stated reason for HQ-16's size is (apart from being developed from Buk missile) that it carries a gigantic warhead for a SAM and the reason for that is so it has a secondary land attack capability or usefulness and a large warhead with proximity fuse just has a much better probability of killing or disabling its target. Other medium range SAMs would need to score a direct hit or get very lucky with shrapnel in order to kill or disable a target.
Because of these reasons, it's very believable that PLA would buy or already has in service some other medium range AD to complement the mainstay HQ-16. HQ-22 is longer ranged and a launcher truck carries only 4 HQ-22. Not to mention it also uses a large warhead for a SAM. A land based 555 AD would be awesome. Perhaps one of the two shown this year could be the 555 missile. There's one where a launcher truck holds 8 and another that holds 12 (six per side) although that latter looks too small to be 555 but is another two stage SAM.
antiterror13
Brigadier
So you reckon this could be potentially 555 missile ? we may be lucky to see the dimension and specs of it later on. It may fit to the UVLS quad packed
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555.JPG
I doubt this is the 555 missile.
The geometry of the missile canisters and the geometry of the radar on the same vehicle is somewhat more reminiscent of the FM-3000 SAM (which had the missiles and radar on separate vehicles).
FM-3000 is the right geometric dimensions for the 555 SAM, but I have a feeling we would've known by now if the FM-3000 was actually it.
Additionally I would be surprised if they revealed the 555 SAM at a tradeshow even at Zhuhai, I expect a "leak"/partial reveal in an official capacity for that weapon.
