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Defence & Security News - China | |||
| Wednesday, September 10, 2014 10:46 AM | |||
| China test-fired newly-developed FD-2000 missile system | |||
According to Chinese news agency CCTV, the Chinese military has conducted practice drills with its newly-developed FD-2000 air defense missile system. It has demonstrated its capability of locking onto and shooting down moving targets over a long distance. | |||
Chinese FD-2000 long range Air Defence Missile System in Zhuhai Air Show 2012 | |||
"The radar helps us to deal with multiple targets. As one of the most important pieces of equipment for long-ranged air strikes, the phased array radar is able to monitor 100 targets in the air, and launch strikes to eight targets threatening our defense simultaneously" told Shen Zhongfang, a missile expert from China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC). The FD-2000 (HQ-9) was designed and manufactured by China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation. The FD-2000 was unveiled for the first time to the public at the 8th Zhuhai Airshow in 2012. The export version of FD-2000 provides extra anti-stealth capability by incorporating YLC-20 passive sensor as an option. The HongQi 9 (HQ-9) is a two-stage missile. The first stage has a diameter of 700 mm and the 2nd stage 560 mm, with a total mass of almost 2 tons and a length of 6.8m. The missile is armed with a 180 kg warhead, has a maximum speed of Mach 4.2. and has a maximum range of 125 km up to an altitude of 27 km. The missile has a proximity fuse with an effective range of 35 m, which goes active when the missile is 5km away from its target. | |||