China officially unveils cloned edition of Russia's Tor M1, the HQ-17 surface-to-air missile system
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Military Defense Industry Technology - HQ-17 SAM China |
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| China unveils cloned edition of Russia's Tor M1, the HQ-17 surface-to-air missile system | |||
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According to pictures recently issued, the Chinese edition of the Tor M1 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system has been officially unveiled. This air defense missile system, dubbed HQ-17 (Hongqi-17), is a cloned edition of the Russian Tor M1 SAM. When a designer from the Russian Kupol factory seeing the photos of HQ17, he said that this confirmed Russia’s long-term suspicion that China had cloned Tor-M1, reported DefenceBlog.
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 Chinese HQ-17 "Hongqi-17" surface-to-air missile system with new radar systems during live-firing tests |
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The Tor M1 “SA-15 Gauntlet” is a 12km ranged Russian air defense missile system specifically designed to attack enemy jet fighters, helicopters, smart bombs and cruise missile. China is reported to have bought at least 25 vehicles.
Its Chinese license production is designated HQ-17 with key differences including an indigenous all terrain tracked launcher, a new Identify Friend Foe (IFF) antenna on top the search radar, electronically scanned radars for better performance against enemy jamming, and ability to datalink with other Chinese systems. The HQ-17 is rugged enough to keep up with frontline units like tank battalions, as seen here with the 41st Group Army in Guangzhou Province, and protect them from helicopter and drone attacks. Its vertically launched missiles allows the Tor M1/HQ-17 to simultaneously engage multiple cruise missiles like the American Tomahawk or Taiwanese HF-IIE aimed at Chinese command and control infrastructure. |
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