Chinese-made QW-2 MANPADS missile now in service with Sudanese People's Liberation Army 1601151

Military Defense Industry Technology - South Sudan QW-2 MANPADS

The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement in 1983 and was a key participant of the Second Sudanese Civil War.

The SPLA was organised into a 210,000-person strong army comprising nine light infantry divisions and a small air force.

The QW-2 is a MANPADS (Man-portable air-defense systems) short-range missile system designed and manufactured in China by CPMIEC (China National Precision Machinery Import & Export Corporation).

Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS) are surface-to-air missiles that can be fired by an individual or a small team of people against aircraft. These weapon systems often are described as shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles.

Although the vast majority of MANPADS are in national stockpiles, terrorists and other non-state actors have acquired the anti-aircraft missiles through deliberate transfers, the black market, or theft. Today average MANPADS can reach a target from a distance of 3 miles (5 km), which means commercial aircraft are most vulnerable during periods of takeoff and landing.

The QW-2 was first showcased to the public in 1998 at the Paris Air Show and entered service with the PLA by the end of the 1990s or early 2000s.

The QW-2 missile can engage aerial targets at ranges between 500 meters to 6 kilometers flying at altitudes between 10 meters and 3,500 meters.