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The Chinese defense industry has now designed and developed a new one-man, fire-and-forget multi-purpose missile system under the name of Red Arrow 12 or HJ-12. The Red Arrow 12 is a state-of-the-art one man-portable, fire-and-forget, multipurpose missile designed and developed by the Chinese Defense Company NORINCO. This new missile system was presented for the first time to the public at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition 2014 (AirShow China), which was held in Zhuhai (China) from the 11 to 16 November 2014. China North Industries Corporation used multiple advance technologies that have been adapted by Western countries to produce the missile. The weapon capability matches that of new missiles produced by the United States and Russia and it could help the Chinese military catch up with the two countries in terms of its anti-tank capabilities while allowing China to obtain a larger market share of the international arms market. The HJ-12 is much more advanced than the anti-tank missiles currently used by the PLA ground force.
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| Launcher |
The launcher unit of the Red Arrow 12 seems to be similar to the Israeli Spike missile system and the American FGM-148 Javelin. The launch missile container is mounted on a tripod with its fire control unit. The firing sight is mounted on the left of the missile container. The missile launch unit can also be mounted on a combat vehicle.
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 Close view of gunner thermal sight Red Arrow 12 |
| Missile |
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The Red Arrow 12 missile system adopts an IR imaging seeker for all-weather day-and-night use, and an equally-effective daytime model using TV imaging seeker is also available. The TV version has a maximum range of 4,000 m, while the IR version has only a maximum range of 2,000 m. The HJ-12 missile tube is 1250 mm in length and 170 mm in diameter. The missile itself measures 1050 mm x 127 mm with a total wingspan of 560 mm and weighs 17 kg. The Red Arrow 12 missile has tandem HEAT warhead to neutralize various targets like tanks, bunkers, small-boats and helicopters. The warhead is able to penetrate 1,100 mm of armour protected by explosive reactive armour.
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 Red Arrow 12 missile system adopts an IR imaging seeker for all-weather day and-night use, and an equally-effective daytime model using TV imaging seeker is also available. |
| Combat use |
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The Red Arrow 12 uses the missile technology fire-and-forget, the HJ-12 can guide itself autonomously towards the designated target. Once the gunner has launched the missile, it can autonomously guide itself to the target, and the gunner can immediately take cover or reload to engage another target. The Red Arrow 12 missile system features both arched top-attack and direct-attack projectiles and tandem HEAT warhead to neutralize various targets, e.g. tanks, bunkers, houses, small-boats and slow-flying helicopters. It adopts soft-launch design and can be fired from inside buildings or bunkers. The Red Arrow 12 could be carried and fired by one soldier with a total weight of 22 kg, It adopts soft-launch design and can be fired from inside bunkers.
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| Accessories |
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The whole launch missile system is fitted with a CLU (Command Launch Unit) including the missile launch unit, battery, tripod and the thermal sight mounted to the left side.
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| Specifications |
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Type
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Anti-tank guided missile
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Country users
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China
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Designer Company
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China
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Accessories
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Thermal sight
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Crew
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1 soldier
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Missile
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IR version and TV imaging seeker
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Launcher Weight
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22 kg CLU and missile
17 kg missile
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Armour penetration
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1,100 mm
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Firing Range
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- TV version 4,000 m
- IR version 2,000 m
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Warhead
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HEAT
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