China’s Red Arrow-10A antitank missile in Baghdad.

At IQDEX 2018 – the 6th defense exhibition held in Baghdad –, the China North Industries Corp. (NORINCO), a Chinese military trade enterprise, has brought the Chinese HJ-10A (Red Arrow-10A) anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system, an extremely rare move in the Middle East's armament market.

The Chinese Arrow-10 on NORINCO VN-1 chassis showcased at IQDEX 2018, Baghdad (Picture source: Chinese MoD website).

A few days ago, Iraqi media disclosed photos of Chinese HJ-10A ATGM system online. Unlike the HJ-10A ATGM system unveiled by the NORINCO during the Zhuhai Air Show in 2016, the HJ-10A ATGM system exhibited in Baghdad uses the export version on a VN-1 8x8 chassis (export version of Chinese ZBL-09).

The HJ-10 (Chinese: 红箭-10; pinyin: Hóng Jiàn-10; literally: "Red Arrow-10") is a series of anti-tank and anti-helicopter missiles, indigenously developed by NORINCO for the Chinese army. The primary version of HJ-10 utilizes fiber-optic wire-guided technology similar to the European Polyphem, while the lighter version equips laser-homing and millimeter wave radar seeker as the primary weapon of the attack helicopters. HJ-10 can work both as land based anti-tank weapon as well as a Chinese equivalent of the AGM-14 Hellfire. The missile weighs 43kg (105kg for the complete system). Its range spans from 3km (1.9 mile) to 10 km (6.2 miles).

The HJ-10A ATGM system, commissioned in the Chinese PLA Army not long ago, is a newest member of China's export-oriented anti-tank missile family.