China delivered HJ-12E Red Arrow 12 antitank missile weapons to foreign customer.

Chinese company China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO) has delivered a batch of advanced portable HJ-12E (also called Red Arrow 12) anti-tank missiles to an undisclosed foreign buyer. It is the first export contract of the third-generation anti-tank weapon system developed by the Chinese company.

Chinese-made NORINCO HJ-12 Red Arrow 12 anti-tank guided missile (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Chinese defense company NORINCO did not disclose more details about the deal unveiled in the statement concerning the name of the buyer, the quantity purchased and the value of the deal.

The Chinese-made HJ-12 Red Arrow 12 anti-tank 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 11th to 16th November 2014.

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.

The HJ-12 missile system adopts an IR imaging seeker for all-weather day-and-night use, and an equally-effective daytime model using a 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 uses fire-and-forget technology, which does not require further guidance after launch, such as illumination of the target or wire guidance, is an important property for a guided weapon to have, since a person or vehicle that lingers near the target to guide the missile is vulnerable to attack and unable to carry out other tasks.