HN-5A (SA-3) Chinese Man Portable Surface-to-Air Missile (MANPAD)

The HN-5A (SA-3) Chinese Man-Portable Surface-to-Air Missile (MANPAD) is designed to engage propeller-driven aircraft and helicopters. It originated as a copy of the Soviet SA-7 Grail but has since been updated to the HN-5A. The original HN-5 guidance technology was relatively primitive, using an uncooled lead sulfide (PbS) infrared (IR) seeker and following the target's flight path until intercept. The uncooled IR seeker proved very susceptible to homing on the hottest object in its field of view, which was often something other than an aircraft. The HN-5A features a cooled seeker with a background noise rejection filter, an extended detection range, and proportional navigation, which steers the missile onto an interception course. It also has a heavier warhead. The HN-5A has replaced the HN-5 in production and is now available for export. The launch tube has simple sights. The power supply is under the tube. The missile has a long pipe-like body with very small foreplanes and angled steering vanes extending to the rear. The launch procedure for the HN-5 was nearly identical to the SA-7.