HJ-9A (Red Arrow 9A) Chinese Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM)

The HJ-9A (Hong Jian 9A or Red Arrow 9A) is a tripod-mounted version of the HJ-9 anti-tank guided missile, which was used on the AFT-9anti-tank missile carrier. It is a long-range, high-power anti-tank missile. Even though the HJ-9A has a tripod, it is not a true man-portable system due to its weight. It is normally mounted on various vehicles. The HJ-9A was designed to engage tanks, armored vehicles and fortifications. It is capable of defeating even the latest main battle tanks. The HJ-9A was officially revealed in 2005 and by the time was already in service with the People's Liberation Army. This missile is also being proposed for export customers. The HJ-9A is a radar-guided missile. It uses millimeter wave guidance. It is an improved version of the previous HJ-9. It has a longer range and is better protected from enemy jamming. It is similar in appearance to an American BGM-71D missile of the TOW 2system, Israeli MAPATS and South African Ingwe anti-tank missiles. However it is not confirmed, whether the HJ-9A uses TOW 2, MAPATS or Ingwe technology. The HJ-9A has a tandem High Explosive Fragmentation (HE-FRAG) warhead. It could potentially penetrate around 1 200 mm of steel armor behind Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA). So the HJ-9A can penetrate the front armor even of the latest main battle tanks. Once the missile is launched, operator only has to keep the sight's crosshair on the target. Maximum range of fire is around 5 km. So in terms of performance the HJ-9A could be similar to a Russian Kornet. The HJ-9 anti-tank missile system was demonstrated on a Nanjing NJ2046 4x4 light utility vehicle, which carries a single tripod-mounted launcher. Though it can be also mounted on any other light utility vehicle.