Although the world is paying attention to the development of long-range air defense systems
recent developments in Syria and Iraq have shown the important role of Short-Range Air Defense (SHORAD) on the modern battlefield
China has been paying attention to this issue for a long time
Since the 1980s the Chinese have been developing a short-range air defense missile system
the HongQi 7 (HQ-7) - a reverse engineered copy of the French Crotale
The HQ-7 is classified as a short-range low altitude air defense missile, deployed on both warships and land-based vehicles
Its export version, the FM-80, was introduced at the 1989 Dubai Air Show
Unit cost is around $162,000 per launcher and $24,500 per missile
The HQ-7 missile features a long, slim body with sharp nose, four stabilisation fins, and four front canards
The missile has multi-target interception capabilities to engage targets from same or different directions
Using a solid rocket motor, the missile has a max speed of Mach 2.3 and a range of 12km
The Command to Line Of Sight (CLOS) guidance uses radar and electro-optical sensors
The missile is armed with a high-explosive fragmentation (HE-FRAG) warhead, initiated by with a proximity fuse
A TELAR vehicle is based on a 4x4 armored chassis
It is a cloned Thomson-Hotchkiss P4R chassis
It is powered by a petrol or diesel engine, driving an alternator, which powers electrical motors driving the wheels
It carries four missiles and is fitted with engagement radar
It also has an optical aiming system
The TELAR vehicle is operated by a crew of three
Armor of this vehicle provides protection against small arms fire and artillery shell splinters
There is also a towed version of the HQ-7, operated by the Chinese army
It is less mobile and was mainly intended to defend point targets
The missile can engage helicopters, aircraft, cruise missiles, air-to-ground missiles and anti-radiation missiles
The HQ-7 is used for short-range air defense and also for point defense of important targets
It was deployed to protect military bases and ammunition depots
A battery consists of one vehicle with acquisition radar and two or three TELAR vehicles
Each battery is supported by a maintenance group with around 10 support vehicles
The acquisition radar is based on the same 4x4 chassis. It detects targets at a range of up to 18.4 km
Tracking range is 17 km. It can detect up to 30 targets and track up to 12 targets simultaneously
The HQ-7 became PLAN's standard short-range air-defense SAM in the 1990s
and was used on new construction such as the Type 054 until superseded by the HQ-16 on the Type 054A frigate
The Naval HQ-7 uses a Type 360S E/F-band Doppler radar with a detection range of 18.4 km
connected to the ZJK-4 combat management system
The system is capable of processing up to 30 targets, and tracking 12 targets simultaneously
In 1998, the China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation produced an improved HQ-7 with faster and longer-range missiles
with an IR-tracking camera
This version received the export designation FM-90. The system used 6x6 armored chassis instead of 4x4 of HQ-7