BEIJING: China’s domestically developed HJ-12 man-portable anti-tank missile, previously known as a made-for-export weapon, is confirmed to be in service with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), after it made its debut in a recent exercise organized by the PLA Tibet Military Command.
The top-attack, fire-and-forget missile, often compared with the US’ Javelin, can destroy any main battle tank in the world, and will significantly boost the PLA infantry forces’ anti-tank capabilities, experts said.
A brigade affiliated with the PLA Tibet Military Command recently conducted a series of exercises deep in the plateau region, according to a statement the command released on Thursday.
A photo attached to the statement shows that a soldier was carrying a portable anti-tank missile that can be carried by a single person during the exercise, and a report by Shanghai-based news website eastday.com on Friday identified it as the HJ-12, as the weapon made its first public appearance in PLA service.
By providing individual soldiers with the capability to independently destroy a tank more effectively than older weapons, the commissioning of the HJ-12 will significantly boost the PLA’s anti-tank capabilities, observers said.
Developed by the state-owned China North Industries Group Corporation (NORINCO), the HJ-12, or the Red Arrow 12, was put on exhibit for the first time at Airshow China 2014 in Zhuhai, South China’s Guangdong Province.
Comparable with the US’ Javelin missile, the HJ-12 is equipped with advanced focal plane array infrared guidance system with lock-on before launch and fire-and-forget systems, eastday.com reported.
When performing a top-attack, the HJ-12 can destroy any type of main battle tank in the world, as the missile can penetrate homogeneous steel armor as thick as 1,100 millimeters protected by explosive reaction armor, eastday.com quoted a report by China Central Television as saying.
The HJ-12 also offers strong anti-jamming capabilities with more types of guidance systems, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times.
– The Daily Mail-Global Times News exchange item
