Anti-Tank Guided Missiles
The PLAA employs a very high density of man-portable antitank weapons throughout its formations, echoing a general emphasis on antitank capability that is visible throughout the organization. The PLAA’s historical approach to man-portable antitank warfare was simple mass, equipping formations of all types with huge numbers of unguided rockets—mostly based on the ubiquitous Soviet RPG-7—and simple ATGMs, predominantly the HJ-73, a copy of the Soviet AT-3 Sagger. These systems are still in use and still pose a threat to many armored vehicles due to periodic upgrades and the density of their deployment.
The PLAA, however, is beginning to take a quality-over-quantity approach with regard to its ATGMs, seen most easily in the development and fielding of the HJ-12. Developed specifically to compete with the U.S. FGM-148 Javelin, the HJ-12 employs most of the latest ATGM developments, including a top-down attack profile, tandem warheads, soft launch, and a fire-and-forget targeting capability. These systems are expensive and complex, however, and their density is limited by their cost.
The PLAA still employs a high density of unguided man-portable rockets throughout its formations, particularly in light infantry units. These weapons employ simple HE, antitank, fuel and air explosive, incendiary, and demolition warheads, filling a variety of different roles and providing significant enhancement to the firepower of the infantry squad. The PF-89 is the most widely proliferated shoulderfired antitank rocket system, and it is very similar to the NATO AT-4 in both size and capability. The FHJ- 84 is a lightweight twin- rocket system that fires an incendiary warhead for antipersonnel or demolition use, and the PF-97 is a heavy fuel and air explosive rocket system. The PF-98 does not have a Western equivalent. It is a powerful 120-mm antitank and antipersonnel rocket system, usually fired from a bipod. This weapon gives the light infantry squad a lethal capability against a modern MBT, though its weight, size, and cost limit its proliferation.
During the Cold War, China was greatly inferior to the USA and the USSR in the field of high-tech weapons. Until the mid-1980s the military doctrine of China relied on the concept of "people's war" in which in the fighting against the external aggressor the main emphasis was on many infantry units and the armed masses. It is clear that with this approach, the militia, recruited from peasants, mostly equipped with small arms and light weapons, and against enemy tanks they had to use hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades. The main anti-tank weapons in the infantry of the PLA in the mid-1970s were 80mm rocket-propelled grenade launchers, such as the Type 56 (copy of RPG-2) and Type 69 (copy RPG-7), 75-mm recoilless rifles Type 56 (copy of the American M20) and 82 mm Type 65 (copy of the Soviet B-10). The Chinese reserve anti-tank infantry battalion had four 105-mm recoilless gun, Type 75 (copy of the American M40) mounted on jeeps. Infantry regiments had attached anti-tank battery, armed with 57-mm guns Type 55 (a copy of the ZIS-2), and 85-mm guns Type 56 (copy D-44) and Type 60 (copy D-48).
The main feature of all these anti-tank systems was the simplicity of design and relatively low cost of production. They were available for the development of military personnel with a minimum educational level. At the same time, hand-held antitank grenade launchers and recoilless rifles with a relatively small mass, had low effective range, and the available PLA anti-tank artillery did not provide a confident defeat of the frontal projection of tanks designed in the Soviet Union and the United States in the second half of the 1960s.
China carried out a defense-oriented strategy, and the development of anti-tank weapons that can destroy all kinds of advanced tanks is one of the important means of defense. To this end, China decided to use its own scientific research strength and advanced technology to develop a third-generation advanced level laser command guidance of the powerful anti-tank weapon system.
The ATGM is not a new concept on the modern battlefield. Following the moderate success of unguided rockets against armored targets in World War II, the Germans developed the X-7, or Rotkappchen, specifically designed for the anti-armor role. The concept of the X-7 was simple: deliver a formidable warhead, capable of penetrating ar-mor, with increased range, accuracy and lethality.1 The X-7 has inspired 70 years of guided-missile innovation to date, leading to development and pro-liferation of ATGMs in an estimated 130 countries and various non-state groups, including Jabhat al-Nusrah and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. ATGMs are now widely proliferated, highly lethal and, much like the IED, their simplicity, availability and effec-tiveness make them a tactical weapon system with strategic implications. Also like the IED, the ATGM comes in many forms, making a singular, uniform re-sponse to this varied threat a difficult and improbable proposition. Although the ATGM offers increased security to the ATGM team through standoff, max ranges vary depending on the system used.
Anti-tank missiles are mainly composed of warheads, power units, missile guidance devices and missile bodies. The warhead usually adopts a hollow charge shaped energy piercing type. Some use high-energy explosives and double-cone forging forming charge-shaped cover to improve the penetration efficiency of the metal jet. Others use self-forging fragmentation warheads to attack the target's top armor.
The armor penetration power is mainly expressed by the static armor penetration thickness and the dynamic armor penetration thickness. The static armor penetration thickness of some missile warheads can reach 1,400 mm. The power plant usually refers to the engine mounted on the missile, which uses solid propellant to generate thrust to ensure that the missile obtains the required speed and range. At different speed stages of missile flight, the engine thrust is different, the thrust of the take-off stage (also known as the speed increasing stage) is larger, and the thrust of the endurance stage is smaller.
The projectile body is a shell with a certain aerodynamic shape, which is composed of a projectile shell, wings, rudder and tail. The head of most missile bodies is pointed or elliptical, the middle is cylindrical, and the tail is truncated cone-shaped. The wings are usually cross-shaped. The aerodynamic layout of the projectile has three types: tailless, normal, and rudder. The wing of the tailless projectile doubles as the tail, the rudder is on the trailing edge of the wing, and the wing provides lift and stable moment. This type of missile has a simple structure and is suitable for missiles with a short body. It is used by most anti-tank missiles. The wing and tail of the normal missile body are separated, and the tail wing doubles as a rudder, which is suitable for anti-tank missiles with a long body.
Anti-tank missiles can be divided into four generations of products according to the guidance method. Early first-generation products were characterized by visual targeting, hand-controlled guidance, and wire transmission instructions, such as the Soviet Union's AT-1 "Fish" and AT-3 "Sager", France's SS-10, China's "Red Arrows" -73, and so on. The first generation of anti-tank missiles used Manual Command to Line of Sight (MCLOS) guidance . The operator first looked for the target visually, and launched the missile after confirming the target to be attacked. The missile needs to be in flight. The operator uses a joystick-like device to steer the missile to hit the target. The disadvantage is that the operator must be well trained and must stay in a position where the target can be continuously observed during the flight time of the missile. This makes it easy for operators to be attacked when manipulating the missile.
The second generation of products to optical tracking, wire transmission instructions, Semi-Automatic Command to Line of Sight (SACLOS) guidance as the main feature. After the operator uses the sight to calibrate the target, as long as the target is kept on the line of sight, the control system will automatically send a correction signal to the missile according to the relative position of the launcher, the missile and the target. When the missile enters the line of sight of the operator After the range, it will continue to keep until it hits. This type of missile also requires the operator to remain relatively stationary during the flight of the missile. The more famous second-generation missiles include the American BGM-71 TOW missile, the French Milan anti-tank missile (Milan), Sweden's "Bill", China's "Red Arrows" -8, Russia's AT-4 "stopper" and so on. In addition, there are already light and heavy weights in the second generation of anti-tank missiles. The range of the light missile is approximately 2,000 meters, mainly for use by individual and infantry groups, and the range of heavy missiles is approximately 4,000 meters, mainly in vehicle and airborne vehicles.
The third generation of products have "fire and forget" ["after launch regardless"] as the main feature, using infrared imaging, laser semi-active instruction, active and passive millimeter wave and other guidance technology, can be launched or after the target. However, the active guidance seeker also has the disadvantage of being more susceptible to the active electronic interference of the target. The American Javelin missile , the German PARS 3 LR , the Israeli spike missile, the Chinese Red Arrow-12 , the Indian Viper missile, and the Swedish MBT LAW are defined as third-generation anti-tank missiles.
The guidance technology of the fourth generation product is characterized by the use of composite guidance and multi-target strike capability. Representatives of the fourth-generation anti-tank missiles include the "Triggett" anti-tank missile and the "Javelin" anti-tank missile. After the "Triget" long-range anti-tank missile is launched, the infrared imaging seeker on the missile receives the infrared rays emitted by the target and automatically tracks the target until it hits. The biggest feature of this generation of anti-tank missiles is that they do not care after launch, which guarantees the safety of combat personnel to a large extent.
The Red Arrow is a ground-to-ground anti-tank missile. The Blue Arrow [ Lanjian] is an air-to-surface missile developed on the basis of the Red Arrow. Foreign trade just changed the pinyin LJ to BA.
From 2016 to 2018 at the Zhuhai Air Show, the secret and low-key domestic Golden Eagle CR500 unmanned inspection and combat unmanned helicopter, a small firepower, equipped with 8 blue arrows and 5 missiles. The domestic Blue Arrow series air-to-surface missile is a model used by China for foreign trade exports. China's military has a corresponding version for personal use. The missile generally uses a laser semi-active guidance mode. The current common models are:
- Blue Arrow-5 air-to-surface missiles,
- Blue Arrow-7 air-to-ground Missiles,
- Blue Arrow-9 air-to-surface missiles,
- Blue Arrow-11 air-to-surface missiles,
- Blue Arrow-21 air-to-surface missiles,
"Red Arrow"-9 anti-tank missile from the mid-1980s began to demonstrate, and a large number of technical reserves, in 1988 began to develop, in 1999 official public appearance, from the project to complete the development of the full weapon system, lasted more than ten years. At the 50th Anniversary National Day Parade in 1999, the Red Arrows-9 wheeled heavy anti-tank missile system was unveiled. And in recent years held in some international defense exhibition, "Red Arrow"-9 also appeared frequently, become a dazzling new star in the exhibition, attracted the world's attention.
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