Almost a decade has passed since the People’s Liberation Army pulled the trigger on President Xi Jinping’s plans for a massive overhaul of the world’s biggest military. In the seventh of a series on Chinese weapons systems, we look at the country’s new anti-ballistic missile system.
After 14 years of testing, China has debuted the Hongqi-19 (HQ-19), an anti-ballistic missile system capable of intercepting threats beyond the atmosphere, as well as those moving at hypersonic speeds within the atmosphere.
The HQ-19, also known as Red Flag-19, has been touted as a more competent rival of the US Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile system developed in the 1990s.
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The new anti-ballistic missile system is expected to be crucial for defending Chinese territory from a high altitude against ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Here is what we know about the Chinese system from its unveiling at the Zhuhai Air Show in November and how it might be different from THAAD.
Technological advancement
The HQ-19, developed by the Chinese air force, and THAAD both operate using a “hit-to-kill” technology. They use kinetic energy, instead of an explosive warhead, to destroy targets and are focused on countering short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
China has not released detailed specifications for the HQ-19. But like THAAD, it is made up of a combination of radar and missiles to detect, track, and intercept targets.
While THAAD can intercept targets at a range of around 200km (124 miles) and at an altitude of up to 150km, some analysts think the HQ-19’s maximum range and altitude could be higher than the American system’s.
In January, the Chinese military magazine Weapons Engineering Technology suggested the HQ-19’s maximum altitude could be 500km to 600km. This is because its closing speed – the relative speed at which the distance between the interceptor and its target decreases – is “much quicker” than that of THAAD, thanks to its more effective two-stage launcher and more powerful fuel, according to the magazine.
State media reports have confirmed the HQ-19’s ability to counter hypersonic glide vehicles within the atmosphere – a key capability exceeding THAAD’s powers.
Hypersonic weapons are difficult to detect and counter given their speed and manoeuvrability, low flight paths and unpredictable trajectories.
However, the HQ-19’s ability to intercept hypersonic targets is expected to be limited to short- to medium-range multiple-surface waverider missiles, according to the magazine.
Development
China began technical testing of the HQ-19 on land-based anti-ballistic missiles in 2010. In 2023, it announced the success of its seventh test, which tested a midcourse interception.
It is believed that the HQ-19 will mainly intercept incoming missiles during the midcourse of their trajectory, rather than intercept them at the terminal or re-entry phase, which is what THAAD is designed to do. If true, this would mark China’s progress in managing challenging exo-atmospheric conditions and speed control in space.
Anti-ballistic missile systems are used with other surface-to-air defence systems such as the US Army’s Patriot system and China’s Hongqi-9 (HQ-9) system, which target threats at lower altitude, to create a multi-tier national missile defence system.
A Pentagon report on China’s military from last year stated that China was developing ballistic missile defence systems with exo-atmospheric and endo-atmospheric kinetic energy interceptors. It also said the HQ-19 interceptor had undergone tests to verify its capability against ballistic missiles with a range of 3,000km.
It added that China was pursuing a midcourse interceptor that might have capabilities against intermediate-range ballistic missiles and possibly intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Launcher
The HQ-19’s launcher vehicle, an eight-wheel drive high-mobility truck, is mounted with six interceptor missiles. Each missile, with a diameter of about 50cm (19.7 inches), is about seven metres (23 feet) long. By comparison, the THAAD interceptor missiles measure 37cm in diameter and 6.17 metres long.
In an interview with state broadcaster CCTV in November, Chinese military analyst Du Wenlong said the HQ-19 system could fire at a near-vertical launch angle and turn 360 degrees in any direction.
Du said the design was “unlike some countries that launch at a [smaller] angle, which require more difficult adjustments”. THAAD is known to launch missiles at a lower angle.
The HQ-19 launches used a two-stage solid-fuel rocket motor. THAAD uses a single-stage rocket motor, which travels at a slower speed. However, THAAD-ER, an “extended-range” version of the US anti-missile system now under development, will also employ a two-stage rocket motor that could travel faster.
While the interceptor boosters of both the HQ-19 and THAAD are made of carbon fibre, the HQ-19’s interceptors are believed to be propelled by N15B fuel, a nitrate-based rocket propellant. Du did not specify which type of fuel the Chinese system would use but said it would be “much more powerful than regular fuel”.
Rather than traditional hot launch technology, which propels the missile into the air using its engine, the HQ-19 uses a cold launch technology that sends the missile into the air with an auxiliary power system before igniting the engine. Cold launch systems are safer, more efficient and allow for larger and heavier missiles.
Radar
The launcher’s accuracy largely relies on the HQ-19’s phased array system, which is mounted on a separate truck and has an estimated range of up to 4,000km.
While there has been online speculation that the Chinese system would use a combination of 610A information radar and 780 guidance radar, the analysis by Weapons Engineering Technology suggested that, like THAAD, the Chinese system would employ a single X-band radar.
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