Chinese missiles penetrate many Southeast Asian countries

With the advantage of low price, Chinese air defense missiles are increasingly attracting the attention of many countries in the Southeast Asian region.

China reaches new deal with Indonesia

Recently, the Chinese Reference News quoted British press as saying that China North Industries Corporation (Norinco) is about to reach an agreement to supply the Sky Dragon 50 medium-range surface-to-air missile system to Indonesia.

Sources said that during the 2016 Indonesia Defense Exhibition held in Jakarta on November 2, a Norinco official revealed that the company had just submitted a plan to supply the Thien Long missile system to the Indonesian Air Force.

“We are currently waiting for the official opening of the tender,” the official said, but did not disclose the requirements of the Indonesian Air Force in the deal.

China is close to reaching an agreement to supply the Sky Dragon 50 medium-range surface-to-air missile system to Indonesia.

According to the disclosure, a Thien Long system includes a Type IBIS150 3D target designation radar, a fire distribution vehicle and 3-6 missile launchers. Each launcher is equipped with 4 pre-assembled missiles, the missiles are placed in a launch tube and a barrel with a circular cross-section.

In particular, with this layout, a Thien Long system can simultaneously attack 12 targets, and within a few seconds can fire 12 missiles to independent targets.

This missile system can even destroy targets at altitudes from 30m to 20km, with a range of 3-50km. The targets it can shoot down include planes, helicopters, and UAVs.

The main advantages of this system over other medium-range air defense systems are its low cost and ease of use, said a representative of China North Industries Corporation.

“We believe this system is easier to operate than the air defense systems of our competitors. The Thien Long system does not require significant training plans.

The missile is supported by an advanced active radar seeker. This has greatly increased accuracy. In addition, the price of Thien Long is 40% cheaper than other medium-range air defense systems," the representative said.

Previously, at the end of August this year, Jane's Defence Weekly of the UK reported that the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) had just signed a contract to purchase the Type 730 close-in defense system manufactured by China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO).

According to the source, the Type 730 system will replace the forward-mounted 30 mm AK-230 gun on the Soviet-built Parchim-class corvette KRI Silas Papare (386). Indonesia has acquired 16 of these ships from East Germany.

Many Southeast Asian countries are interested

Recently, with the advantage of low price and ease of use, Chinese air defense missiles are increasingly being used by many countries in the Southeast Asian region.

Before Indonesia, Cambodia was considered the first country to purchase FN-6 air defense missiles from China to enhance its air defense capabilities, followed by Myanmar purchasing KS-1 (HQ-12) air defense missile complexes...

Recently, Kanwa Asian Defense magazine also revealed that Thailand has just completed a contract to purchase the HQ-12 air defense missile system from China. This contract also means that Thailand becomes the second country in Southeast Asia (after Myanmar) to purchase this weapon from China.

Many other countries in Southeast Asia also choose Chinese air defense weapons.

Although the contract was signed between Thailand and China, Kanwa did not disclose the quantity purchased, the time of receipt, or the total value of the contract.

Just before the announcement of Thailand's purchase of the HQ-12, according to Chinese military sources, Thailand had received the first batch of RA3 radars from China - a type of radar specifically used for artillery forces. This receipt was later confirmed by Thailand.

According to the introduction of the Chinese manufacturer Norinco, RA3 is an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system, designed for the task of determining the location of enemy artillery positions, rocket artillery and surface-to-surface missile launchers immediately after firing, and supporting our artillery fire control during counter-battery fire.

In addition, the RA3 radar can also be used to adjust artillery and missile firepower of the user force. With some minor modifications in the software parameters. In particular, the RA3 can also detect and track low-flying targets such as light aircraft, helicopters and UAVs...

Prior to Thailand’s RA3 radar purchase, according to statistics from Russian military expert Vasily Kashin, Bangkok had also made many other arms deals with China. Recently, there was news that the two sides had signed an agreement for Thailand to buy Chinese MBT-3000 tanks.

According to Baodatviet