QW-2 MANPADS
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Through Bangladesh and China
Description
The Qian Wei-2 (or Vanguard 2, in its export designation) is the third generation of man-portable missiles built by the Shenyang firm Hangtian Xinle Ltd. It is difficult to determine exactly when it was put into service, but it probably came into operation between 1998 and 2002. The QW-2 was first revealed in 1998 at the Farnborough Airshow. The missile and its launcher closely resemble those of the Russian 9K310 “Igla-1” system (NATO designation: SA-16 “Gimlet”), and the two systems are considered to be quite comparable in terms of performance and capabilities.
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Variants
QW-2
The QW-2 is considered by many Chinese media as the Asian equivalent of the American FIM-92E. It is a further development of the QW-1, the first series of Vanguard missiles.
Compared to the QW-1, the minimum operational altitude of the QW-2 was reduced from 30 m to 10 m, the maximum range was increased from 5000 m to 6000 m, and the missile reaction time was reduced to less than 5 seconds. It is also equipped with a new dual-band passive infrared seeker, providing good resistance to thermal decoys (flares) and parasitic heat sources from the terrain (sun, ground, etc.), while by making it possible to improve the missile's performance in bad weather conditions and at night. It subsequently appeared that an infrared imaging seeker had been substituted.
- Additional data:
- Maximum target speed: 400 m/s approaching, 320 m/s moving away.
- Operating temperatures: −40 °C to +55 °C.
CQW-2
The prefix "C" here indicates that this is a version of the QW-2 that is mounted on a 4x4 vehicle (from Chinese "Che-Zai", "vehicle-mounted").
It is served by a crew of 3 men (driver, gunner and gunner) and the fire control is made up of an acquisition radar and optronic tracking equipment. Once the target is acquired on radar, guidance returns to the optronic system, which is responsible for tracking and engagement. The on-board system allows the use of missiles one by one or in pairs, and the vehicle has 8 missiles ready for firing in the turret supports. 8 other projectiles are in the hold.
The fire control is mounted in a ball, which includes a thermal camera and a laser rangefinder. Its radar is a variant of the NRIET AS-90, which operates in L-band and ranges to 20 km. The system reaction time is less than 8 seconds.
The CQW-2 missiles are fully interchangeable with the QW-2 portable launcher system. However, this operation cannot be carried out in the field.
QW-12
Uses a laser proximity detonator. Unveiled in November 2014.
Operators
- Algeria: Produced locally under license since 2010.
- Bangladesh
- China
- Iran
- Iranian Armed Forces