Key Takeaways
- Pakistan has showcased an air defence system resembling China’s HQ-17A.
- The system was featured in a promotional video on the military’s official X account.
- China’s official media outlet confirmed Pakistan as the third foreign buyer of the HQ-17AE.
Pakistan’s military has recently displayed an air defence system that closely resembles China’s HQ-17A short-range surface-to-air missile platform, according to a promotional video shared on the military’s official X account.
The system, featured around 28 seconds into the video, is mounted on a six-wheeled military vehicle with a large rectangular radar array.
Tianran Xu, a senior analyst at Open Nuclear Network, noted that the vehicle’s features are similar to China’s HQ-17A, which was developed based on Russia’s Tor air defence system.
If confirmed, this would mark China’s first publicly known sale of the HQ-17A to Pakistan, potentially strengthening the country’s air defence capabilities.
China’s official media outlet, China Daily, confirmed that Pakistan’s air force has become the third confirmed foreign buyer of the Chinese-made HQ-17AE air defence system.
A video released by the Pakistan Air Force’s Directorate General Public Relations section shows the HQ-17AE missile launch vehicle operating on a road with its radar searching for targets.
Xu stated that the HQ-17A could provide effective defence against cruise missiles, manned aircraft, and other low-altitude targets, adding that it could potentially be integrated with Chinese command-and-control systems already supplied to Pakistan.
The effectiveness of the HQ-17 or similar systems against emerging and fast-evolving drone threats remains to be tested on a real battlefield, according to Xu.
The HQ-17A is manufactured by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and was first publicly displayed during China’s National Day military parade in 2019.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates that the People’s Liberation Army operates around 200 HQ-17 and 50 HQ-17A systems.
Serbia and Tajikistan have also acquired the HQ-17AE, an export variant based on the HQ-17A, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
