India just struck Pakistan’s ‘Made in China’ air defence: What is HQ-9 system and why it matters

Pakistan’s prized HQ-9 air defence missile units have reportedly taken heavy damage following targeted Indian strikes early Wednesday. These long-range, Chinese-origin surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems are considered the backbone of Pakistan’s layered air defence network, especially around high-value regions like Lahore and Sialkot.

The Indian government on Thursday confirmed that the Armed Forces had targeted air defence radars and systems at multiple locations inside Pakistan. “Indian response has been in the same domain with the same intensity as Pakistan,” the government said, adding that it had been reliably learnt that an air defence system in Lahore had been neutralised.

The strikes came after a precisely executed 25-minute operation by Indian forces that destroyed nine key terror sites across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), including facilities linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba. 

India described the operation as “measured and non-escalatory.” 

What is HQ-9 system?

The HQ-9 system, developed by China, is designed to intercept aircraft, cruise missiles, UAVs, and tactical ballistic missiles. It has a range of 120 km in its base variant, extending up to 300 km in the HQ-9B, and can target objects at altitudes of up to 50 km. With semi-active radar homing, multi-target tracking, and anti-jamming capabilities, it is armed with a 180 kg high-explosive fragmentation warhead. Despite its capabilities, it is considered slower to deploy and less advanced than India’s S-400.

The HQ-9 systems were reportedly struck using precision-guided munitions capable of loitering silently over target areas and evading detection. These platforms were used during Operation Sindoor to destroy terror infrastructures in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Between 2013 and 2015, Pakistan acquired nine units of the HQ-16 medium-range surface-to-air missile system from China in two separate orders, at a total cost of USD 599 million—approximately USD 66.56 million per unit, according to the SIPRI arms transfers database.

The HQ-16, formally inducted by the Pakistan Army in 2017, is designed to provide low-to-medium altitude defence, with a range of around 40 km and the capability to intercept targets flying at altitudes between 400 and 10,000 meters, as noted in Pakistan’s armed forces magazine Hilal. In January 2018,

Pakistan conducted its first live firing of the system.