That looks like a 2 canister hot launched missile, don't think I've seen that before.
PLA Anti-Air Missile (SAM) systems
- Thread starter FORBIN
- Start date
That looks like a 2 canister hot launched missile, don't think I've seen that before.
Well I think the TEL is the same as other HQ-9s, but for that particular exercise they only installed two canisters onto it. I don't think that's new, we've seen other military forces do that for their SAMs as well.
As for the "hot launch" I'm don't think it is actually a "hot launch," but rather it is just a part of the ejection mechanism where the photo was taken "early" in the ejection cycle making it seem like it is fire from the missile's exhaust, but when it is actually just from the ejection system instead.
For example, we know the land based HQ-16 is cold launched as well, yet there are photos of it seemingly with a "hot" launch as well... but in actuality the "flame" is not from the missile's own engine but rather the cold launch mechanism early on in the ejection.
After all we should remember that the definition of cold vs hot launch is when the missile's own engine lights up relative to its launch tube.
Hard to say... I think the "combustion" artefact we see in the HQ-9 and HQ-16 photos happens in the early stage of the cold launch ejection and happens so quickly that you really need the photo taken at just the right time to capture it.
Normal video doesn't seem fast enough to capture it either, looking at a few launch videos online.
For S-300 I wouldn't be surprised if they also have the combustion artefact but none of the photos online happen to capture it at that exact moment. (Or maybe they do but I have yet to find one).
Quickie
Colonel
The Chinese VLS likely uses a combustible material that quickly evaporates to its gaseous form at a low enough temperature, looking at the color of the flame, that the missile is able to operate safely in. Imo, the heat would likely take one or more seconds to dissipate so that a normal camera should be able to capture the "flame" in that short instance.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
I have never heard of normal air combusting under pressure before. Unless they are using pure oxygen or hydrogen as their compressed gas, it's hard to see how the physics of normal air combusting without any fuel source would work.
If you watch that video Tyloe posted above, the combustion effect seem quite long and is clearly noticeable in the video. So it's not like those was a 1 in a million shot catching the missile at the the precise microsecond that flame effect happened.
plawolf
Lieutenant General
Very useful video, but those are not S300s.
I find a photo of missile (used by S-300) launch from ausairpower.net which shows that there is flame from the cold launch gas generator.
I think the definition of "cold launch" is that the missile is ejected by a separate gas generator instead of missile's own rocket engine as Blitzo said. The ejecting gas may or may not be cold (touchable) but only colder than the rocket gas.
I think the definition of "cold launch" is that the missile is ejected by a separate gas generator instead of missile's own rocket engine as Blitzo said. The ejecting gas may or may not be cold (touchable) but only colder than the rocket gas.
Like the S-300P series systems, the S-300V uses the cold launch technique, originally developed for rapid reload ICBM silos, ejecting the missile before its motor is fired. These 9M83 SAMs are being launched from a 9A83 TELAR, which uses its elevated directional antenna to provide the 9M83 with both midcourse command updates and terminal phase high power continuous wave illumination of the target. Antey claim the semi-active seeker will acquire a 0.05 square metre RCS target at 16 nautical miles (Rosvooruzheniye).
Hendrik_2000
Lieutenant General
Exercise of the anti-aircraft brigade of the 73rd Army Group in the Gobi Desert. Fighting cruise missiles?