Quick Facts
| PLA/NATO Designation | HQ-18 (SA-12 Gladiator/Giant) |
| Variants |
SA-12A Gladiator (S-300V with 9M82) SA-12B Giant (S-300V with 9M83) SA-23 Gladiator/Giant (S-300VM / Antey-2500) |
| Mobility and Role | Ground-based/road-mobile; multiple-target, universally integrated surface-to-air missile |
| Interceptor and Range | 100 km (9M82 missile); 40 km (9M83 missile) |
| Sensors |
9S15 Bill Board Surveillance Radar 9S19 High Screen Sector Radar 9S32 Grill Pan Guidance Radar |
| Targets | Cruise missiles, low-flying aircraft, short-range ballistic missiles |
| Status/Exports | Operational; Exported to Belarus, Egypt, Iran, and Venezuela |
| Designer/Producer | Almaz-Antey / PLA |
Overview
The HQ-18 is a highly-capable, hypersonic air and missile defense system developed by China; most scholars agree it is directly reverse-engineered from the Russian S-300V system, but relatively little information is publicly known about the differences between the two systems. S-300V has two different versions distinguished by the missile it uses: The SA-12A Gladiator is used primarily for targeting aircraft, whereas the SA-12B Giant is primarily for countering tactical ballistic and cruise missiles.[i]The Gladiator has a range of 75 km and a maximum altitude of 25 km, and the Giant has a range of 100 km and an altitude ceiling between 30 and 40 km.[ii]The S-300V system uses a phased-array sector-scan radar with a range of 175 km and can track up to 16 targets simultaneously.[iii]A modified version of the S-300V system was revealed in 1998, called the S-300VM, or “Antey-2500.” The Antey-2500 variant has a range of 200 km, a max altitude of 30 km, and can engage 24 targets simultaneously.[iv]A typical HQ-18 battery contains between two and six launchers, each of which can hold four missiles.[v]
Strategic Implications
The S-300V family is one of the most capable aerial defense systems in the world, and an upgraded Chinese version should worry Western defense agencies. S-300V was originally designed to destroy U.S. tactical ballistic missiles and ISR assets in a late Cold War setting; it has no Western equivalent. Moreover, no F/A-18 variant, nor the Joint Strike Fighter, were designed to penetrate the S-300V/VM’s aerial cover. The survivability of the F-35 “will not be significantly better than that of legacy combat aircraft,” and the U.S. Air Force envisions the F-22 Raptor as the primary aircraft to dispatch an HQ-18.[vi]Additional development and production of the HQ-18 will likely replace the HQ-9 for long-range missile defense.
Timeline
June 2017: Egypt receives its initial shipment of an S-300VM system.
February 2017: Kaliningrad is outfitted with upgraded S-300VM systems, upsetting NATO.
October 2016: Russia deploys its first S-300V system to Syria.
April 2016: Iran receives its initial shipment of an S-300V system.
2014: The Russian military is outfitted with its first S-300VM systems with improved radar technology.[vii]
2010: Pakistan announces its intent to purchase four HQ-18 systems from China.
Early 2000s: China imports several S-300V systems from Russia and begins work on the HQ-18.
1996: Russia markets the S-300V system to the UAE in direct competition with the U.S. Patriot system.
1988: The first S-300V is received by the Soviet army.[viii]
1983: Antey achieves initial operational capability (IOC) for the 9M83 missile.
1969: Antey begins conceptual development of the S-300 BMD system.
Recent News
References
[i]https://fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/airdef/s-300v.htm
[ii]http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Giant-Gladiator.html
[iii]http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Acquisition-GCI.html
[iv]http://www.military-today.com/missiles/antey_2500.htm
[v]https://missilethreat.csis.org/defsys/s-300/
[vi]http://www.ausairpower.net/APA-Giant-Gladiator.html
[vii]http://www.military-today.com/missiles/s300v.htm
[viii]Ibid.
