Missile HQ-10

The HQ-10 (Hong Qi-10) is a Chinese short-range surface-to-air missile serving as a point-defence system aboard PLA Navy warships. It entered service in 2011, first fitted to the aircraft carrier Liaoning and the Type 056 corvette. The naval variant carries the PLA Navy designation HHQ-10. An HQ-10A naval defence missile was revealed in September 2025.

The system occupies the same role as the American Rolling Airframe Missile. Engagement range differs according to target speed, with reduced range against supersonic targets, and the missile can engage sea-skimming targets down to a flight altitude of 1.5 metres. Guidance is reported to use a matrix imaging infrared seeker; a pair of horn-shaped protrusions at the missile nose may indicate passive or semi-active radar seekers. Launchers are modular, with configurations of 8, 15, 18 and 24 missiles selected according to vessel size. Salvo launch is claimed to take approximately 10 seconds.

The FL-3000N is a separate missile developed as a competing design for the same requirement. Having lost the tender to the HQ-10, it received export authorisation and functions as the de facto export equivalent, though this is not an official designation. It is distinguished from the HQ-10 by triangular rather than rectangular control fins and by a different launcher layout, despite sharing the 24-cell loadout. Guidance combines imaging infrared and millimetre-wave radar, with the horn-like protrusions at the seeker tip serving as passive radar antennas; an imaging infrared-only configuration is offered, and the missile operates as a fire-and-forget weapon. A single fire control system can direct two launchers, and the missile can alternatively be slaved to existing shipboard fire control systems. Operation is normally automatic, with manual intervention available. Larger warships can accommodate an additional magazine with automated reloading, while smaller combatants reload manually. Eight-cell, quadruple and single-cell launchers are available for space-constrained installations, the last intended for mounting on existing naval gun mounts.

The HHQ-10 is fitted across the PLA Navy surface fleet, including Type 056 corvettes, Type 054 frigates, refitted Type 956E destroyers, Type 052D and Type 055 destroyers, and the carriers Liaoning and Shandong, with installation planned for the Type 075 landing helicopter dock. The FL-3000N has been exported to Bangladesh and Nigeria. Algeria, Cambodia and China are also listed among operators of the system.