HJ-8

The HJ-8, also written Hongjian-8 and meaning Red Arrow 8, is a Chinese second generation anti-tank guided missile system. It is tube-launched, optically tracked and wire-guided, and it carries a HEAT warhead meant to defeat armored vehicles. The People's Liberation Army first deployed it in the late 1980s as a successor to the earlier HJ-73. Development began in 1970 at Research Institute 203 together with the 282nd Factory, was interrupted by political turmoil, and was completed in the early 1980s; the missile entered mass production in 1984. The weapon is fired from a tripod, from vehicles or from helicopters, and a numbered family of upgrades from HJ-8A to HJ-8H added tandem charges, thermal sights and longer range. Production was carried out at NORINCO factories and, as the Baktar-Shikan, under license in Pakistan. It has been used or seen in several conflicts, including the Sri Lankan Civil War, the Syrian Civil War, the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Gaza war.