QW-2 Vanguard 2

The QW-2 Vanguard 2 is a Chinese all-aspect man-portable infrared guided surface to air missile. It isn't clear when the missile first entered service, but it is likely to have been between 1998 and 2002. 

The QianWei 2 (or Vanguard 2 in its export name) is the third-generation shoulder-launched, all-aspect IR-homing, 'fire-and-forget' surface-to-air missile developed by Shenyang-based CASIC 119 Factory (Shenyang Hangtian Xinle Ltd). The QW-2 was first revealed during the 1998 Farnborough Air Show. The missile and launcher of the QW-2 bear strong resemblance to those of the Russian 9K310 Igla-1 (NATO codename: SA-16 Gimlet), and the two missile systems are believed to be comparable in performance.

Description
QW-2 is considered by many domesitc Chinese media sources as the Chinese equivalent of FIM-92E and it is a development of the QW-1 Vanguard series.

Compared to the QianWei 1, the minimum operating altitude of the QianWei 2 has been reduced from 30m to 10m; the operating range has been increased from 5km to 6km; and the missile’s reaction time has been reduced to below 5 seconds. The QianWei 2 features a newly developed dual-band passive IR seeker with strong resistance to heat flares dispensed by the target and solar/ground heat, thus improving the missile’s performance in day/night, all-weather conditions.

Specifications

 * Length: 1.59 m
 * Missile and launcher weight: 18 kg
 * Missile: 11.32 kg
 * Velocity: 600 m/s
 * Warhead: 1.42 kg HE-fragmentation
 * Engagement range: 500 to 6000 m
 * Engagement altitude: 10 to 3500 m
 * Reaction time: < 5 seconds