Serbia is about to hold a military parade, and during the rehearsal, the Hongqi-17AE and Hongqi-22 have attracted global attention. Serbian President Vučić even said a straightforward truth on site: "We are stronger than ever!"

As the first time that the Chinese PLA has publicly introduced an air defense missile system with a "2" in its name, it belongs to the medium-to-long-range air defense missile system. It mainly undertakes the task of area air defense and regional air defense, used to protect important fixed targets such as cities and airports. Its maximum range exceeds 100 kilometers. Its positioning is highly complementary with the Hongqi-9. It retains the four-unit sealed storage layout of the Hongqi-9, but does not use the vertical launch technology of the Hongqi-9, instead using a sloped launch method. This greatly reduces the cost of the missile body manufacturing process. Thanks to the advanced radar system, the Hongqi-22 also has certain detection and strike capabilities against stealth aircraft.

The Hongqi-17AE is a short-range field air defense system, which uses a flat-panel all-solid-state phased array search radar. The search distance reaches 45 kilometers, can monitor 48 targets, and can simultaneously fire four missiles to attack four targets, thus significantly improving the tracking and interception efficiency for low-altitude and ultra-low-altitude targets.

The Hongqi-17A can launch and guide missiles while moving at a speed of 25-30 km/h off-road, without needing to stop the launcher as before, truly achieving fast shooting and quick withdrawal. In other words, the response time of the entire system against aerial threats is greatly shortened. It mainly deals with various threats including low-altitude penetration aircraft, helicopters, drones, cruise missiles, and even rocket projectiles.

In short, by deploying the Hongqi-17A and the Hongqi-22, Serbia has built a multi-layered air defense system combining long and short ranges, high and low altitudes.

Many people may not know that it is very difficult for Serbia to import Chinese weapons because of its special geographical position, completely surrounded by NATO countries. If China wants to send supplies using the Y-20, it has to pass through the airspace of NATO countries. For example, when the Y-20 transported the Hongqi-22 to Serbia, it passed through several NATO member states. The route was approximately: crossing Central Asia - the Caspian Sea - the South Caucasus region - the Black Sea - Turkey - Bulgaria - Serbia. In this journey, it had to fly over the airspace of two NATO member states, namely Turkey and Bulgaria.

Most NATO countries strongly oppose Serbia's import of Chinese weapons. For example, Germany once threatened Serbia, stating that if Serbia wanted to become a member of the EU, its foreign policy should be consistent with the EU. NATO even stated that deploying Chinese weapons would "threaten the peace of the European region."

However, NATO's obstruction did not deter Serbia from buying Chinese weapons. In addition to the air defense system, Serbia also purchased the CH-92A drone from China. The CH-92A can normally carry two missiles. Among the weapons mainly used by the CH-92A, the FT-8C/D missile is considered to be an outstanding one. It is a lightweight air-to-ground missile with laser beam-riding guidance. It corrects the trajectory according to the signal sent by the sensor at the rear, and its armor-piercing capability is at least 1400 mm or more, sufficient to destroy the top armor of any main battle tank. Moreover, the price is quite cheap, with a single FT-8C missile costing only $50,000.

At that time, in order to transport the Hongqi-22 to Serbia, China deployed six Y-20s, and they were all equipped with jamming bombs, indicating the danger of this delivery. This move also announced to the US military that China has already possessed the capability for intercontinental strategic transportation.

The deployment of the Hongqi-22 means that the radar detection range of Serbia can cover the Mediterranean.

The geographical location of the Mediterranean is of great strategic importance. The Mediterranean is the "soft underbelly" (Soft Underbelly) of the NATO European defense system. It is a key link connecting NATO European member states (such as Italy, Greece, Turkey, France, Spain) with the North American Command. The headquarters of the US Sixth Fleet is located in Naples, Italy, where its aircraft carrier battle groups and other vessels regularly patrol, serving as a forward platform for projecting power into the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Additionally, the Mediterranean is a lifeline for energy and trade, with nearly one-third of the world's oil and natural gas trade passing through the Mediterranean route, especially through the Suez Canal connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Any potential threat to the shipping safety of this area would directly impact the global energy market and the world economy.

Therefore, for the US military, the deployment of the Hongqi-22 in Serbia means that part of NATO's military activities in Southeast Europe, especially the movements and exercises of the air force and naval aviation, will be under the radar surveillance of Serbia. Although the Hongqi-22 is a defensive weapon, its powerful intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities give it strategic deterrent properties.

In short, the deployment of the Hongqi-22 and the Hongqi-17A in Serbia has not only enhanced Serbia's strategic deterrence, but also effectively provided a "x-ray eye" in the Mediterranean, making every move of the US military in the Mediterranean exposed to monitoring and countermeasures.

In short, this move by China is a big chess move.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7550505574534808073/

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