The HJ-8 or Hongjian-8 (Chinese: 红箭-8, lit. 'Red Arrow-8') is a second-generation, tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided anti-tank missile system. It was the first indigenous anti-tank missile design deployed People's Liberation Army since the late 1980s to defend against Soviet tank threats.
This is one less compared to the SPG-9 of unconventional armies.
The HJ-8 is fitted with an optical tracking device and laser rangefinder.
The operator can press the Q button to change the zoom level. The HJ-8 has two stages of zoom levels. However, HJ-8's sight zoom is slightly weaker than that of TOW. This makes it more difficult to engage targets at longer ranges.
Once the operator has acquired a target, there is a very short delay between pressing the trigger and when the missile is fired. Once the missile has been fired, the operator must keep the reticle on the target to guide it.
The emplaced HJ-8 comes with a semi-high-profile tripod, which could be protected behind two layers of sandbags.
The high-profile tripod allows a 360° traverse. But beware, the tripod height leaves the operator exposed to enemy fire. The HJ-8 operator sits higher than the Russian 9M133 Kornet, with the head position at the same place at the launch tub.
This means the enemy can effectively return fire at you once they spot your position.
The vehicle-mounted HJ-8 variant can fire six missiles before needing to rearm. HJ-8 is mounted on top of the CSK-131 without any protection, and thus the gunner is fully exposed to enemy fire.
The maximum effective range for the HJ-8 is 1750 meters; beyond this range, the missile will stop guidance and drop to the ground.
When shooting at targets beyond the rocket-engine range, the operator can aim quite a bit above the target so the HJ-8 will go ballistic after the engine burnout and still hit the target.
HJ-8 is a wire-guided, semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) ATGM, which utilizes optical gunsight to designate targets while controlling the missile trajectory through a thin metal wire. When leaving the launcher, the missile will fly in an erratic motion and gradually stabilize itself to the center of the optics.
Wire-guided ATGMs have an easier time hitting moving targets than beam-riding missiles.
Wire-guided ATGMs are less accurate at longer ranges.
Terrain and obstacles can foul the wire, and they cannot fire on the move, which leads to wire snap.
Firing multiple missiles in a quick session, making them airborne simultaneously, will cause the previous few missiles to lose track and fly aimlessly.
SACLOS guidance is vulnerable to disruptions caused by IR Smoke Countermeasures, regardless of the missile being Wire-Guided and Beam-Riding.
Hitting moving targets such as helicopters is difficult but not impossible. Remember that whilst you can move the reticle very quickly, the missile requires time to "catch-up" with whatever you are aiming at. Many shots at moving vehicles are missed as a result of the operator not accounting for the fact that the missile itself is already out and moving.
Make sure to lead your targets.
The HJ-8 missile is a very powerful anti-vehicle weapon, extremely effective against stationary or slow-moving vehicles. It will deal critical damage to most vehicles, regardless of where you hit it. The player can effectively steer the missile while in flight onto the target.
Hitting the weakest part of the armor is still advised to ensure maximum damage. At some angles, your guided missile may fail to penetrate heavy vehicles frontally, such as main battle tanks.
The HJ-8 missile can also be used to target enemy fortifications like bunkers and HESCOs. However, due to the limited supply and high ammo cost of rearming, it is recommended that the HJ-8 only be used to target high-value vehicles.
It is highly inefficient at engaging infantry due to low splash damage and blast radius. Do not waste ammo on infantry.
Armour calculation involves many factors that are not limited to simple base damage and penetration. The slope of the armor, its thickness, the angle of hit, all of that matter when the game engine decides if damage has been dealt to the target. Examine the vehicle armor models on Jensen's Range to learn where your shots will do damage.
Prioritizing areas such as flat armor angles, turret, tracks, engine compartments, ammo racks, and rear areas where you could disable enemy mobility and effectively penetrate through armor and deal damage.
The HJ-8 largely shares its damage models with other missile emplacements, such as BGM-71 TOW and 9M133 Kornet. They all have 1800 base damage, 153 splash damage, and 900 mm penetration.
They all have marginal differences in range, optic types, trigger delay, muzzle velocity, and missile acceleration speed. But these gameplay differences are barely noticeable in combat.
The HJ-8 missile, along with F2 Milan, has one of the shortest reload times of all missile emplacements in-game. Like F2 Milan, HJ-8 automatically ejects the missile cartridge after firing, saving reloading times.
The HJ-8 missile has the shortest trigger delay out of all ATGM models, being near-instantaneous after the mouse click.
Trivia[]
Although called HJ-8L, the in-game model is based on real-life HJ-8C variant.
Inside the optics, there are Chinese characters read "白光" (lit.daylight) and "红外" (lit. infrared, IR). This is purely cosmetic, as the game doesn't have the mechanics for thermal vision.
The CSK131 vehicle-mounted variant weirdly used to have a trigger delay comparable to other in-game ATGM models since the PLA faction was first introduced. For those who want to use a more aggressive run-and-gun tactic with the vehicle, the noticeable delay can catch one off-guard, particularly those who are already familiar with the tripod-mounted version's nearly nonexistant delay. This was later fixed in Update V8.0, effectively making it on par with its emplaced variant.
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