Tel Aviv: Some reports point to a new deal for the supply of Chinese-made shoulder-launched missiles to Iran. Israeli sources assess that the missiles will find their way to Iranian proxies in the Middle East and Gulf and will pose a higher threat to civil aviation.
According to updated reports, Iran is set to receive up to 400 Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defence missile systems (MANPADS), including QW-12 and FN-16 models. The $60–$70 million deal was arranged via a Hong Kong-based intermediary, though Chinese officials have denied the reports as groundless.
Israeli sources said that if the deal gets positive confirmation, it will bring another “wave” of deals between some Gulf countries and Israeli company Elbit Systems that has developed the advanced MUSIC systems that protect aircraft against MANPAD.
Gulf States already use Elbit Systems’ MUSIC anti-missile protection systems, with confirmed deployments in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The UAE signed a $53 million deal in 2022 for J-MUSIC on Airbus A330 tankers and later finalised a massive multi-billion-dollar agreement for advanced, locally manufactured variants of Elbit’s J-MUSIC aircraft protection tech.
Public records and investigative reports reveal that three VIP aircraft in Qatar’s royal fleet were equipped with Elbit’s C-MUSIC defence systems.
Elbit’s MUSIC is a Multi-Spectral Infrared Countermeasure, an advanced laser-based system designed to protect aircraft from heat-seeking missiles. The family includes the core MUSIC and Mini-MUSIC for helicopters, J-MUSIC for large transport and military aircraft, and C-MUSIC pod systems for commercial jets.
The system detects incoming heat-seeking missiles using thermal cameras and warning sensors.
The system locks onto the threat automatically and then fires an intense laser beam to blind and push the missile off the course.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
