ISI (11MAY17) DEEPLOYMENT OF A CHINESE HQ-9 SURFACE TO AIR MISSILES BATTERY IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

ISI experts research work reveals that China is apparently beginning to build a no-fly zone in the South China
Sea. This assumption based on analysis of very high-resolution imagery captured by Eros-B satellite.
The satellite images from recent days reveal that China is likely deployed HQ-9 anti-aircraft defense battery on
Hainan Island.
In the upper red circle, you can see the center of the new anti-aircraft battery, apparently located in the south of
the island. On the other red circle you can see the well-known battery from nearby WOODY Island. The
aggregate coverage creates a significant NO FLY ZONE area above the largest maritime trade route in the area.
ISI experts estimate that in the future we will see more such batteries in the large artificial islands recently
constructed by China.
On a controlling hill, there is a center that will probably be used to deploy early detection radar and fire control
radar. The HQ-9 battery launchers will deploy in the three or four parking areas around.

The previous image dated 15/3/17 shows that China prepared the site but did not deploy the launchers or
radars.
1. Two launchers and a generator in a typical layout.
 2. Radar center, it is not clear which models fire control, early detection or both.
3. Launchpad
4. Launchpad, possibly the deployment of 3 Direction Finder vehicles that come with these batteries sometimes to carry out triangulation of targets.
5. An empty launching pad

According to the analysis by ISI experts, this is an HQ-9 battery that has just arrived and partially deployed. Only two
launchers and a fire control radar deployed. There is room for deployment of more launcher pairs, as we saw on Woody
Island and other places in China.

Maybe the deployment is split, or there are more launchers we have not seen around.

Anti-ship missiles?
Along with anti-aircraft defense batteries, ISI experts have also uncovered the possibility of establishing a No-Sail area in
the south china sea.

The assessment based on the analysis of suspected sites at the port of Yulin, and previous publications in the media about
the Paracel Islands, where China apparently places anti-ship batteries.

While the US is shipping naval forces including aircraft carriers and submarines to the region and installing air defense
systems in South Korea and Japan, China is conducting missile tests and strengthening military bases in the area, one of
which is the Yulin naval base.
Source: Google Maps

With a healthy mix of surface vessels, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missile platforms, and both conventional attack and
nuclear deterrent submarines, Yulins strategic value are steadily rising. And with it raises Chinas coercive power in the
South China Sea and its surrounding waterways. the diplomat wrote.
A major maritime trade route passing by the Yulin Naval Base
One hypothesis is that China has installed anti-ship missiles at the base. ISIs experts have been able to identify, by high-
resolution
images of the Eros-B satellite, some sites that look like installations of such missiles. The question is which missiles?

Yulin-East
The satellite images do not reveal the type of weapon but support the claim that the base contains anti-ship missiles.
The installation of the systems seems to have taken place over the past month.
The analysis of the Yulin-East base by the Diplomat website, quoted earlier, claims that China probably picked the C-801
variant for the east side of the base. The reason is that there is a relatively small area for larger missiles such as the C-802 or
the YJ-83.

Yulin West
However, the photograph of the western part of the base shows that there is no space problem, so in this case, the Chinese
army may have chosen a larger model of an anti-ship missile system.
If you consider the distance that an anti-ship system should cover to give proper protection to the base, one can notice that
the range of the YJ-62 missile can provide a response. Such a missile can reach, according to open reports, a range of about
400 km.
If you look at the two suspected locations of anti-ship missile batteries, you can see similarities in the operational
preparations.
Despite the similarities, a different system may installed in each such place.
Strategic assessment
If we consider the deployment of anti-aircraft and anti-ship batteries in the area of the Yulin base and the Paracels islands,
we can see that China has begun building a maritime and aerial control corridor in the South China Sea.

Placing long-range anti-ship batteries such as the YJ-62 with a range of 400 kilometers at the Yulin Base and Woody Island
will allow a No-Sail zone in the same area. (The green circles).

The installation of HQ-9 200-km air defense batteries will allow a No-Fly zone in the same area (The red circles).
In conclusion, the study by ISI experts may have revealed the Chinese response to the deployment of US air defense
batteries in South

Korea and Japan in the cover of the crisis with North Korea. China is speeding up the establishment of a prevention zone for
American vessels and aircraft in the South China Sea.

This study requires continued monitoring and visual purification of the hypotheses, but it is the first exposure of a Chinese
move that will affect the relations of great powers in the Asian region in the coming years.