Blue Arrow 9
Contents
Description
The Blue Arrow 9 is a Chinese laser-guided air-to-ground missile. It was introduced in Update "Danger Zone".
Export version of PLAGF's AKD-9 missiles for helicopters, BA-9 provides a relatively long range option to strike enemy vehicles with accuracy and sufficient damage, while players will have to get used to its relatively slow velocity and its high trajectory which is a double-edge sword of BA-9, in terms of high-angle attacks and not able to hit closer targets.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
General info
| Missile characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Mass | 26 kg |
| Guidance | Laser+IOG |
| Maximum speed | 340 m/s |
| Missile guidance time | 25 secs |
| Firing range | 6 km |
| Explosive mass | 2.46 kg TNTeq |
| Armour penetration | 800 mm |
Effective damage
With a tandem warhead and explosive fillers, BA-9 can do either splash damage to open-top/light vehicles and lethal damage against vehicle crews with its jet steam and fragments.
Comparison with analogues
(To be edited)
Usage in battles
As the only ATGM option for Z-19E (currently), BA-9 was said to be similar to its domestic version AKD-9 ATGM. Thanks to its lighter weight, even scout helicopter like Z-19E could carry 8 of them if needed; although it might not have the highest penetration among its foes at around 800 mm, the tandem warhead will make sure it has the capability to knock-down tanks composite/ERA protection given not hitting the turret front of tanks. If players do not feel confident for one-hit-kill, depending on the carrier, fire multiple missiles at short consecutive volley for a solid kill. Another traits to be mention is its trajectory- while its trajectory is high enough to make sure most shots lands from higher angle of attack, this also means that closer targets at around 1.5 km will have a better time as the missile doesn't have enough time to aim at the target; one thing to note that since AAMs might not have safe range to lock onto enemy helicopters with heat-suppression, players can also opt BA-9 as a long-range alternative to AAMs against careless hovering helicopters.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Accelerates straight forward first, so it has a slight top-down trajectory
- Sufficient 7 km range to hit enemies from safer distance
Cons:
- Not able to engage targets at close range
- Light explosive mass compared to other AGMs
History
The overall historical context and information of BA-9 is minimal. The only known part of its development has to be traced back to PLAGF's AKD-10 ATGM; since AKD-10 was too heavy for helicopters like Mi-171Sh and Z-9W, NORINCO downscaled it at the cost of shorter range and lower penetration. The result was AKD-9 and it was widely seen on Z-9W as well as Z-10; BA-9 is the export version of AKD-9 and was first seen in 2016 Zhuhai Airshow along with the even lighter BA-7 for UCAVs.
BA-9 currently has no overseas customer and its domestic version AKD-9 is now depleting its stock due to THE inferior performance after 2020s, along with AKD-10s and both would be replaced by new CK-502 KG AGMs.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the article about the variant of the weapon;
- references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
