FN - 6 FN - 6 ( FN = FeiNu , 飞弩 , meaning Flying Crossbow ) , is a third generation passive infrared ( IR ) man portable air defence system ( MANPADS ) . It was developed by China , and is their most advanced surface - to - air missile offered in the international market . Specially designed to engage low flying targets , it has a range of 6 km and a maximum altitude of 3 . 5 km . The FN - 6 is in service with the People ' s Liberation Army ( PLA ) , and has also been exported to Malaysia , Cambodia , Sudan and Peru . Based on FN - 6 , China has developed a number of other MANPADS , such as HN and FY series , as well as other vehicle - based short - range air defense systems such as FN and FB series . Development . The FN - 6 was developed by the China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation ( CNPMIEC ) . The weapon was specifically designed to be used against targets flying at low and very low altitudes . The FN - 6 was developed in parallel with the Qian Wei ( QW ) missile series . FN - 6 , or FeiNu - 6 , is the export name given to the export version derived from this system , and it is known as HongYing - 6 ( Red Tassel - 6 ) in the PLA . The training simulator of FN - 6 is not developed by the contractor of the missile system , but instead , the simulator is developed by PLA itself after the missile was purchased , and the general designer of the training simulator of FN - 6 is Mr . Liu Weixing ( 刘卫星 ) . The training simulator of FN - 6 is also used for later versions of MANPADS developed from FN - 6 . Characteristics . The FN - 6 is a third generation , passive infrared , man portable air defence system ( MANPAD ) . It is equipped with a digital infrared seeker with a strong resistance to flare s , solar heat and heat from the ground . The pyramid shaped nose of the missile houses the four unit infrared seeker . The handle of the launcher houses the batteries and cooling system . An IFF antenna and an optional clip - on optical sight are fitted on to the launcher . The missile is capable of all - aspect attack and has a 70 % single shot hit probability . It can engage targets manoeuvring at up to 4 g . When FN - 6 MANPADS can be equipped with night vision equipment , and it can also be equipped with IFF systems , two of which were shown to public , one of which is similar in appearance to AN / PPX - 1 IFF of FIM - 92 Stinger , while the other IFF system is a fish bone configuration . When equipped with IFF system , the name is changed from FN - 6 to FY - 6 , or short for Fei Ying , meaning Flying Eagle ( 飞鹰 ) . Specifications . The complete FN - 6 missile system weighs 16 kg . The missile is 1 . 495 m in length , and has a diameter of 0 . 072 m . The weight of the missile is unknown . It uses a single stage solid rocket motor , and can obtain a maximum speed of 360 m / s when flying head - on , and 300 m / s when tail chasing . The missile ' s operating range is from 500 m to 6 km , and its operating altitude is from 150 m to 3 . 5 km . FN - 16 . At the 7th Zhuhai Airshow held at the end of 2008 , China revealed a new addition to FN series MANPAD , FN - 16 . FN - 16 is an improvement of earlier FN - 6 , with better all aspect attack capability and better resistance against electronic countermeasures . Another major improvement is in its seeker , which in addition to the original IR guidance , UV guidance is also incorporated , a practice adopted in the later version of FIM - 92 Stinger . Like its predecessor FN - 6 , FN - 16 can also be fitted with both IFF systems used on FN - 6 , and just like FN - 6 , FN - 16 is re - designated as FY - 16 ( Fei Ying = 飞鹰 , meaning Flying Eagle ) when equipped with IFFs . HN - 6 . HN - 6 is a further development of FN / FY - 6 / 16 . The Chinese name for this missile is actually Hong Ying ( 红樱 ) , meaning Red Tassel . However , HY , the Pinyin abbreviation of Hong Ying was already taken by the name of another Chinese missile family , the Silkworm series anti - shipping missile , whose Chinese name is Hai Ying ( 海鹰 ) , meaning Sea Eagle . As a result , the designation of this follow - on of FN - 6 MANPADS is changed to HN - 6 to avoid confusion , following the earlier MANPADS HN - 5 . HN - 6 utilizes fire control systems ( FCS ) of earlier FN / FY - 6 / 16 MANPADS , but a new FCS sight of unknown designation has also been developed and publicized by Chinese state media . In addition to improved performance over the original FN / FY - 6 / 16 MANPADS , HN - 6 incorporates a protective cap over the seeker of missile , offering better protection against the environmental elements . Based on the photos and video clips of PLA training , this protective cap does not appear to be automatically ejected when the missile is fired , but instead , it is manually removed before firing the missile . Another improvement of HN - 6 over the earlier FN / FY - 6 / 16 MANPADS is that it incorporates a fire station similar to that of RBS 70 and Mistral : a seat is attached to the light weight tripod firing stand that can be folded for transportation and storage , and the operator is protected by a bulletproof glass shield . FN - 6A . FN - 6A is the vehicle mounted version of FN - 6 first revealed to public in 2005 . The system is based on a Chinese HMMWVS , weighing 4 . 6 tons in total . A one - man turret is sandwiched between two quadruple launchers , and the electro - optical fire control systems ( FCS ) includes IR , laser and TV . Contrary to common arrangement on similar systems , the FCS of FN - 6A is mounted in an unusual arrangement , namely under the launchers . Due to space limitations , the FCS is distributed among in between two places , one portion under one launcher and other portion in the opposite launcher across the turret . A 12 . 7 mm heavy machine gun is added for additional protection . The vehicle is operated by a two - man crew , one driver and one weapon system operator . Communication gear and land navigation gear are standard . The modular design of the system enables other subsystems to be incorporated easily , such as IFF . The auxiliary power unit provides enough power for the system to operate continuously for more than 8 hours . The FCS of the FN - 6A can lock on to a target 10 km away , and the reaction time is less than 5 seconds . Each vehicle can fight independently , but can be integrated with others to fight as a coherent unit by incorporating a command vehicle that is also based on an HMMWVS . The command vehicle provide a light solid state passive phased array radar to increase situation awareness , and can direct up to 8 launching vehicles simultaneously . A command vehicle and 8 launching vehicles form an air defense company when fighting as a coherent unit , and this in turn can be integrated into larger air defense networks . Alternatively , the launching vehicle can be directly integrated into larger air defense networks without the need of the command vehicle . Each launching vehicle needs a support vehicle for resupply , and the support vehicle is also based on an HMMWVS to reduce logistic cost . Each supply vehicle carries 24 missiles and reloading each missile takes less than a minute . Similar to the M1097 Avenger , each launcher is designed so that each missile can also be removed and fired by a soldier manually like a regular MANPAD . Although effective against supersonic aircraft , for UAVs and missiles the maximum target speed is limited to 300 meters per second . FB - 6A . FN - 6A did not enter mass production and served only in very limited number in Chinese forces , mainly as trial purpose . In the subsequent Zhuhai Airshows followed its original debut , FN - 6A is replaced by its successor FB - 6A , which did see greater numbers in service with Chinese forces . The general designer of FB - 6A system is Mr . Wei Zhigang ( 卫志刚 ) , rumored also to be the general designer of FN - 6A , the predecessor of FB - 6A . The main difference between FN - 6A and its successor FB - 6A is that the SAM system is broken down into two portions in the latter , as opposed to a single unit in the former : FB - 6A SAM system is consisted of two vehicles , one carrying the engagement radar , while the other carrying the missile . The search / engagement radar of FB - 6A is planar array , and can be folded down in transit , but the developer has not revealed whether the radar itself is a phased array or not . However , the developer did claim that both the mechanically scanned planar array and the electronically scanned passive phased array are both available upon customer ' s request , but it ' s not clear which one is in service with Chinese forces . The missile launching platform of FB - 6A differs from its predecessor in that both the 12 . 7 mm heavy machine ( HMG ) for self - protection and the electro - optical fire control sight on that of FN - 6A are deleted , but a backup operator console is incorporated with bulletproof glass added between the launchers , though the FB - 6A system can be operated with the vehicle . Although the 12 . 7 mm HMG is no longer the standard equipment of FB - 6A system , it can be added as an option , and is interchangeable with other machine guns . The total numbers of missiles carried by the launching vehicle of FB - 6A remain the same as FN - 6A , still totaling eight . ZBL - 09 ADS . At the 9th Zhuhai Airshow held in November 2012 , one more variant of vehicle mounted FN - 6 / 16 system is revealed to public . This air defense system ( ADS ) is consisted of a 30 mm Gatling gun turret with two missile containers / launchers for FN - 16 at the each side , totaling four missiles . In comparison to earlier Chinese HUMVEE mounted FN - 6A and FB - 6A ADS , the ZBL - 09 ADS is mounted on 8 x 8 ZBL - 09 chassis , thus offering greater protection . A phased array radar on the turret can be folded down in transit , as with earlier FB - 6A ADS . However , ZBL - 09 did not enter Chinese service en mass , only a very limited number were ordered for trial purpose . It is rumored because the 30 mm Gatling gun is derived from AK - 630 , and this 6 - barreled gun would complicate the logistics and increases the cost , because other 30 mm Gatling guns that already in Chinese service such as LD - 2000 are 7 - barreled based on Type 730 CIWS . This has led some Chinese military enthusiasts claim that ZBL - 09 would be used mainly for export and to have a significant order from Chinese forces , the 6 - barreled gun would have to be replaced by a 7 - barreled one , but at the 9th Zhuhai Airshow , there was no news of development yet . Combat history . Syrian civil war . The combat debut of the FN - 6 came during the 2013 phase of the Syrian civil war . In February , videos emerged showing Free Syrian Army fighters with FN - 6s at Deir ez - Zor . On February 25 , a Syrian Air Force ( SyAAF ) Mi - 8 was downed by an FN - 6 at Menagh Air Base near Aleppo . Though it is unknown how the rebels obtained the missiles , the Global Times states that , though Chinese - made missiles have downed aircraft in the past , the Syrian war " is the first time such a success has been recorded on video . " The news outlet further raises the possibility of this improving the sales and image of Chinese defense products abroad . Another helicopter ( possibly an Mi - 8 ) was downed on March 5 . On August 18 , the first recorded kill of a fixed - wing aircraft took place when a team from the Islamic Harakat Ahrar ash - Sham Al Islami brigade downed a SyAAF MiG - 21 over Latakia province . The jet ' s pilot was filmed parachuting but his fate is not known .