Image: from Matthew Moss | The Armourer’s Bench X@historicfirearm
By Liam Scott | Staff Writer with Agencies
Ukrainian forces successfully intercepted a Russian Kalibr cruise missile this week using a Chinese-made FN-6 man-portable air defense system, marking a rare documented instance of the system being used against Russian long-range weapons.
According to the 143rd Joint Training Center “Podillia,” the interception took place on Wednesday during a large-scale Russian missile barrage targeting multiple regions of Ukraine. The cruise missile was approaching a community in western Ukraine at low altitude when troops engaged it.
“The MANPADS shooter had only seconds to react and engage the target. A precise launch, and the Kalibr was destroyed in the air,” the center said in its statement. The unit released video footage and photos showing the launch and fragments of the downed missile.
Kalibr missiles, typically launched from Russian naval vessels, have been widely used throughout the war to strike cities and critical infrastructure far from the front lines.
The FN-6 system, also known as HongYing-6 or FeiNu-6, is a Chinese infrared-guided shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology and marketed globally by China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation. Its NATO reporting name is CH-SA-10.
Designed to target aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles at low and very low altitudes, the FN-6 can engage both approaching and receding targets. The system is in service with the Chinese military and has been exported widely across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, including to Sudan, Pakistan, Syria, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Bangladesh.
FN-6 units have also circulated on the black market. They were documented in the hands of insurgent groups in Syria and Yemen, and analysts believe some systems originated from Iranian weapons shipments intercepted en route to Yemen. Those seized systems were later transferred to Ukraine through Western military assistance programs.
The successful Ukrainian intercept highlights the growing diversity of air-defense weapons being used in the conflict, as Kyiv continues to counter Russia’s intensive long-range strike campaign with whatever systems it can acquire.