Concept art of the HT-1E ship-borne universal vertical launch system in action [Photo courtesy CASIC]

China revealed its first type of made-for-export ship-borne vertical launch system at the ongoing Airshow China 2021, held in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province. One of the most attractive features is its capability to hold quad-pack launch cells that can load up to four missiles instead of just one, observers said.

Suitable for all types of seagoing vessels, the HT-1E universal vertical launch system is the first of its kind cleared for export in China, the maker of the system, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Unlike previous launch systems dedicated to specific types of missiles, which are complicated and take up extra space, the HT-1E is universal, allowing it to carry more missiles of many different types, CASIC said.

It can significantly boost a warship's multirole capabilities in carrying out multidirectional, large area and saturation attack and defense missions, CASIC said.

In the CASIC exhibition hall at the air show, the HT-1E on display was loaded with missiles including the CM-103 long-range supersonic cruise missile, HHQ-9E long-range air defense missile, CM-802B subsonic missile and FM-3000N air defense missile.

While larger missiles like the CM-103 and HHQ-9E each take up a vertical launch cell, the same cell can be loaded with up to four smaller missiles like the FM-3000N.

The HT-1E is also adaptive to both cold-launched and hot-launched missiles, according to CASIC.