'Red Arrow-8') is a second generation tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided anti-tank missile system which was originally deployed by the People's Liberation Army since the late 1980s.

The key designers were Wang Xingzhi (王兴治) and Zhao Jiazheng (赵家铮), who developed the missile.

The HJ-8E anti-tank missile weighs 24.5 kg, has a range of up to 4,000 m,[citation needed] and can also defeat explosive reactive armour (ERA).

[6] Designed to be both dependable and accurate, HJ-8 is now the standard anti-tank armament of the Z-9W, Mi-17, and Gazelle (replacing the original Euromissile HOT first carried) helicopter gunships of the PLA.

The turret is stated to be immune to 0.50 caliber armour-piercing rounds at close range (100 meters) and protection is further increased when add-on armour is installed.

[citation needed] The Sri Lanka Army acquired HJ-8 from China during the civil conflict against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

[1] On at least one occasion during the 2009 Battle of Mullaitivu, the Sri Lankan Army used these weapons against fast attack craft of the Sea Tigers, the LTTE's naval wing.

[citation needed] On June 24, 2024, Izz Adin al-Qassam Brigades published footage of its forces targeting an Israeli Defence Force Namer APC engineering variant equipped with a CARPET[15] thermobaric demining system using an HJ-8, which directly hit the vehicle from the rear and set off an exterior fire which then spread inside.

[16] On August 1, 2024 Izz Adin al-Qassam Brigades published a second footage of its operatives targeting an Israeli Namer APC hitting it from the side, successfully bypassing the Trophy APS that was present on the vehicle.