'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 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.

[13][14] The HJ-8 may have been responsible for the destruction of an Iraqi Army M1 Abrams tank by the Peshmerga in the Battle Of Altun Kupri.

[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.