Place of origin Pakistan Used by See Operators | In service 1989–present Wars Kargil War | |
 | ||
Type Man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) Manufacturer Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL)
(or AQ Khan Research Laboratories) | ||
The Anza (عنزہ Anza) is a series of shoulder-fired, man-portable surface-to-air missiles produced by Pakistan. Guided by an infra-red homing seeker, the Anza is used for low level air defence.
Contents
- Development and design
- Training aids
- Variants
- Current operators
- Operational history
- Comparable Systems
- References
The Anza is produced by Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL), being one of the facility's main conventional weapons projects. Development was originally undertaken to eliminate dependence on importing expensive foreign systems. Various versions of the Anza are currently in service with the Pakistan Army, with the Mk-III version being the most recent. The Anza is also offered for export, Malaysia being its only known export customer after receiving 100 Anza Mk-I in 2002 and, later, a further 500 Anza Mk-II systems.
Development and design
Some sources state that the Anza Mk-II was co-developed in a joint project by Pakistan and China.
The Anza Mk-I entered service with the Pakistan Army in January 1990, followed by the Anza Mk-II in September 1994. Serial production of Anza Mk-III for the Pakistan Army was announced in 2006.
In recent years, Pakistan has advertised the Anza series for export, displaying it at the International Defense Exhibition (IDEX) 2007 event in the United Arab Emirates and at the IDEAS 2008 defence exhibition in Pakistan.
Training aids
The Mk-II is known to have the ATS-II Training Simulator included, which consists of a set of four Mk-II training missiles, four firing units, simulated ground batteries, cable interconnectors, PC-based control, monitoring and scoring unit with a target simulator made up of an infrared electric bulb moving along an overhead wire.
The High Speed Aerial Target Drone, or HISAT-DK, is a high speed, low maintenance target drone that can be used in training operators to use the Anza. It is manned by a four-man crew using Optical Tracking Pod devices. The drones can be used for MANPAD training, though they are also used for other purposes, such as artillery fire support training.
Variants
Current operators
Operational history
On 27 May 1999, the Anza Mk-II was used to attack Indian aircraft during the Kargil conflict with India. which shot down at least one MIG-21 of the Indian Air Force, was shot down by Pakistan Army Air Defence forces. Pakistan also claimed shooting down a MiG-27 though India reported that it crashed due to engine failure.
Indian Military says that their MiG-21 was searching for MiG-27 pilot who ejected due to engine failure caused by Gun gas ingestion.
In December 2002, The Indian media sources claimed that their soldiers found an Anza Mk-I in a militant hideout near the Line of Control in Kupwara, Kashmir. An Anza system had previously been found at a militant hideout by Indian Army soldiers in 2001. In 2002, Indian media sources again claimed that an Anza MANPAD was fired at an Indian Air Force Antonov An-32 over the Line of Control; the plane was able to land safely.
In 2004, Saudi Assistant Minister for Defense Prince Khaled ibn Sultan of Saudi Arabia and Defense Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal of Pakistan had been in talks for joint production of the Anza.
In 2008, the Pakistan Army conducted exercises with the Anza Mk-II in a semi-desert area near Muzaffargarh in response to covert attacks on targets in north-west Pakistan by American unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), also known as drones. In November 2008, the chief of the Pakistan Air Force told reporters that his forces are fully capable of shooting down the American drones but it was the responsibility of the government to decide whether the drone attacks were stopped through diplomacy or military engagement. In the 2010 Azm-e-Nau 3 exercises, the air defence of Pakistan Army exhibited accurate targeting of enemy's aircraft while in its attacking position, with a pinpoint precision through shoulder operated system of Anza Missiles