The SA.342 HOT is a Chinese imported ATGM Helicopter that appears in Wargame: Red Dragon.
History[]
The SA.342L Gazelle (known as 小羚羊 in Chinese) was one of the PLA purchases from France during the improving relationships to western countries in the 1980s. While the PLAGF planned for an Army Aviation Corps (established in October of 1986), there were no reliable attack helicopters available, as there were only Harbin Z-5 and earlier SA.311 at their disposal. Therefore, in order to introduce some "attack helicopters" for evaluation and persuade officials to establish the Aviation Corps, Aérospatiale approached PLAGF for the sales of the Gazelle and its HOT ATGM as the first armed helicopter for PLAGF (Z-5 and imported Mi-6 were not planned to be weaponized). A total of 8 Gazelles at $800k USD per unit made it to Mainland China by the late 1980s as armed scout helicopters and the testbed for heliborne ATGMs. They were mostly used as OPFOR attack helicopters (both Western and Soviet) during exercises, and are now likely used by aviation academies of the PLA as training helicopters thanks to its good flight characteristics.
It should be noted that although the SA.342L was originally, and also in-game, equipped with HOT ATGM, the Gazelles in Chinese service actually use HJ-8, as the changes in the diplomatic situation later made it impossible for China to continue obtaining HOT. In 1978, China had planned to introduce HOT, but ultimately gave up due to the other party's high quotation and too many additional conditions.
Overview[]
Weapons[]
| Weapons | 
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|---|---|---|---|
| Type | ATGM | No Weapon | No Weapon |
| Name | HOT 1 | ||
| Caliber | SACLOS [HEAT] [SA] | ||
| Ammo | x 4 | ||
| Range | Ground = 2625 m Helicopters = N/A m  Airplanes = N/A m
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| Accuracy | 50% | ||
| Stabilizer | 35% | ||
| AP Power | 22 | ||
| HE Power | N/A | ||
| Suppression | 150 | ||
| Rate of fire | 1 s r/min |
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