FB10/A is the worst AAA missile on top tier
FB10/A is incredibly easy to dodge
FB10/A has missing double DL, it is not for nothing that it has an AESA firing radar that can guide all 8 missiles at the same time. (PGZ-625 TT) https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/5S9ydIfJVNq1
FB10/A sometimes is USELESS against helicopters until the IR head takes a long time to lock onto enemies and in that time or you will die because the helicopter already see you or wait a long time for lock the helicopter
missing APFSDS ammunition on CS/SA5 https://community.gaijin.net/issues/p/warthunder/i/OT407sQH7w5O
It does still outclass a number of 11.3 and 11.7 SPAA. Like it does have much better range than something like the ADATS whilst also being on a mobile platform with a gun. Whilst yes, it’s not as good as the Pantsir or IRIS-T SLM. It is still better than the 11.7s.
Top tier is terribly compressed, but I think it’s better for it to be 12.0 than 11.3 and be totally toxic when you get uptiered from 10.3/10.7
What’s the point in this 18km range if you can lock on jets only at 9-10km, strike drones at ~6km and helis at 3km? Even if you somehow launched FB at target they can easily outmaneuver it and it also goes subsonic after 10km range. The only thing that saves CS/SA5 is AHEADs so atleast you can shoot down bombs and rocket that fly to you. It badly needs datalink implementation. But Gaijin refuses to accept any info from open sources and “Technical manual from manufacturer” is nowhere to be found. Atleast give this vehicle that bad at everything apfsds rounds so it can be good at anti tank role.
The CS/SA5 (Type 625E ) is downgrade version for export. I’m not sure how Gaijin implend the verhicle in game but I think they just choose the downgrade version instead the original version used by the People Liberation Army.
The 12.0 BR of CS/SA5 is entirely too high. Let’s compare with one of your examples, the ADATS (11.7):
The advantages of CS/SA5 over ADATS are the missile flight range, fire and forget for missiles, and the radar set (better angles of search radar, tracking radar is better than IRST).
However, the missile FB-10A has only 20G max overload (less than half that of the ADATS or VT1) in addition to poor control surface characteristics. This makes it much easier to defeat with maneuvering.
"The range being higher than the ADATS " is a questionable claim; due to the incorrect implementation of the FB-10A as only IR seeker (no datalink, update command, etc given), it struggles to even lock most targets. Helicopters and drones cannot be locked until 3 - 6 km (depending on temperature, for some reason), and it is impossible to lock missiles.
Only the flight range is higher. Meanwhile, ADATs is able to fire on targets at all ranges, with missiles traveling to 10km. The negative impact of this low lock range cannot be understated, it is similar to Type 81’s range, and makes it terrible against helicopters.
The CS/SA5 gun in-game lacks APFSDS, so the anti-armour capability is mediocre. Compare that with the 900mm penetration of ADATS missile. Furthermore, the FB-10A warhead only has 1.26 kg of TNT equivalent according to Gaijin (compared to 6-11 kg of other SAMs), so it sometimes fails to down aircraft.
Considering the overall capability (or lack thereof) of the CS/SA5 in WT, it is ineffective in the hostile environment of 12.0 CAS. The system should be 11.7, if not lower.
