The YJ-18 (, NATO designation CH-SS-NX-13
) is a
Chinese anti-ship cruise missile
A cruise missile is an unmanned self-propelled guided missile that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large payload over long distances with high precision. Modern cru ...
.
Description
The United States believes the YJ-18 is similar to,
or is a copy of,
the Russian
3M-54 Klub
The Novator Kalibr (Калибр, caliber), also referred to as 3M54-1 Kalibr, 3M14 Biryuza (Бирюза, turquoise), (NATO reporting name SS-N-27 Sizzler and SS-N-30A) is a family of Russian cruise missiles developed by NPO Novator (OKB-8). It ...
. According to the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...
, the YJ-18 has a subsonic cruise mode and a supersonic terminal attack.
[United States Office of the Secretary of Defense: Annual Report To Congress 2015, p.46] Performance estimates include a range of ,
[United States Office of the Secretary of Defense: Annual Report To Congress 2015, p.10] with a threat ring of ,
and a cruising range of at Mach 0.8 and a sprint range of at Mach 2.5 to 3.0.
The missile can be launched from
vertical launching system
A vertical launching system (VLS) is an advanced system for holding and firing missiles on mobile naval platforms, such as surface ships and submarines. Each vertical launch system consists of a number of ''cells'', which can hold one or mo ...
s,
[United States Navy Office of Naval Intelligence: The PLA Navy, p.16] and possibly from submarine torpedo tubes.
Chinese media claims the missile has an
inertial guidance system
An inertial navigation system (INS; also inertial guidance system, inertial instrument) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning ...
using
BeiDou Navigation Satellite System
The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a satellite-based radio navigation system owned and operated by the China National Space Administration. It provides geolocation and time information to a BDS receiver anywhere on or near the ...
data, and carries a high-explosive warhead with an
anti-radiation seeker.
The YJ-18 is deployed aboard the
Type 052D destroyer
The Type 052D destroyer (NATO/ OSD reporting name: Luyang III-class destroyer) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and currently one of the most numerous principal surface combatant class ...
and the
Type 055 destroyer
The Type 055 destroyer (NATO/ OSD designation Renhai-class cruiser) is a class of stealth guided-missile destroyers (rated as guided-missile cruisers per NATO/OSD standard parlance) constructed for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (P ...
. It may already be carried by the
Shang II-class nuclear attack submarine
An SSN is a nuclear-powered general-purpose attack submarine. ''SSN'' is the US Navy hull classification symbol for such vessels; the ''SS'' (as 'Ship Submersible') denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is u ...
outfitted with VLS cells, will replace the -range
YJ-82
The YJ-82 () is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy.Gromley et al.: page 101
The YJ-82 is the submarine-launched version of the YJ-8 missile fa ...
aboard the
Yuan-class air-independent propulsion
Air-independent propulsion (AIP), or air-independent power, is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen (by surfacing or using a snorkel). AIP can augment or replace th ...
(AIP) and
Song-class diesel-electric submarine
A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...
s, will likely deploy on the
Type 095 submarine, and may be capable of deployment on
Kilo-class submarine
The Kilo-class submarines are a group of diesel-electric attack submarines designed by the Rubin Design Bureau in the Soviet Union in the 1970s and built originally for the Soviet Navy.
The first version had the Soviet designation Project ...
s.
A land-based version could replace the subsonic -range
YJ-62 with shore batteries.
Operators
;
*
See also
Related development
*
Comparable missiles
*
*
*
*
*
References
;Bibliography
*
*
*
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Guided missiles of the People's Republic of China
Anti-ship cruise missiles of the People's Republic of China
Submarine-launched cruise missiles
Military equipment introduced in the 2010s
Surface-to-surface missiles of China