Geopolitics
Balance of Power

Why are American anti-ship missiles so terrible?

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Answer · United States Navy (USN) Why are American anti-ship missiles so terrible?

Virtually all Western antishipping missiles for the last three to four decades are small, slowcoach, subsonic seaskimmers powered by tiny turbojets with lightweight warheads.

Harpoon, Exocet, Sea Eagle, Kormoran, Gabriel, Penguin, RBS-15, etc.

All weigh from 800 to 1,500 pounds, with 300 to 500-pounder warheads, powered by 600-pound thrust turbojets, and have ranges from 30 to 70 miles, improving to around 150 miles for the latest Harpoons and Bofors RBS-15 Mk 3.

Israel’s Gabriel Mk 4 is probably the heaviest at 2,000 pounds.

All coast along at a leisurely 500 to 700 mph, with the Exocet the fastest.

When the Soviet Union first fielded the huge AS-4 Kitchen (Kh-22) over five decades ago, it was virtually the largest, fastest, longest ranged antishipping missile around, with the biggest warhead.

At 13,000 pounds, it was virtually the heaviest airlaunched antishipping missile deployed, with a huge 2,200-pounder warhead.

It could also be fitted with a 350,000 ton nuclear warhead.

The West has no equivalent to this day. While not a sea skimmer, when launched by the Backfires (and Bears or Blinders) in a high attack profile, it climbs to 80,000 feet, cruises at 2,000 mph (Mach 3) and flies up to 370 miles away. Approaching the target ship, it dives down on it, reaching a terminal speed of 3,000 mph, Mach 4.6. You can imagine the kinetic impact of a 13,000 pound missile with its liquid fuel load on an aircraft carrier at that speed, even if the warhead does not explode. However, its guidance system was primitive and could be easily jammed, as an Aegis system expert on Quora told me earlier. Bears also carried a smaller version, the 9,000 pound AS-6 Kingfish, with a similar warhead. The following newer missiles are all supersonic seaskimmers.
The YJ-18 and airlaunched versions of the Club are subsonic with a terminal supersonic profile.
15,000 pound P-700 Granit (SS-N-19 Shipwreck)
P-800 Oniks/Yakhont (SS-N-26 Strobile)
P-270 Moskit (SS-N-22 Sunburn)
3M-54 Club (SS-N-27 Sizzler)
Kh-31 (AS-17 Krypton)
India/Russia - Brahmos
China - YJ12, YJ18
China's YJ-18 Supersonic Anti-Ship Cruise Missile: America's Nightmare?
Russian Tactical Missiles Are Still Among the Best

Along with the above, and the fielding of the AS-4 Kitchen's replacement, the 600-mile range, 130,000 feet Kh-32, the West has fallen way behind in antishipping missile capability.

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