Today, more than 70 nations have antiship missiles that arm warships, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and coastal defense batteries. Antiship missiles saw their first use in World War II, when German Hs-293 glide bombs sank several Allied ships in the Mediterranean. More recently, in October 1967, Russian P-15 Styx missiles fired by Egyptian Komar fast-attack craft sank the Israeli destroyer Eilat. The Styx, Exocet, Harpoon, and other antiship missile systems have been employed with considerable success in conflicts around the world.
Most missile attacks resulted in fire that led to sinking or that disrupted combat systems and sensors, thereby neutralizing the ship. (An exception was HMS Glamorgan. Although seriously damaged by an Exocet in June 1982 during the Falklands conflict, she remained operational.) Missile hits on oil tankers and large cargo ships have had more mixed results; some caught fire and were burned out, while others suffered only minor damage.
First-generation antiship missiles of the 1960s and 1970s, such as the Exocet, Harpoon, and Styx, have been upgraded to increase their overall performance through addition of more advanced seekers and propulsion systems. Improvements in technology have given them greater capability and enabled them to perform a wider variety of search patterns and fly true seaskimming profiles. Guidance systems fielded in the late 1980s and 1990s improved electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) performance, added adjustable sea-skimming capability, and enhanced survivability. More powerful rocket motors and upgraded fuel have increased range, and computer and display enhancements have improved mission planning dramatically, enabling forces to use more flexible tactics and design multimissile target engagements.
The Harpoon and Exocet are now the most widely deployed Western antiship missiles. Russian and Chinese variants of the Styx, which are reaching obsolescence, are probably close in number. More than a dozen nations produce antiship missiles. Boeing, Aerospatiale-Matra of France, the China State Arsenals, Mitsubishi in Japan, Novator, Raduga, and NPO Mashinostroenie in Russia, Kongsberg of Norway, SAAB of Sweden, and Alenia of Italy are among the largest producers and are expected to remain so in the future.
The Harpoon is a good example of the evolution of antiship missiles. It is deployed by 24 nations on ships, fast-attack craft, mobile land launchers, strike and patrol aircraft, and submarines. The incorporation of new technology has enhanced its mission performance, allowing systems upgrades to meet evolving threats. Block 1, the initial version of the Harpoon produced in 1979, was replaced in 1982 by the 1B version, which added a seaskimming terminal attack option. In 1984, the Block 1C was fielded, with longer range, waypoint capability to allow it to fly around islands or other obstacles, and ECCM improvements. (The longer Harpoon Block ID, with greater fuel capacity and additional range, was tested in 1991 but not fielded.) In 1990, the US Navy fielded the stand-off land attack missile (SLAM). It combined the imaging infrared seeker from the Maverick missile, data link from the Walleye glide bomb, and the Harpoon airframe, engine, and warhead to create an air-launched, man-in-the-loop precision strike weapon effective against ships and land targets. The latest operational variant of the Harpoon, the Block IG, was introduced in 1995, featuring an improved seeker and additional mission flexibility, including the ability to reattack a target.
The Exocet also has been evolved from the MM38 to the MM40; the latest Block 2 variant available today has longer range, a more capable seeker, and reliability upgrades. The Swedish RBS15 is a turbojet antiship missile that replaced the RB04 in the air-to-surface role and also is available in ship and coastal defense variants. An upgraded variant of the Otomat, known as the Mk 2, was fielded with midcourse data link targeting capability. It has been introduced in both ship and coastal defense versions. The Chung Shan Institute of the Republic of China has developed and is now producing the Hsiung Feng II antiship missile for Taiwanese ships and aircraft. This turbojet missile has a range of some 80 nautical miles (nms) and dual mode terminal guidance with both active radar and an infrared seeker. Mitsubishi has developed an upgraded version of the ASM-1 that is powered by a turbojet and equipped with an imaging infrared terminal seeker. Known as the Type 88, this 80-nm range missile arms ships and shore defense batteries. Obsolete Chinese HY-1 Scrub Brush, HY2 Seersucker, and land-based CSS-C-2 Silkworm (Styx-class) missiles are being replaced by the rocket-powered, 22-nm range C-801 and the newer C-802 with its turbojet providing a range of 65 nms. Iran has imported the C-801 to arm Hudong and Kaman fast-attack craft.
To date, Russia is the only nation to have developed and deployed supersonic antiship missiles in large numbers. China has developed the 27-nm range ramjet C-- 101 and the larger 97-nm range C-301, which can be fired from ships and ground launchers; however, it is not clear that they have been deployed. Russia still fields the widest array of antiship missiles: The 10,500-pound supersonic P-500 Bazalt (SS-N-12) and upgraded 15,400-pound P-700 Granit (SS-N-19) are the largest weapons in service on a major naval combatant. As replacements for the P-6/7 Shaddock "strategic class" anticarrier weapons, these Mach 2.5 missiles have ranges of anywhere from 75 to more than 200 nms and carry large high explosive or nuclear warheads.
Another advanced Russian system is the supersonic Raduga 3M-80 Moskit (SS-- N-22), which can hit targets out to 65 nms and has a speed of Mach 2.5 at low altitude. This weapon was fielded in 1984 on the Sovremennyy-class destroyers, Udaloy frigates, and Tarantul patrol craft. (The export to the Peoples Republic of China of two Sovremennyy-class destroyers recently caused quite a stir because it was seen to upset the naval balance of power in the Pacific.) The Russian Novator 3M54E1 Cub (SS-N-27) resembles the Tomahawk antiship missile (TASM). A version of this weapon called the Alpha has supersonic terminal-dash capability by employing a rocket booster. The 3M-24 Uran (SS-N-25), which is similar to the Harpoon, is replacing older versions of the Styx and P120 systems on Russian ships as well as attracting export sales to Algeria, India, and other nations.
During the 1980s, the U.S. Navy bought more than 500 UGM/RGM-109B TASMs, with their range of more than 250 nm. The subsonic TASM had Harpoon's active radar seeker, an electronic support measures system for target detection, and a 1,000-pound warhead. It could be fired from ships and submarines and had four-times the range and twice the warhead weight of the Harpoon, which put it in the class of Russian long-range antiship weapons. The TASM was deployed, but after several years of service it was replaced by land-attack Tomahawks as the land mission took a higher priority in the post-Cold War period.
Second generation antiship missiles can tackle almost any conflict scenario where an adversary is in open battle formation and not near the coastline. With the reduction in size of the Russian fleet and its reduced deployments, there appears to be less potential for major open-ocean actions. Future naval conflict will likely take place near land and in the vicinity of neutral shipping. However, second generation antiship missiles have difficulty effectively engaging vessels close to land and they cannot hit ships at the pier or threaten shore targets such as a Silkworm site, gun battery, or radar position.
Littoral Requirements
Today, with the shift in focus from open-ocean to coastal operations, navies are calling for missile systems that can engage surface threats at sea, small vessels in coastal waters, and ships in port. Antiship missiles also must be able to deal with ever increasing levels of deception and active defense, even as modem naval rules of engagement stress the need for accuracy and low collateral damage to neutral shipping. To meet rapidly evolving tactical challenges, missile producers are developing new systems to improve the capabilities of current models in the littoral scenario.
A new generation of missiles with both subsonic and supersonic performance is in advanced development. The Boeing Harpoon Block II integrates a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver developed for the Joint Direct Attack Munitions program with a modern inertial navigation system to eliminate mid-course position uncertainty. This enhances target discrimination and helps ensure that the designated target is located and attacked. The new guidance system also gives the Harpoon Block II the ability to attack vessels near the coast or at pier, and to hit land targets with better than 10-meter accuracy. This capability will be available in missiles procured in 2001 and beyond, and in the retrofit of existing missiles starting in January 2002.
The SAAB RBS 15 Mk 3 also is undergoing a major upgrade which will enhance the weapon's antiship performance and add GPS, a dual mode seeker, and two-way data link to improve littoral and land attack performance. A major upgrade of similar proportions is planned by OTOBreda in its Otomat series. Known as the Teseo 3, this model includes a low signature airframe and multimode electro-optical radar seeker to permit littoral and land attack. The new 60-nm range Kongsberg Aerospace NSM, developed in cooperation with Aerospatiale-Matra, is a subsonic, stealthy turbojet missile intended for launch from Norwegian frigates and fast-attack craft. Designed as a replacement for the Penguin, this 925-- pound weapon will carry GPS and an advanced infrared seeker to enable it to attack both sea and land targets. Smaller new missiles with enhanced antiship performance also are under development, such as the Euromissile Polypharn, a tennm range, fiber-optically guided missile that can be fired from ships, land launchers, and submarines.
Air-launched antiship missiles in service today go from the nuclear-capable supersonic Kh-22 (AS-4) carried by Russian Tu-22M and Tu-16 bombers, to Harpoons carried by U.S. Air Force B-52Hs, to the Sea Skuas, Penguins, and Hellfires carried by SH-60 and Lynx helicopters. Fighters, such as the Mirage F-1, F/A- 18, and Super Etendard, constitute a serious threat to ships when armed with antiship missiles—as seen in the Falklands and Iran-Iraq conflicts. Maritime patrol aircraft, such as the P-3 Orion, Nimrod, and S-3B Viking, have the range, payload, and sensor systems to employ Exocet, Harpoon, and ASM-1-class missiles. Iraqi Super Frelon helicopters demonstrated their effectiveness with the Exocet during the Iran-Iraq War; other large helicopters, such as the Cougar and Sea King, can launch from naval vessels, offshore platforms, and land bases to fire the Exocet and Sea Eagle.
Russia's air-launched antiradar and antiship Zvezda KH-31 (AS-17) is one of the most capable missiles in service. This advanced Mach-2 ramjet can be fired from the MiG-29, Su-27, and F-4 aircraft, and has a range of 25-35 nms. Boeing and Zvezda have teamed to provide the Ma-31 to the U.S. Navy as a supersonic target drone. Russia also has a large number of other highly capable airborne anti-ship missiles, including the Raduga Kh-41 Moskit, with a 130-nm range and supersonic performance. Many Western antiship missiles are capable of being launched from aircraft (e.g., Harpoon, Exocet, and Gabriel III), but of these, only a small number of specialized air-launched weapons have been deployed over the past decade. The Komoran 2, with an upgraded seeker and more lethal warhead, was fielded for German Navy Tornado fighter-bombers during the 1990s. U.K. and Saudi Arabian Tornados were armed with the Sea Eagle, a turbojet missile derived from the older Martel TV/antiradiation weapon. More than 700 U.S. Navy AGM-84E SLAMs have been fielded for the F/A-18 and P-3. This interim weapon was employed on the F/A- 18 during the Gulf War and operations in Bosnia, and on the P-3C in Kosovo for use against land targets.
A much improved version of the system known as the AGM-84H SLAM ER (expanded response) has just entered service with the U.S. Navy. With a stand-off range of more than 150 nms, an improved 500-pound high-explosive warhead, GPS-- aided navigation, and man-in-the-loop terminal guidance, the SLAM ER is likely to be the U.S. Navy's primary missile in littoral operations.
Aerospatiale-Matra and the French government have worked for more than two decades to develop the Anti-Navire Futur, which was expected to become the first Western supersonic antiship missile to be fielded in large numbers. However, this 100-nm range ramjet replacement for the Exocet suffered repeated funding problems following the withdrawal of Germany from the program, and the French government recently terminated funding, forcing Aerospatiale-Matra to stop the program just before the start of test flights. The Russian firm, NPO Mashinostroenie, has demonstrated the supersonic Yakhont missile, with its rocket booster and ramjet giving it a range of more than 120 nms, as a replacement for the 3M80 Moskit (SS-N-22) in air and surface launch variants. But this program also is facing funding challenges.
Antiship missiles have played an important role in naval tactics and strategy for more than 50 years, and they are in service in all corners of the world on a variety of platforms. The current trend is toward missiles with greater accuracy, speed, and capability, and the ability to hit targets afloat and ashore. In late 1999, Boeing and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency selected a "wave-rider" configuration powered by a Pratt and Whitney Scramjet for further development to demonstrate a 600-nm range, hypersonic (Mach 3.5 to 7) missile capable of launch from aircraft, ships, and submarines by the year 2010. This type of hypersonic system could have a dramatic effect on the 21st century battlefield.
Mr. Nordeen has served on the staff of the American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics and executes marketing assignments for Boeing. He is the author of Air Warfare in the Missile Age, Fighters Over Israel, and Phoenix Over the Nile.