The YJ-18 (, NATO designation CH-SS-NX-13) is a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

family of anti-ship and land attack

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

Description

The

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

believes the YJ-18 is similar to the Russian 3M-54 Klub, with a subsonic cruise mode and a supersonic terminal attack;United States Office of the Secretary of Defense: Annual Report To Congress 2015, p.46 the missile is credited with a range of ,United States Office of the Secretary of Defense: Annual Report To Congress 2015, p.10 which would give it a threat ring of . Some Western analysts believe the YJ-18 is a copy of the 3M-54E, with a cruising range of at Mach 0.8 and a sprint range of at Mach 2.5 to 3.0; other sources claim the submarine-launched variant has a range of with a terminal speed of Mach 2 while flying at a lower terminal altitude than the Russian Kalibr/Klub. 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 mor ...

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 using

BeiDou Navigation Satellite System The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and ...

data, and carries a high-explosive warhead or an anti-radiation warhead to destroy electronics at short range. The YJ-18 is deployed aboard the

Type 052D destroyer The Type 052D destroyer (NATO/ OSD Luyang III-class destroyer) is a class of guided-missile destroyers in the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. The Type 052D is a larger variant of the Type 052C; the Type 052D uses a canister-type, instead ...

and the

Type 055 destroyer The Type 055 destroyer (NATO/ OSD Renhai-class cruiser) is a class of stealth guided-missile destroyers ( guided-missile cruisers per NATO/OSD standard) being constructed for the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. It is a multi-mission desi ...

. 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'' denotes a submarine and the ''N'' denotes nuclear power. The designation SSN is used for interoperabili ...

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 ...

aboard the Yuan-class air-independent propulsion (AIP) and Song-class diesel-electric submarines, will likely deploy on the Type 095 submarine, and may be capable of deployment on

Kilo-class submarine The Kilo class, Soviet designation Project 877 ''Paltus'' (russian: Па́лтус, meaning "halibut"), NATO reporting name Kilo, is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines originally designed in the 1970s and built in the Soviet Uni ...

s. A land-based version could replace the subsonic -range

YJ-62 The YJ-62 () is a Chinese subsonic anti-ship cruise missile. It is manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy. Description In a September 2014 article published in Joint Forces Quarterly, the YJ-62 is cr ...

with shore batteries.

Variants

*YJ-18: Original land-attack variant launched from ships. *YJ-18A: Vertically-launched shipborne anti-ship variant, deployed aboard the Type 052D and Type 055 destroyers. *YJ-18B: Submarine-launched variant. *YJ-18C: Land-attack version launched from shipping containers similar to the Club-K missile system. *Mobile Coastal Variant: Land-based version with unknown designation launched by 12×12

transporter erector launcher A transporter erector launcher (TEL) is a missile vehicle with an integrated tractor unit that can carry, elevate to firing position and launch one or more missiles. History Such vehicles exist for both surface-to-air missiles and surface-to-su ...

(TEL), possibly fitted with a larger booster for increased range.

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 Weapons of the People's Republic of China Military equipment introduced in the 2010s

Description

Variants

See also

References