Anti-ship Ballistic Missile

An anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is a military ballistic missile system designed to hit a warship at sea.

Due to the high flight speed of ballistic missiles, an ASBM's kinetic energy alone may be sufficient to cripple or outright destroy a target with a single conventional warhead impact. Unlike a nuclear warhead, however, this would require a direct hit to be effective; therefore unlike a land attack ballistic missile, which typically strikes fixed targets in known positions, an ASBM requires a dedicated sensor chain to detect and identify its target, combined with a precise and high-performance terminal guidance system with advanced sensors and in-flight calibrations in order to successfully hit a moving target.

History

First operational use in war

In late November 2023, during the Red Sea crisis caused by the continuation of the Gaza war, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in the Middle East, reported that two ballistic missiles had been fired at the United States Navy from areas controlled by Yemeni Houthi movement. In January 2024, at the same time as US and British airstrikes on Yemen, US President Joe Biden confirmed that the Yemenis had used ASBMs for the "first time in history".

* Possibly the first ship ever hit by an ASBM was the Liberian-flagged MV ''Palatium 3''. Afterwards, the ASBMs seem to have scored several hits on merchant vessels. The vessels that were hit are:
** MV ''Swan Atlantic''
** MV ''Gibraltar Eagle''
** MV ''Zografia''
** MV ''Marlin Luanda''
** Greek-owned bulk carrier ''Star Nasia''
**
* A drone and an ASBM were launched at ''Swan Atlantic''.
* The missile that struck ''Gibraltar Eagle'' caused no casualties or significant damage.
* The missile that struck ''Zografia'' impacted midship; a video of the hit is available online. ''Zografia'' remained seaworthy.
* The missile that struck ''Marlin Luanda'' caused a fire.
* The ''Star Nasia'' reported an explosion near the ship causing minor damage but no injuries.
* The ''Rubymar'', according to CENTCOM, was struck by a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile on February 18, 2024, causing the crew to abandon ship. The vessel then slowly took on water until finally sinking on March 2, 2024.
* At approximately 11:30 a.m. (Sanaa time) March 6, 2024, an ASBM was launched from Yemen by the Ansar Allah toward , while transiting the Gulf of Aden. According to CENTCOM, there were at least three confirmed casualties of the multinational crew with few more severe injuries.

The first combat shootdown of an ASBM was achieved by the destroyer on December 26, 2023. By January 9th, a total of seven Houthi ASBMs had been successfully intercepted by the U.S. Navy. On January 24, 2024, shot down two Houthi ASBMs. On January 26, 2024, also successfully intercepted a Houthi ASBM.

Countermeasures

The United States Navy fields what some experts believe to be the best midcourse anti-ballistic defense in the world, and is developing high powered lasers for terminal-defense against anti-ship ballistic missiles.
The U.S. arsenal has a variety of potential countermeasures.
According to a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, Roger Cliff, an anti-ship ballistic missile is not useful without additional complex ship detection, data processing and communication systems, all of which, including the missile itself, could be jammed or spoofed.

Operators

Soviet Union

The 4K18 was a Soviet Union intermediate-range ballistic anti-ship missile (also known as R-27K, where "K" stands for ''korabelnaya'' which means "ship-related") NATO reporting name: SS-NX-13. Initial submarine testing began on 9 December 1972 on board , a . Test firings were carried out between 11 September and 4 December 1973. Following the initial trials, the K-102 continued making trial launches with both the R-27 and the R-27K, until it was accepted for service on 15 August 1975.

Using external targeting data, the R-27K/SS-NX-13 would have been launched underwater to a range of between , covering a "footprint" of . The maneuvering re-entry vehicle (MaRV) would then home in on the target with a circular error probable (CEP) of . Warhead yield was between 0.5–1 megatonnes.

The R-27K / SS-NX-13 was the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile. However, it never became operational, since every launch tube used for the R-27K counted as a strategic missile in the SALT agreement, and they were considered more important.

China

China has inducted the world's first operational anti-ship ballistic missile, a " carrier killer" capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, known as the DF-21D. In 2010, it was reported that China had entered the DF-21D into its early operational stage for deployment.

The DF-26, first revealed on the 2015 Victory Day Parade, is also able to carry anti-ship warheads, possibly hypersonic glide vehicles like the DF-ZF, to attack medium and large naval vessels out to ranges of .

China is apparently working on a second-generation ASBM using hypersonic maneuverable reentry vehicle technology tested on the DF-ZF. This would allow the warhead to search for the current location of the carrier, instead of just dropping towards the predicted spot it was initially aiming at. The high speed maneuvers would also make the missile much harder to intercept. Type 055 destroyers are armed with the YJ-21 anti-ship ballistic missiles along with the YJ-18 anti-ship cruise missiles in GJB 5860-2006 vertical launch system.

India

The Indian Navy currently operates ship launched Dhanush ballistic missiles (a variant of the Prithvi-III missile) for anti-ship roles. Dhanush has a range of .

Iran

In February 2011, Iran demonstrated a short-range anti-ship ballistic missile named Persian Gulf or ''Khalij Fars'', a missile based on the Fateh-110 which successfully hit a stationary target vessel. It has been reported as a short ranged ballistic missile with a range of . Later, Iran introduced the Hormuz missile with anti-ship capability. In 2020, Iran unveiled the Zulfiqar Basir, an anti-ship variant of the Zulfiqar with a range of .

Pakistan

The Pakistan Navy successfully conducted a flight test of an indigenously developed ship-launched anti-ship ballistic missile with a 350-kilometer range named ''SMASH'' in November 2024. The missile system, equipped with advanced navigation and maneuverability features, is said to be capable of striking land and sea targets with high precision. It has been deployed on at least one of Pakistan's Zulfiquar-class frigates.

See also

* Anti-ship missile
* Cruise missile
* Surface-to-surface missile
* Anti-ballistic missile
* Anti-ballistic missile treaty
* Atmospheric reentry
* Prompt Global Strike

References

External links

Executive overview: Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems
July 2008
Aviation Week

China’s Evolving Conventional Strategic Strike Capability: The Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Challenge to U.S. Maritime Operations in the Western Pacific and Beyond
Project 2049 Institute, September 2009

Using The Land To Control The Sea?: Chinese Analysts Consider the Anti-ship Ballistic Missile
Naval War College, September 2009

{{Missile types

Anti-ship ballistic missiles