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A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier
examples might suggest, is likely “committed to conducting ASUW [antisurface warfare]
via attack by antiship cruise missiles.” 4
China builds its own indigenous ASCMs for the PLAN and for export. PLAN ships
and submarines purchased from Russia are equipped with more advanced Russian
ASCMs. China has used land-based ASCMs for coastal defense since the 1960s and began
to deploy air-launched ASCMs in the late 1980s. 5
PLAN ASCM programs include a variety of surface, subsurface, and air-launched
weapons. This mixture of ASCMs gives the PLAN flexibility and tactical depth and the
capacity to employ sub- and supersonic speeds, short and extended ranges, and various
warhead packages. The precise total of ASCMs in China’s inventory is unavailable in open
source documents; however, estimates from available data and specifications indicate
an arsenal in the several thousands. One Chinese analyst suggests that once new reconnaissance
and navigation systems are in place, China’s ship-borne cruise missiles would
theoretically acquire global strike capabilities. 6
Pictures of China’s YJ-62, YJ-8 variants, and YJ-83 ASCMs appear regularly on the
Internet. These missiles, according to Jane’s, are all long-range, potent, and perhaps most
importantly indigenously developed. 7
At the lower end of China’s cruise missile capabilities, the YJ-7 (export designation:
C-701) 117 kg compact missile with its 30.5 kg high-explosive semi-armor piercing
warhead can be launched from small attack craft, helicopters, or land-based vehicles to
a distance of up to 25 km (13.4 nm), where the C-701T export variant would engage its
target using electro-optical signals and the C-701 AR export variant with active radar. 8
The YJ-8 (C-801) and YJ-83 (C-802) series is currently the backbone of China’s
antiship missile inventory. Strongly resembling France’s MM38/MM39 Exocet, the
YJ-8/C-801 (CSS-N-4 “Sardine”) series may be ship-, submarine-, and air-launched
and is used by the PLAAF’s JH-7/A fighter and the PLAN’s Song-class submarine. 9 The
most widely deployed surface variant is the YJ-8A, which features folding wings. The
YJ-81 is an air-launched variant, and the YJ-82 is a submarine-launched variant. 10 It has
a flight speed of Mach 0.9 and an operational range of 42 km. 11 The YJ-8 carries a 165
kg semi-armor-piercing warhead of the same size as the Exocet. There are numerous
instances of that size warhead disabling destroyers and frigate-sized warships. 12
Developed by CASIC’s Third Academy, the YJ-83 (C-802) is based on the YJ-8 but
employs a different rocket motor, a turbojet with paraffin-based fuel. The YJ-83 has been
in service on PLA Navy surface vessels for more than 20 years. It was flight tested in 1990
and, according to Western media sources, entered the PLAN inventory in 1994. Its launch
weight has been reduced by 100 kg (warhead mass remains 165 kg); its range has been
increased to 120 km (ground/ship) and 130 km (air), and it employs inertial/active radar
for guidance. 13 Its speed is Mach 0.9, and it skims the sea at an altitude of 20 to 30 m. It
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