force-multiplier

Land-attack Cruise Missiles
two-thirds the range of a Tomahawk) while converting the missile to navigate over land.
The indigenous Jinin project was conceived in November 2001 and launched in June 2002
with hopes that the project would be completed within a 3- to 5-year period. In anticipation
of UN inspectors returning to Iraq in December 2002, Iraq decided to shelve the
program out of fear of being caught in violation of UN resolutions proscribing missiles
with ranges exceeding 150 km. 21
Iran reportedly is also following the same path to convert the Silkworm into a
longer-range LACM. According to a NATO report, Iran is upgrading around 300 HY-2
Silkworms; however, instead of using helicopter turbine engines 22 as Iraq did, Iranian
engineers are outfitting them with turbojet engines and new land navigation systems. 23
Where Iran acquired the necessary turbojet engines is uncertain, but Chinese entities are
surely candidates as these companies have been implicated in selling Iran not only the
HY-1, HY-2, and C-801 ASCMs but also the C-802 and possibly the HY-4, which comes
equipped with a turbojet engine. 24 The HY-4 is the only missile in China’s HY series that
comes with the WP-11 turbojet engine—a reverse-engineered Chinese version of the U.S.
Teledyne-Ryan J69-T-41A that powered the Vietnam-era Firebee reconnaissance drone. 25
Alternatively, Iran may have acquired suitable gas-turbine engines through illegal means. 26
The YJ-63 Air-launched Land-attack Cruise Missile
Developed by CASIC’s Third Academy, the YJ-63 LACM was designed to provide
standoff air-launched precision strike capabilities for PLAAF’s H-6H bomber (copied
from the Russian Tu-16 Badger). 27 Some sources claim that the YJ-63 was developed from
the HY-4 coast-to-ship cruise missile. Reportedly deployed in 2004–2005, the YJ-63 uses
an inertial guidance system and an electro-optical television system for the terminal attack
phase, achieving a circular error probable (CEP) 28 of 10–15 m while carrying a payload of
500 kg. 29 The YJ-63 is also capable of man-in-the-loop guidance with target imagery from
the electro-optical seeker sent back to the launch aircraft via the H-6’s datalink antenna,
which is mounted in an underbelly fairing behind the bomb bay doors. 30
The YJ-63’s reported range varies from 200 to 500 km. 31 One early report suggested
a 500 km range for the YJ-63, but more recent Chinese reports cite a 200 km range. The
YJ-63 is powered by an FW41-B turbojet engine, which should propel the missile at a
speed of roughly Mach 0.9. 32
The YJ-63’s lineage from the Silkworm missile is most evident by viewing photographs.
Looking much like the HY-2, the turbojet-equipped HY-4, or the air-to-ground
YJ-6 (C-601), the YJ-63 has a large round body with a correspondingly round nose.
Its turbojet engine inlet, like the HY-4, is located under the body just behind the large
delta wings. The YJ-63’s tail control surfaces are arranged in an X. 33 The dimensions of
29