Development
The development of the Ying Ji (Strike Eagle) missile as a successor to the 'Styx'-based missiles such as HY-2 was extremely tortuous and marked what might be termed the beginning of a 'Western influenced' period in China's missile design bureaux.
Chinese accounts indicate it was conceived as a liquid-fuelled supersonic missile, which would be lighter than the 'Styx' type missiles. The requirement was drawn up in the late 1960s and development began in 1970 under the direction of Peng Lisheng but the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution disrupted work. The missile was first tested in 1975 but there is no further official indication of the development process.
It is clear that there was a radical change in the design philosophy to a solid-propellant subsonic missile and the passing resemblance of the missile to the Exocet MM40 led to the suggestion that the Chinese missile was the result of reverse engineering. In fact, the resemblance owes more to similar requirements, for both the dimensions and internal arrangements of the missiles are substantially different. This is not to say that Exocet did not influence the designers, for it was the leading non-American export anti-ship missile, while the new Chinese design philosophy of an anti-ship weapon suitable for launch from aircraft, submarines and surface ships (the latter from a launcher-container) was clearly influenced by the West rather than the Soviet Union.
Consequently, the Chinese missile was virtually redesigned and appeared as the YJ-8 circa 1980, receiving the US designation CSS-N-4 and the NATO name 'Sardine'. It appears to have entered service circa 1985 probably with the Huangfen (Type 021)-class Fast Attack Craft (FAC). It is thought to have been incorporated into larger warships from circa 1991, when the Jiangwei-class frigates appeared with this missile, and was offered for export, using the designation C-801, with Thailand the first customer. The first Thai system entered service when the frigate HTMS Chao Phraya was commissioned in April 1991. The submarine-launched version was given the designation YJ-82 and the only operator is the PLAN.
While the Chinese Navy was clearly happy with the YJ-8 it recognised the inherent limitations of the system due to the use of rocket propulsion. During the 1980s (possibly from 1987) therefore, it sought an extended-range version by replacing rocket propulsion with a turbojet engine. This missile became the YJ-83 whose existence was publicly revealed at the Paris Air Show in June 1989 when the long range export version, with the designation C-802, was displayed although the YJ-8A had been the basis of an earlier version of the C-802. The Chinese Navy appears to have retained the YJ-8 as the basis of an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) missile system similar to Milas, as CY-1. This was publicly revealed at Asiandex in November 1986 and appears to have entered service in 1991-93. Tests of a submarine-launched version involving a Song-class submarine were reported early in 1997 but it is unclear whether or not the system has been deployed in submarines.
The YJ-83 entered service with the Jianghu IV-class frigate Zhoushan in early 1993. A version of this weapon has been developed by Iran with Chinese assistance as the Tondar (CSS-C-8) coast-defence missile. The Iranians also claimed to have deployed an improved, locally-made version, named Noor (Dawn) (believed to be based on the C-802, the Chinese export version of the YJ-83), for ship use in October 2000. In 2005 an improved version of the C-802 appeared as C-802A. On 14 July 2006 three Noor/C-802 missiles were launched from land by Hezbollah forces. One detonated upon launch, the second damaged the Israeli corvette INS Hanit, exploding upon hitting a guardrail, and the other missed the frigate and sank a merchantman some 32 n miles (60 km) away. Bangladesh carried out the first test firing of a C-802 (YJ-83) from BNS Osman in May 2008 and it was reported at the same time that Indonesia had trialled the C-802 in at least one Todak-class FAC. The ship-launched weapon is designated CSS-N-8 'Saccade' although it is not clear if this applies to all versions of the C-802 family.
C-802 missiles were successfully fired by PNS Zulfiquar in the Northern Arabian Sea during March 2010 and the weapon has also been ordered by Thailand to upgrade the Chao Phraya-class frigates. One of the Chao Phraya-class (Kraburi) is already equipped with C-802A. In early 2011 it was reported that China and Indonesia had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) over the joint development and production of the C-802. The missiles can be carried in the Todak-class FAC where trials of the system have already been conducted.
A further new Iranian development of the C-802 family, named 'Ghader' (Capable), with a longer (18 to 20 cm) main body extending forward from the leading edge of the centre body fins, was displayed in public for the first time in September 2011 having entered production in August that year. Iranian reports suggest that the missile is capable of achieving a range of 108 n miles (200 km). It is worthy of note that this version of the missile had not been seen in China and could be based on what would have become the surface-launched C-803 had it been developed by China. Iran fired a Ghader missile during a naval exercise named 'Velayat 90' in late 2011 when it was reported a being an upgrade of the existing Noor missile and also as being coated with "a radar-absorbent material" .The weapon is thought to have a datalink to enable re-targeting in flight. The locally developed versions of this weapon are produced by the Iranian Aerospace Organization in Tehran.
YJ-62/C-602 TOP
China has also developed a sub-sonic anti-ship missile as YJ-62 (C-602). This entered service in July 2004 with the Type 052C (Luyang II)-class destroyer Lanzhou. It does not appear to be used by any other Chinese class but has been offered for export with the only reported customer being Myanmar with the missile installed in the frigate Aung Zeya.
Description
The YJ-8 (C-801) type is a slim cylinder with ovoid nose, fixed trapezoid wings and stubby fins near the end of the body. Along the top of the body is the launch-rail fitting. A winged booster is fitted to the tail.
The nose section consists of a monopulse, high-frequency (I-band) terminal guidance radar seeker with a 165 kg semi-armour-piercing warhead behind it. The instrument compartment, containing the guidance command processor, vertical gyro, radio altimeter and its antenna, is located in front of the sustainer.
The solid fuel sustainer is midway along the missile body in a compartment roughly comparable to the area between the wing leading edge and the wing rear edges. Around the exhaust nozzle in the rear of the missile is the actuation system and a second instrument compartment possibly containing another radio altimeter antenna and an axial gyro.
The missile is usually housed in an autonomous, probably sealed, launcher-container suspended from a launch rail in the container ceiling. The launcher-containers are on fixed mountings made of steel and angled at about 15° to the horizontal. The launchers face outboard at about a 15° angle to the line of the hull. Most surface vessels have their launcher-containers arranged in pairs but in the Jiangwei and Houjin classes there are triple launcher arrangements.
Target acquisition is by means of a surface search radar which feeds range and bearing data to the missile before launch using the ZJ firing console, which uses indicator lights rather than a display screen for data. The search radar is a Chinese-made version of the Russian 'Square Tie' radar, which has the Chinese designation Type 254. This is an I-band (8 to 10 GHz) sensor with elliptical paraboloid antenna illuminated by an overhung horn feed. The maximum range of this system is some 70 n miles (130 km).
Upon launch, the missile climbs to a height of about 50 m then descends to between 20 and 30 m to approach the target. Once the radar seeker has acquired the target the missile descends to heights of between 5 and 7 m for the terminal approach phase.
The YJ-82 is the submarine-launched version of the YJ-8. The Han-class submarines do not use radars for fire control but use an Early Warning (EW) system for over-the-horizon targeting. The EW system is reported to be the Elbit Timnex 4CH(V)2 which covers the 2 to 8 and 8 to 18 GHz bands with a choice of eight monopulse DF ports for each band. It is reported as having a bearing accuracy of 1.5° and an emitter library of 500 modes. (Note: the YJ8A was an early version of the C-802).
The YJ-83 (C-802) is externally very similar to the YJ-8 (C-801) but is powered by a turbojet with paraffin-based fuel. To accommodate the new power plant the fuselage has been extended forward of the wing leading edge with the fuel tank behind the instrument compartment and an air intake fitted between the wings on the underside. The wings have been slightly modified and now fold, while the launch rail fittings are on the sides. The performance is similar to that of the YJ-8 (C-801).
The YJ-83A (C-802A) has a range of 97 n miles (180 km). It also has a datalink (inherited from what might have become the C-803, had it gone into production) to supply in-flight targeting updates. The ground-launched version of the C-802A is YJ-83J and the air-launched version YJ-83K.
The YJ-62 (C-602) is a turbo-jet powered anti-ship/land attack weapon with a range of 151 n miles (280 km). It cruises at M0.6-0.8 at an altitude of 30 m in conditions to Sea State 6 then descends to 7 to 10 m for the terminal phase. It features an active frequency-agile, monopulse radar seeker with a range of 21.5 n miles (40 km) covering an 80° arc and effective against targets with a radar cross-section of 3,000 m2. The missile has a 300 kg armour-piercing warhead with contact fuze. The missile is 6.1 m long (7 m with booster), with a diameter of 54 cm and a flight weight of 1,140 kg (1,350 kg with booster).
