China is promoting an aircraft carrier killer missile that can
According to the British "Jane's Defense Weekly" website reported on November 8, the CM-302 missile displayed at the 2016 Zhuhai Air Show is being exported as the world's best anti-ship missile. The reason for the promotion of the missile manufacturer, the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry group company (CASIC) is that the missile can fly supersonic, it can be launched from air, land and sea platforms, and it can play a role in land attack.
A Chinese media report also confirmed that the CM-302, said to be one of the most consulted items on display at this year's Zhuhai air show, is closely related to the YJ-12 supersonic missile, which is in service with the Chinese military.
The CM-302, which has a range of 280 kilometers and a warhead weight of 250 kilograms, has a 90 percent hit rate, according to the report. CASIC claims that the missile can be effective against large warships, such as aircraft carriers and destroyers, and that a single missile can destroy a 5,000-ton warship.
Although the report provided few details on the CM-302's propulsion and flight, it said the missile spent most of its flight skimming the ocean, changing its movements late to break through the ship's defensive weapons.
Previously published reports on the YJ-12 missile suggest that the ramjet-powered missile can reach a mid-range flight speed of Mach 1.5 to Mach 2, and can accelerate to Mach 3 or higher at the end.
The missile is guided by satellite navigation (specifically, through China's Beidou satellite navigation system) to a target location, which can be updated through a data link. Terminal guidance is done by an active radar seeker.
Assuming that the CM-302 missile's physical characteristics are similar to those of the YJ-12 missile, it is likely to be a large missile with a length of about 7 meters, a diameter of 0.6 meters, and an estimated weight of about 2,000 to 2,500 kilograms.
The YJ-12 missile is thought to have been in development since the turn of the century, but it may not have entered service until the past three or four years. It was originally designed to be launched from the air, mainly from the H-6K, which can carry at least four YJ-12 missiles in its under-wing pylons.
A vehicle carrying a model of the twin YJ-12 missile launcher was featured at the 2015 Victory Day parade, and in late October a photo circulated on Chinese online forums showing a YJ-12 missile being launched from a surface ship.
