Besides China Who Else Has Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles?

H. I. Sutton, Naval News: China’s Aircraft Carrier Killers, And Who Else Has Them 

Amidst the hype about hypersonics, behind the hysteria and sensational headlines, is a new type of weapon which could help reshape the naval arena. Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles (ASBMs) pose an unpredictable threat to aircraft carriers and other high-value targets. 

Earlier this month it was revealed that China has been building targets in the shape of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers in their remote deserts. Together with other targets, designed to represent American warships, they are believed to be part of the Chinese Navy’s Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) program. 

This will provide the China with a potentially game-changing capability. It could inhibit the other countries’ ability or wiliness to employ aircraft carriers against them. Or certainly limit the way that they are employed and thus the tactical and strategic impact of them.  

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WNU Editor: Russia, Iran, and Iran.

This Chinese Bomber Will Be Able To Carry Huge Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles

An annotated image showing what appears to be a protective "plug" in place on one of the H-6Ns for when it is not carrying a missile on the centerline. Chinese Internet

Warzone/The Drive: New Photos Point To Chinese Bomber Being Able To Carry Huge Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles

The H-6N missile carrier adds another long-range and very unpredictable layer to China's already formidable anti-access umbrella.

Pictures have emerged confirming that the newest variant of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force's Xian H-6 bomber, the H-6N, does indeed have a semi-recessed area with a hard point for a very large big under its fuselage. This is reportedly meant to accommodate an air-launched derivative of the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile giving the aircraft an impressive stand-off capability against large enemy warships, especially aircraft carriers.

A trio of H-6Ns has been seen flying over Beijing practicing ahead of a massive military parade that will be part of ceremonies to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Communist state on Oct. 1, 2019. Experts say that there at least four of these aircraft presently assigned to a People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) bomber brigade in China's Central Theater Command (CTC) region. Other pictures of the parade preparations have already shown that there will be a number of significant reveals during the procession.

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WNU Editor: It looks like the Chinese want to be able to strike at any naval vessel far from their shores.

China’s South China Sea Anti-Ship Missile Tests Sends A Sharp Message To The U.S. Navy And Other Navies In The Region

Naval News

The Diplomat: China’s South China Sea Anti-Ship Missile Tests Up the Stakes

The tests send a sharp message to the United States Navy.

In the final days of June, soon after the G20 encounter between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in Japan, the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force conducted missile tests in a disputed part of the South China Sea.

The tests took on particular significance in light of reports that the weapons fired were anti-ship ballistic missiles.

While the U.S. has long known that China was developing these capabilities, previous tests have been conducted over the Chinese mainland and this marked the first known time the missile had flown over open waters.

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More News On China’s South China Sea Anti-Ship Missile Tests

China Launched 6 ASBM into the South China Sea -- Naval News
China's Aircraft Carrier Killer Missiles Splashdown in the South China Sea -- National Interest
PLA's Alleged S. China Sea Missile Tests Sent US Message That 'It's Too Late to Catch Up' - Report -- Sputnik
China responds with renewed A2/AD missile tests -- Defence Connect

Chinese Military Is Conducting Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Tests

CNBC: Chinese military conducts anti-ship ballistic missile tests in the hotly contested South China Sea

* China is in the midst of conducting a series of anti-ship ballistic missile tests in the hotly contested waters of the South China Sea, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.
* The development comes as the U.S. and China have paused tensions in their ongoing trade battle.
* The South China Sea, which is home to more than 200 specks of land, serves as a gateway to global sea routes where approximately $3.4 trillion of trade passes annually.

WASHINGTON — China is in the midst of conducting a series of anti-ship ballistic missile tests in the hotly contested waters of the South China Sea, according to two U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter.

The Chinese carried out the first test over the weekend, firing off at least one missile into the sea, one official said. The window for testing remains open until Wednesday, and the official expects the Chinese military to test again before it closes.

While the U.S. military has ships in the South China Sea, they were not close to the weekend test and are not in danger, the official said. However, the official added that the test is “concerning.” The official, who was not authorized to speak about the testing, could not say whether the anti-ship missiles being tested represent a new capability for the Chinese military.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to CNBC and NBC’s requests for comment.

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WNU Editor:  I suspect that everyone is watching these anti-ship missile tests very closely.

A Look At The U.S. And Royal Navies Anti-Ship Missile Decoys

Warzone/The Drive: US Navy Destroyers And Royal Navy Ships Use These Big Blow-Up Anti-Ship Missile Decoys

They are a low-cost addition to ships' layered defenses used to counter anti-ship missiles and the Royal Navy want to invest in improved models.

The U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have a comprehensive suite of defenses to shield against anti-ship missiles, including chaff canisters, active decoys that generate confusing electromagnetic signatures, electronic warfare suites, and “hard kill” close-in weapon systems. But they also have the ability to launch passive radar-reflecting decoys that inflate like a huge, oddly-shaped beach ball to entice incoming missiles, a system that came by way of the United Kingdom. Now, the U.K. Royal Navy, which was first to adopt these decoys, is looking to buy an improved design as it looks to expand its global reach.

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WNU Editor: Apparently this is one of many measures that a ship can deploy in the event of a missile attack.

U.S. Navy Modifying It's SM-6 Missile To Be Used In Targeting Enemy Ships At Sea

National Interest: Sinking Enemy Warships: the U.S. Navy’s Fiery New Weapon

The United States Navy’s fleet of Aegis cruisers and destroyers are getting a massive boost in lethality. For years, many believed that America’s mighty surface combatants were on track to be outgunned by their Russian and Chinese counterparts—however, a newly unveiled modification to the Raytheon Standard SM-6 changes of all of that.

“I'm announcing today new capability for the SM-6. We're modifying the SM-6, so that in addition to missile defense, it can also target enemy ships at sea at very long ranges,” U.S. defense secretary Ashton Carter said at Naval Base San Diego in California on February 3.

“This is a new anti-ship mode. It makes the SM-6 basically a twofer. Can shoot down airborne threats,” Carter said. “And now you can attack and destroy a ship at long range with the very same missile.”

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WNU Editor: This definitely adds to the arsenal of the US Navy.

Another Successful U.S. Test Of The Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM)

US Tests New Stealthy Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile -- Zachary Keck, The Diplomat

Lockheed Martin conducted the second successful test of the new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) it is developing for the U.S. Navy and Air Force. The missile will be crucial in the U.S. military’s efforts to defeat Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) strategies, including China’s in the Asia-Pacific.

According to a press release published on Thursday, a U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber carrying the LRASM flew from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas to the Sea Range at Point Mugu, California where it “released the LRASM, which navigated through all planned waypoints receiving in-flight targeting updates from the Weapon Data Link. After transitioning to autonomous guidance, LRASM identified the target using inputs from the onboard sensors. The missile then descended for final approach, verified and impacted the target.”

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My Comment: I guess this is the U.S. response to Chinese developments on the DF-21.

New Anti-Ship Missile Technologies Will Change The Balance Of Power On The Oceans

SS-N-27 Sizzler / P-900, 3M54 Klub family

Peril On The Sea -- Economist

Naval warfare: As anti-ship missile and torpedo technologies improve, a new seaborne arms race could be on the horizon.

THE West has some formidable missiles designed to sink warships. Three of the most deadly are America’s Harpoon, France’s Exocet and the Swedish RBS-15. These all fly close to the speed of sound for up to about 200km (124 miles) using precision-guidance systems to skim over land or water. This makes them difficult to detect. And even if they are spotted, the missiles can fly in unpredictable patterns, which makes it harder to shoot them down. They then punch a warhead, weighing as much as 200kg (440lbs), into a moving ship with devastating consequences.

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My Comment: Those big and fat aircraft carriers are going to be a tempting target for these new anti-ship missiles .... and one cannot help but cringe at the economics of it all. One aircraft carrier and escort fleet with air wings in the billions of dollars .... one lucky missile hit at a million bucks or so.