YJ-91 - YJ-91 Anti-ship Missile

YJ-91 Anti-ship Missile

The Chinese have also developed an anti-ship version of the YJ-91 missile. However, this version is an indigenous development of the Chinese from the Kh-31P anti-radiation missile, and not from the Kh-31A anti-ship missile. China did not order any of the Kh-31A. The Chinese felt that the original Kh-31A could not fully satisfy their requirements, because the high-low trajectory of the missile meant early detection, thus it is prone to interception. In contrast, the low-low trajectory usually adopted by subsonic anti-ship missiles better utilizes the supersonic speed of Kh-31A. Such a trajectory shortens the detection range and the high-speed reduces the target’s reaction time, once the missile is detected. As a result, China did not order any Kh-31A anti-ship missiles.

The resulting anti-ship version of the YJ-91 is capable of sea-skimming. Its cruising altitude is no more than 20 metre above sea level. At the terminal attack stage (usually after the active radar seeker of the missile is turned on), the missile drops to 7 [metre above sea level. This attack altitude can be further reduced to just 1.2 metre above sea level, when the sea state allows. Alternatively, the missile can be programmed to popup-and-dive like that the Boeing Harpoon. However, such sea-skimming capability comes at the expense of maximum range: in comparison to the original 70 km range of the Kh-31A, the maximum range of YJ-91 anti-ship missile was reduced by more than a quarter to 50 km. Like the anti-radiation version, it is reported that many planned upgrades are in development. An application for research grants to develop a submerged launched version of YJ-91 anti-ship missile once appeared on Chinese websites on the Internet, indicating China is attempting to develop a version for its submarine fleet.