Sailor beware--the antiship missile: the see-saw balance of effectiveness between anti-ship missiles and target defences appears to have been tipped decisively by a new generation of long-range strike weapons, using a high-Mach approach, high-G manoeuvres or a near-vertical descent. Time to man the lifeboats?

Summary

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Missile: naval

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Sailor beware--the antiship missile: the see-saw balance of effectiveness between anti-ship missiles and target defences appears to have been tipped decisively by a new generation of long-range strike weapons, using a high-Mach approach, high-G manoeuvres or a near-vertical descent. Time to man the lifeboats?

The modern anti-ship missile dates from the 1960s and the Soviet Union's Raduga P-15 Termit (SS-N-2 Styx). This 2300-kg weapon has a 450-kg warhead and a range of 43 km, and has been employed by around 20 navies.

First Shot

Egypt was the first country to use such missiles in combat. The P-15 was fired by the Egyptian Navy in 1967 and 1973, latterly outclassed by Israel's countermeasures and the IAI Gabriel missile. The P-15 was used by the Indian Navy in 1971, sinking Pakistani ships (including the 2480-tonne destroyer Khaibar) and bombarding shore facilities. Both sides e...

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