Warships target other warships withmerchantmen as the secondary target, and theweapon options for what is now called Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) are surprisingly broad
Since the 1960s the prime weapon for ASuW has been the missile both in the air-to-surface version, first used with spectacular success to sink the battleship Roma in 1943, and the surface-to-surface version whose value was demonstrated by the Egyptian Navy’s stand-off sinking of the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967. The latter was achieved with a first generation weapon still much used in Asia, the Russian P-15 Termit, better known by the NATO designation SS-N-2 ‘Styx’.
In its original version ‘Styx’ continues to be used by India, North Korea and Vietnam while China has produced an improved version HY-2 (CSS-N-3 ‘Seersucker’). All are characterised by a large launch weight (2.5 tonne) with simple autopilot guidance augmented by active radar (HY-2 can use an infra-red seeker) powered by a rocket motor fuelled by kerosene and nitric acid with a sub-sonic speed (Mach 0.9). They have a maximum range of some 21.5-43 nautical miles (40-80 kilometres), although HY-2 can reach 51 nautical miles (95 kilometres), but it is a crude, relatively dumb weapon, with a powerful (454 kilogramme) warhead while its corrosive fuel system requires careful maintenance.
The ‘Styx’ family are essentially ship-launched weapons, in major surface combatants such as destroyers and frigates as well as smaller ones such as corvettes and fast attack craft, but the second-generation of weapons are more versatile and can be used from ships, aircraft and even submarines. The most famous are Harpoon, used by eight Asian navies, and Exocet used by six Asian navies, but they have similar sub-sonic speeds and are more sophisticated.
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