Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
July 4, 2008
IWG Report 2007
Independent Working Group Report: Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century. »»
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YJ-16
| Country: | People's Republic of China |
|---|---|
| Alternate Name: | CSSC-5 Saples, C-101 |
| Class: | S/L/ALCM |
| Target: | Ship |
| Length: | 7.50 m |
| Diameter: | 0.54 m |
| Launch Weight: | 2300.00 kg |
| Payload: | 300 kg HE, SAP |
| Propulsion: | Ramjet w/ booster |
| Range: | 45.00 km |
| Guidance: | INS, active radar |
| Status: | Operational |
| In Service: | 1988-Present |
Details
The Ying Ji-16 (YJ-16) is a short-range, ramjet-powered, single warhead, air-, ground-, and ship-launched cruise missile developed and manufactured by China.
During the late 1950s, the former Soviet Union supplied China with a number of SS-N-2A “Styx” (P-15) cruise missiles. These Russian missiles, which the Chinese designated SY-1 (NATO: CSS-N-1 “Scrubbrush”), constituted the basic design for a large number of Chinese cruise missiles from the 1960s to the 1980s. During the late 1960s, China manufactured its own version of the Russian SS-N-2A, which it designated the Hai Ying-1 (HY-1).
In 1970, the Chinese began developing a more modern version of the basic HY-1 airframe known as the YJ-16 (NATO: CSSC-5 “Saples”). The YJ-16 was an attempt to develop a supersonic anti-ship missile for coastal defense. An air-launched version is believed to have been developed first, with ground- and ship-launched versions coming later. Some sources indicate that the Chinese may have originally intended to use the YJ-16 to test ramjet motors.
The YJ-16 is powered by two side-mounted ramjet engines located at the rear of the missile. The latest models show two square vertical fins, with rudders above and below the missile body. The air-launched version is 7.5 m long, 0.54 m in diameter, and has a launch weight of 1,500 kg. It has a small tandem-mounted boost motor at the rear of the missile. The ground- and ship-launched versions are 6.5 m long, 0.54 m in diameter, and have a launch weight of 1,850 kg. They have two large booster rockets mounted under the body below the ramjet engines.
The YJ-16 travels at Mach 2.0 and is reported to have a minimum range of 12 km and a maximum range of 45 km. The missile cruises at an altitude of 50 m, and descends from a distance of 3 km during the terminal phase before reaching the target. It has an active radar, which guides the missile to its target in the terminal phase. The YJ-16 is programmed to impact with its target about 5 m above the waterline. This terminal maneuver is intended to make interception by ship-based defense difficult, and allow the YJ-16 to successfully deliver its 300 kg warhead.
The air-launched version of the YJ-16 is believed to have entered service in China in 1988, and the ground- and ship-launched versions the following year. Sources indicate that the Chinese removed the air-launched version from service in 1992, following the introduction of the lighter YJ-1 (C-801) missile. In 1998, reports indicated that some YJ-16 missiles were still in service, and had been fitted to fast attack craft for coastal defense, most likely with two or four missiles on each craft.
China has offered the YJ-16 for export under the designation C-101, which has been shown at exhibitions since 1986 although there have been no known exports.(1)
Footnotes
- Duncan Lennox, ed., Jane’s Strategic Weapons Systems 45 (Surrey: Jane’s Information Group, July 2006), pp. 21-22; GlobalSecurity.org, “Chinese Missiles,” available at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/missile-intro.htm, accessed on July 1, 2006; “Anti-Ship ASMs,” Jane’s Defence Weekly, September 9, 1998.
