The YJ-18E anti-ship missile weapon system is a type of submarine-launched weapon developed by the Third Academy of Aerospace Science and Industry of China in response to the needs of the international military trade market for submarine operations. Through modification, the YJ-18 can also be installed on a guided missile destroyer, and it can be launched vertically with the HQ-9B ship-to-air missile system.
The YJ-18 missile uses a turbofan engine for ultra-low-altitude self-guided flight in most of the cruising segment, with a speed of Mach 0.8. When the distance from the target is about 30 to 40 kilometers, the missile body in the cruising stage will be thrown away, and then the solid rocket motor will be started to accelerate to Mach 3 for terminal supersonic penetration, so it has a high penetration probability and hit rate.
YJ-18E Anti-ship Missile Weapon System
The YJ-18E (Export) is a modern, high-performance Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) known for its two-stage, terminal supersonic flight profile. It cruises at subsonic speed to conserve fuel and evade detection, then accelerates to supersonic speed during the final terminal attack phase. This ‘pop-up’ maneuver significantly compresses the time available for a target ship’s Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) to react, greatly improving its lethality.
