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YJ-15 Anti-Ship Missile – Chinese Naval Strike Weapon

The YJ-15 missile is a cutting-edge Chinese naval weapon designed to extend maritime strike capabilities and counter modern naval threats. Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the YJ-15 represents China’s most advanced supersonic anti-ship missile system in operational service. It was developed to enhance the strike reach of China’s aircraft carriers, surface ships, and long-range maritime strike platforms.

Primarily designed as an air-launched and ship-launched anti-ship missile, the YJ-15 features a solid-fuel booster and turbojet sustainer, enabling it to reach speeds approaching Mach 2.5. With a range exceeding 200 nautical miles (370 km), the missile is capable of engaging high-value naval targets at considerable distances while maintaining precision strike capabilities. Its active radar homing guidance system allows for autonomous targeting in contested maritime environments, making it highly effective against modern warships.

Operational deployment includes compatibility with China’s Shandong-class and Liaoning-class aircraft carriers, Su-30MKK and J-15 fighter jets, and other surface platforms. The YJ-15’s design incorporates advanced electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) to improve survivability against modern naval defense systems. The missile’s high-explosive warhead ensures significant damage upon impact, enhancing its deterrence value.

Its technological sophistication, long operational range, and versatility make the YJ-15 a cornerstone of China’s anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) strategy in the Asia-Pacific region. With proven operational capability, it exemplifies modern naval missile development and continues to influence global naval strategy.

YJ-15 Missile Price

The YJ-15 missile is primarily deployed within China’s naval forces and is not commercially available for U.S. procurement. Exact pricing for similar Western anti-ship missile systems ranges between $1–3 million per unit, depending on platform integration and payload configuration.

YJ-17 Next-Generation Anti-Ship Strike Missile

The YJ-17 missile is described as one of China’s emerging next-generation anti-ship strike weapons, representing a technological step forward from earlier YJ-series cruise missiles. Developed to strengthen long-range maritime precision strike capabilities, the YJ-17 is positioned as a versatile, high-speed missile for use across naval, air, and ground-based platforms.

Believed to be manufactured by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the YJ-17 is reportedly designed to fill the gap between traditional subsonic sea-skimming missiles and advanced supersonic anti-ship systems. Its primary mission profile targets surface combatants, high-value maritime assets, and amphibious formations operating at extended ranges.

Open-source assessments suggest that the YJ-17 may feature an integrated guidance package combining INS, satellite navigation, terminal radar homing, and imaging infrared—providing resistance against jamming and enabling precision end-phase maneuvering. While exact figures remain undisclosed, the missile is expected to offer a range potentially between 250–350 km, enabling standoff engagements from a variety of launch platforms including fighter aircraft, naval vessels, and coastal batteries.

A compact aerodynamic frame allows the YJ-17 to fly at high subsonic to potentially low-supersonic speeds, utilizing a sea-skimming flight profile to reduce detection by naval radar systems. Reports also suggest the missile may incorporate a modern multi-stage warhead optimized for penetrating the defensive layers of contemporary destroyers and frigates.

For U.S. defense observers, the YJ-17 reflects China’s continued emphasis on layered anti-ship capabilities designed to challenge naval task forces in contested regions. Its versatility, modern sensor suite, and improved survivability underscore its role within China’s expanding precision strike ecosystem.

YJ-17 Missile Price

As a Chinese-made military system not available for export to the United States, the YJ-17 has no official U.S. market price. Cost estimates remain speculative due to classified development and procurement data.

DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile

The DF-21D stands as one of the most internationally discussed components of China’s long-range precision-strike arsenal. Widely referred to as the world’s first dedicated anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM), the DF-21D is engineered to threaten large surface combatants—most notably aircraft carriers—operating across the Western Pacific. Developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), the missile has become a central element of China’s area-denial strategy.

As a medium-range ballistic missile variant, the DF-21D is believed to deliver a range of 1,500–1,700 km, allowing launch platforms deep inside mainland China to target naval forces far beyond its coastline. Equipped with a maneuverable re-entry vehicle (MaRV), the missile is designed to adjust its trajectory during the terminal phase, making interception significantly more challenging. Estimates suggest the DF-21D reaches hypersonic speeds exceeding Mach 10 as it descends toward its target.

In terms of targeting, the missile reportedly uses a combination of satellite tracking, over-the-horizon radar, and electro-optical updates, allowing it to engage moving naval vessels with high precision. Although exact accuracy figures remain classified, analysts believe the system is optimized for high-value maritime targets.

The DF-21D carries a conventional warhead, likely in the 500–600 kg class, designed for kinetic impact and fragmentation effects. Chinese doctrine positions the missile as a key part of its broader anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) posture, aimed at deterring or delaying enemy carrier strike groups from entering contested waters.

While operational secrecy surrounds many aspects of the DF-21D, its presence alone has reshaped strategic calculations in the Indo-Pacific, influencing U.S. naval force planning and prompting expanded missile-defense initiatives across the region.

DF-21D Missile Price

The DF-21D is not available for purchase and has no official price, as it is an indigenous Chinese strategic missile system not exported or traded internationally. Any pricing estimates are speculative and not publicly released by China.