Vietnamese crab exporterdouble-skinned crabs
Advertisement
China's military weapons
ChinaMilitary

Chinese navy fires new radar-absorbing YJ-18A anti-ship missile in sea trial, expert says

Black radar-absorbing finish on upgraded ship-launched weapon would improve penetration and visual camouflage over deep water, say analysts

2-MIN READ2-MIN
4
Listen
Experts say China has tested a variant of the YJ-18A anti-ship cruise missile with a black stealth coating that will improve the penetration of the ship-launched missile. Photo: CCTV
Albee Zhangin Shanghai

China has tested a new variant of the YJ-18A anti-ship cruise missile bearing a black stealth coating, according to specialists who say the advanced finish on the ship-launched missile will improve its penetration ability.

The coating was highlighted in footage released by state broadcaster CCTV on Saturday, which showed an extreme-performance test of a new type of anti-ship missile fired from a navy ship’s vertical launch system in unknown waters.

China’s most active-duty shipborne missiles are painted in lighter colours, such as grey or white.

02:01
China calls nuclear submarine missile test ‘routine’ as Australia, Japan voice concerns
Specialists identified the missile as a variant of the YJ-18A, Yingji or “Eagle Strike”, an anti-ship missile that cruises at subsonic speed before making a supersonic terminal attack, often equipped on the 7,500-tonne Type 052D and 12,000-tonne Type 055 destroyers.

“Despite complex and severe sea conditions, the test team precisely captured the missile’s flight parameters,” CCTV reported. Although the footage was previously shown in early July, the black coating was only pointed out in the most recent broadcast.

Select Voice
Select Speed
1x
AI-generated voice