ASM missile is fired from a naval vessel during the test-firing of a new type of anti-ship cruise missile to be equipped at Korean People’s Army (KPA) naval units in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang February 7, 2015. REUTERS/KCNA
The first anti-ship missiles (ASMs), developed and built by Nazi Germany, used radio command guidance and technology has rapidly improved in the intervening years. Most of today’s anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use both inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good number of other anti-ship missiles use infrared homing to follow the heat that is emitted by a ship; it is also possible for anti-ship missiles to be guided by radio command all the way.
Now rising tensions with China and Russia make clear: ship-to-ship naval warfare is back and with it, new ASM technologies able to reach out further and more precisely sink enemy ships.
The latest generation of ASMs are stealthy, supersonic and autonomous, and areskillful at evading defenses and hunting individual ships.
The following chart from @Naval_Graphics, shows all ASMs currently in use and able to sink your ship (click HERE for a high-resolution version):
Anti Ship Missile Infographic via @naval_graphics
Also check out THIS IMAGE of all 430 ships of the U.S. Navy.
About John Konrad
Captain John Konrad is the founder and CEO of gCaptain and author of the book Fire On The Horizon. John is a USCG licensed Master of Unlimited Tonnage, has sailed a variety of ships from ports around the world and is a distinguished alumnus of SUNY Maritime College.
