Home Navy Naval Missiles HY-3 (C-301)

HY-3 LAND-TO-SHIP MISSILE

The HaiYing-3 (HY-3, also known as C-301 in its export name; NATO codename: CSS-C-6 Sawhorse) is the active radar-homing, ramjet-powered supersonic land-to-ship missile developed by China Haiying Electro-Mechanical Technology Academy (CHETA, also known as 3rd Space Academy). The missile was developed in the 1980s based on the design of the HY-2 (C-201) and the ramjet technology of the cancelled YJ-1 (C-101). The development was completed in the early 1990s but the missile did not enter service.

The HY-3 is a large-size missile with a slim forward body and sharp nose, and a fatter rear half with four solid rocket boosters and two ramjet engines located aft of the missile body. There are a pair of front-canards on the front fuselage, four control surfaces on the rear fuselage, and four smaller stabilising fins attached on the solid rocket boosters. The booster motors accelerate the missile to past Mach 1.8 and the kerosene-fuelled ramjet engines accelerate the missile to a cruise speed of Mach 2.0. Its range is variously reported as up to 130km, and it can fly as low as 50m in its terminal attack phase. The missile is programmed to dive from cruising altitude to under 30m before the active-radar terminal phase begins, then dive onto the target just prior to impact.

The 3.5t missile is launched from a land-based launcher. Each firing unit consists of four launchers, a target acquisition radar, a fire-control unit, a power unit, and 8~12 missile reloading vehicle (each with one missile).

SPECIFICATIONS

Length: 9.85m
Diameter: 0.76m
Wingspan: 2.24m
Weight: 3,400kg
Warhead: 300~500kg time-delayed semi-armour-piercing high-explosive
Propulsion: Two side-mounted ramjet engines; four solid propellant boost motors
Max speed: Mach 2.5
Max range: 100~130km
Flight altitude: 50m
Guidance: Inertial and terminal active radar
Single-shot hit probability: N/A

This page was last updated 26 April 2006