China’s CASIC Unveils New CM-401 Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile

The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) unveiled the new CM-401 anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) at the biennial AirShow China 2018 exhibition being held from Nov. 6-11 in Zhuhai.

The missile, developed for the export market, reportedly has an operational range of 290 km and a terminal velocity of Mach 4-6. CASIC had displayed two launch platforms at the event, a mobile 8×8 truck-mounted launcher and a fixed deck launcher for ships. Both launchers can carry two missiles inside self-contained launch canisters.

The CM-401 is a new type of supersonic anti-ship missile, using near space trajectory, and capable of all-course high supersonic maneuverable flight, terminal diving and high velocity top-attacking, as well as various platform launch firing, reported Army Recognition.

The missile is similar to Russia’s land-based Iskander-M quasi-ballistic missile.

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) new Type 055 class of guided-missile destroyer will reportedly be equipped with a longer range version of the missile.