Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Moscow, Feb 2.- A new missile from China's People's Liberation Army could represent an economical and widely deployable option to neutralize U.S. maritime transport capabilities in a war of attrition, suggests a specialized military magazine cited by The South China Morning Post.
According to experts, the characteristics of the subsonic YJ-18C cruise missile, presented last September 3rd in the Victory Day parade in Beijing, make it ideal for destroying U.S. transport ships, usable in high-intensity conflicts.
Its simplified design facilitates mass production, making it a low-cost weapon with high effectiveness against enemy transport vessels. The powerful missile could be launched from Type 039 submarines, older ships, or converted merchant vessels like the Zhong Da 79, equipped with launchers.
The authors of the report highlight that the projectile flies at a subsonic speed of Mach 0.8 throughout its flight and increases its effectiveness through an advanced guidance system that integrates satellite navigation, data links, and artificial intelligence-driven route planning to improve accuracy.
Expert analysis indicates that the YJ-18C's anti-ship capability has strategic implications for a U.S. fleet affected by poor maintenance and its most recent decline in logistics and shipbuilding, no matter how much U.S. President Donald Trump has called it wonderful. (Text and photo: RT)
