Old School Resource War Alert : China tests Russian submarine missile designed to sink U.S. aircraft carriers

China's Kilo submarines are now able to target U.S. warships.

China's navy recently test-fired advanced Russian Club-S anti-ship missiles from a Kilo-class submarine, the Kanwa news agency reported.

Quoting a source in the Russian naval defense industry, Kanwa said that the cruise missile tests were carried out prior to the spring 17th Party Congress as a "salute" to the event.

Three of the missiles achieved ranges of 250 kilometers. The missiles are fired from submarine tubes.

The Club is considered a highly effect anti-ship missile and is part of what the Pentagon calls China's area-denial weapons, designed specifically to attack and sink U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships that would respond to a Chinese military strike on Taiwan.

The tests involved helicopters that helped target the missiles, the report said, noting that the success of the missile firings is a sign that China's Kilo submarines are now able to target U.S. warships.

And THIS is the missile:

Club S Naval Cruise Missile
Novator experimental machine design bureau (Russia)

Club S submarine launched cruise missile family, includes the 3M-54E1 anti-ship missile and 3M-14E land attack versions, capable of striking land and naval targets from a range of 275km. The missile can be launched from standard torpedo tubes, from depth of 35 - 40 m' cruise autonomously along a selected flight trajectory and, at a speed of 240 m/sec, at an altitude of 20 meters (70 feet), and when approaching the target, drops to a sea skimming level of 5 - 10 meters (20 - 30 feet). The missile is equipped with a 400kg warhead. One of the key elements in the effectiveness of the new Club S is its active radar seeker, the Args 14e designed by Radar MMS of St. Petersburg. This 40 kg system radar system is employed in the terminal phase, less than 20km ahead of the target, to provide target detection, selection and guidance. The seeker is designed for high resistance to ECM, and is designed to operate as a single missile or in salvos firing.Russia is promoting the Amur-950 (Lada class) diesel electric submarine, armed with the Club-S cruise missile system capable of hitting underwater, surface and land targets.

NOTE THAT ONCE THE FINAL ACTIVE RADAR PHASE ENGAGES - THE MISSILE GOES TO MACH 2.5, and at that point your automated units have 27 seconds to locate, turn on and engage and defeat the incoming missile, otherwise no problem

But hey, Maybe Barry can talk them out of buying this unit.

3M-54 Klub
SS-N-27

The Novator Design Bureau developed the Club anti-sub/ship cruise missile system [sometimes referred to as the Klub, Biryuza and Alpha/Alfa]. There is some confusion as to whether the SS-N-27 designation applies to this missile, or to the P-900 Alfa [industrial code 3M-51 ] , although the best evidence suggests that the 3M-54 Alfa is the SS-N-27, rather than the 3M-51 Alfa.

The Club missile system is designed to destroy submarine and surface vessels and also engage static/slow-moving targets, whose co-ordinates are known in advance, even if these targets are protected by active defences and electronic countermeasures.

There are two 'known' modifications of the system; Club-S (for submarines) and Club-N (for surface vessels). The Club-N can be installed in vertical launch cells or in angled missile boxes. Both systems are based on common hardware, the only difference being the design of the missile launchers and missile transport-launching containers.

Five types of missiles - 3M-54E, 3M-54E1, 3M-14E, 91RE1 and 91RE2 - have been developed for the Club ASCM. The Club-S can be armed with a 3M-54E or 3M-54E1 anti-ship missile, 3M-14E submarine-to-coast missile or a 91RE1 anti-submarine torpedo. The Club-N can be armed with a 3M-54E or 3M-54E1 anti-ship missile, 3M-14E submarine-to-coast missile or a 91RE2 anti-submarine torpedo.

The missile is 6.2 meters long, which is the same as the length of the standard torpedo tubes used by Western navies. It is designed according to the double-stage cruise scheme. The first solid-fuel stage ensures the missile's launch from a universal vertical launcher of a surface craft or from a submarine torpedo tube with a diameter of 0.533 meters.

The 3M-54E missile has a range of 300 km. For the majority of its trajectory it flies at a high subsonic speed. The first stage drops off when the missile reaches the prescribed altitude and its second stage sustainer engine goes into action. This is the time when the missile's wing and tail assembly unfold. The altitude of its flight goes down to 10-15 metres above the sea surface and the missile heads towards the target in accordance with the target designations, fed before the start into the memory of its board guidance system. The targeting on the cruise sector of the trajectory is effected by an inertia navigation system. The end sector of the missile's flight with the homing head active proceeds only five metres above the water surface. At 60 km from its target the third, solid-fuel stage separates from the missile, accelerates to supersonic speed and overcomes the defence zone of the target vessel

In spite of its relatively small launch weight of 1,570 kilograms, the missile has a range of 300 kilometres and a powerful 450-kilogram warhead, which can blow up very large surface craft. The missile's moderate weight allows even warships with a small displacement to take aboard quite a few of such deadly weapons.

India is making substantial purchases of the Novator 3M-54 Alfa missile to equip Kilo class submarines and its new frigates. The first two Indian 877YeKM submarines (Kilo class, according to NATO classification) will be armed with the latest Russian 3M-54E antiship cruise missiles. These missiles will also be fitted onto three frigates which are being built to order for the Indian navy at the Baltic shipyard in St Petersburg. Each of the frigates will carry eight antiship missiles which will be launched from vertical launch containers on the bow of the ship.

It is believed that an air-launched variant will be purchased to arm the Tu-142s currently in service and the six to eight additional aircraft being sought by the Navy. If an air-launched version of the Alfa is procured, it is anticipated that India's Tu-22M3s will eventually be equipped to fire them.