21st Century Pearl Harbor
A special thanks to our Russian and Chinese "friends"

A young boy in my neighborhood recently joined the US Navy. Well, he's not a boy anymore, he's a man. Anyhow, when I first heard that he joined up, I thought "well, he's in the Navy. How dangerous can it be?"

Then I started to think it over... then I researched it. Boy, was I wrong.

From Global Security; The hit probability of the Yingji-802 is estimated to be as high as 98 percent. The Yingji-802 can be launched from airplanes, ships, submarines and land-based vehicles, and is considered along with the US "Harpoon" as among the best anti-ship missiles of the present-day world.

Following the 1991 Gulf War, Iran imported the C-802 anti-ship cruise missile from China. China suspended exports in 1996... Iran expected to purchase 150 C-802 missiles from China but only received a half of them because of the arms suspension.This from The San Diego Union-Tribune; Iran tested a new anti-ship missile fired by a submarine during war games yesterday, raising worries it could disrupt vital oil tanker traffic in the Persian Gulf amid its standoff with the West over its suspect nuclear activities.

The Thaqeb, Farsi for “Saturn,” is Iran's first missile that is fired from underwater and flies above the surface to hit its target.From the Jerusalem Post; The recent delivery of an advanced Russian-made anti-ship missile to Iran has defense officials concerned...

Called the SSN-X-26 Yakhont, the supersonic cruise missile can be launched from the coast and hit sea-borne targets up to 300 kilometers away. The missile carries a 200-kilogram warhead and flies a meter-and-a-half above sea level, making it extremely difficult to intercept. Its closest Western counterpart is the US-made Tomahawk and Harpoon.This from the Heritage Foundation; Today, Iran boasts an arsenal of Iranian-built missiles based on Russian and Chinese designs that are difficult to counter before and after launch. Of particular concern are reports that Iran has pur­chased the SS-N-22 Moskit/Sunburn anti-ship mis­sile. The supersonic Sunburn is specifically designed “to reduce the target’s time to deploy self-defense weapons” and “to strike ships with the Aegis command and weapon control system and the SM-2 surface-to-air missile.”And lastly, and possibly the most scarey, this from the Nuclear Threat Initiative; (I knew that the Yakhont and the Sunburn were anti-ship missiles, but I didn't know they were nuke capable until I read this.) This overview provides background information on the most significant nuclear-capable Russian missile designs that have been authorized for export.

CLUB (KLUB, KLAB) [SS-NX-27]
The Club system is a family of anti-ship, anti-submarine and land attack missiles with variants for delivery from surface ships and submarines.

It has a 200kg payload with a range of 220km. The 3M54E1 is a smaller version that does not have the third supersonic stage, but it has a longer range (300km) and a heavier payload (400kg).

China and Iran have also expressed interest in purchasing the Club system as part of potential upgrade programs for their Russian-built submarines.

3M55 ONIKS/YAKHONT [SS-NX-26, SSC-X-5]
The Oniks/Yakhont is a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile capable of launch from surface ships, submarines, aircraft, and ground launchers.

It uses a ramjet engine and travels at approximately Mach 2.5, with a range of 300km and a payload of 200kg

China, Indonesia, and Iran have shown interest in purchasing the Yakhont.

3M80/Kh-41 MOSKIT [SS-N-22 'Sunburn']
It has a launch weight of 3,950kg and carries a payload of 300kg

Iran has also shown interest in purchasing Project 12421 Molniya missile corvettes armed with the Moskit.I remember when I read Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising when he described the amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa being sunk, killing not only her entire crew, but 1,500 Marines aboard, as well.

I remember thinking that even the slightest possibility of a massive defeat the likes of which Clancy described, ended when the Japanese signed off on a bunch of papers in Tokyo Bay back in 1945.

But then again, I never thought the continental United States would ever be attacked again.

Until 9/11.