Anti-ship ballistic missile

Due to the high flight speed of ballistic missiles, an ASBM's kinetic energy alone may be sufficient to cripple or outright destroy a target with a single conventional warhead impact.

[1][2] In late November 2023, during the Red Sea crisis caused by the continuation of the Gaza war, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in the Middle East, reported that two ballistic missiles had been fired at the United States Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Mason from areas controlled by Yemeni Houthi movement.

[11] The United States Navy fields what some experts believe to be the best midcourse anti-ballistic defense in the world,[12] and is developing high powered lasers for terminal-defense against anti-ship ballistic missiles.

[14][15] The 4K18 was a Soviet Union intermediate-range ballistic anti-ship missile (also known as R-27K, where "K" stands for korabelnaya which means "ship-related") NATO reporting name: SS-NX-13.

China has inducted the world's first [18] operational anti-ship ballistic missile, a "carrier killer" capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads, known as the DF-21D.

[20] The DF-26, first revealed on the 2015 Victory Day Parade, is also able to carry anti-ship warheads, possibly hypersonic glide vehicles like the DF-ZF, to attack medium and large naval vessels out to ranges of 3,500–5,000 kilometres (2,200–3,100 mi).

Pakistan Navy successfully conducted flight test of an indigenously developed ship-launched anti-ship ballistic missile with a 350-kilometer range named SMASH in November 2024.

The missile system, equipped with advanced navigation and maneuverability features, is said to be capable of striking land and sea targets with high precision.