YJ-12 vs. Brahmos
Brahmos is a medium-range cruise missile used by the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force. It is produced by Brahmos Aerospace, a joint project between India’s Defence Research and Development Organization and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyeniya.
On the other hand, The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) uses the supersonic YJ-12 anti-ship missile manufactured by China Aerospace Science & Industrial Corp (CASIC).
In terms of Range:
Experts disagree on the YJ-12’s claimed Range, with some putting it at 400 kilometers (km) and others at 300 kilometers (km). A China Aerospace Science and Industrial Corp. (CASIC) representative said at the 2016 Zhuhai Airshow that the YJ-12 has a range of 290 km.
Despite the many unknowns, the YJ-12’s operational Range is estimated to be between 250 and 400 kilometers, and its top speed is Mach 4. However, this will vary with the size and altitude of the Warhead.
The Range of our Brahmos, which used to be 290 km but is now 350 km, has been increased to Mach 3.5. Thus it appears that this new craft is quicker. With these numbers, it’s hard to tell who has the upper hand in the range department, but the YJ-12 certainly has the potential to challenge Indian Brahmos.
In terms of Engine:
The Brahmos is a two-stage missile that uses a solid-fuelled booster in the first stage and a liquid-fuelled ramjet in the second. Since the ramjet has no moving parts, it is simpler, more reliable, and lighter than a traditional liquid-fueled rocket engine.
It uses the atmosphere as a working mass to achieve the necessary speed. Once the missile has reached its cruising speed, the ramjet takes over and continues the trajectory.
There is no evidence that the YJ-12’s first stage uses a solid rocket propulsion system but rather an integrated ramjet engine. If so, the YJ-12 ramjet’s performance may be just inferior to that of the Brahmos engine.
In order to achieve optimal performance, ramjets require both a high altitude and rapid acceleration, neither of which can be achieved by continuing the flight from the starting line. This is why it has been adopted in the advanced form of Brahmos.
Additionally, introducing the ramjet later in the flight would have prevented the additional drag caused by the ramjet’s mass needs and atmospheric streamlining. However, YJ-12 is highly secret; thus, these are all merely statistical conjectures.
In terms of Guidance
The Brahmos employ a two-stage navigational process. It employs a combination of a Satellite Navigation System with high precision for the autonomous geo-spatial location and an Inertial Navigation System (INS) for mid-course navigation using motion sensors and gyroscopes to determine the target’s position using Dead Reckoning continually.
Active Radar Homing with a built-in “Fire and Forget” the Brahmos use mechanism in its final phase. After the missile has locked onto its target, its sophisticated computer can determine its own trajectory without more assistance from the pilot. This greatly improves the pilots’ Accuracy while protecting them from opposing fire.
The YJ-12 is equipped with an inertial guidance system and China’s indigenously developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), which is intended to compete with the United States Global Positioning System (GPS).
The BeiDou system provides the YJ-12 with an independent navigation system, minimizing its reliance on GPS, which can restrict access to particular locations during times of war.
It has been reported that a terminal homing radar seeker can improve the BDS’s Accuracy to better than 90% over a data link. Even if the GPS failed, the BDS would function as a backup. If it is as potent as they claim, this problem is very severe.
In terms of Warhead
The YJ-12 can carry a 200kg to 500kg conventional High Explosive Warhead, but its capacity to deliver a 500kg nuclear warhead is the primary worry.
However, the Brahmos can only carry a 300-kilogram (kg) conventional High Explosive (HE), Semi-Armor-Piercing (SAP), or nuclear payload. It can be utilized for both proximity and impact explosions.
According to sources, the YJ-12 has a greater payload capacity than Brahmos; it’s a matter of concern for India because It can cause significant havoc if it hits Indian soil.
In terms of Accuracy:
When it comes to the military science of ballistics, the smaller the Circular Error Probability (CEP), the more precise the weapon system. The Brahmos projected an astonishing 1m CEP, greatly improving our precision strike capacity, while the YJ-12 achieves an accuracy of 5-7m CEP in this test.
In terms of Sea Skimming:
Many anti-ship missiles use sea-skimming, a method of flying very close to the water’s surface to evade infrared/radar detection and reduce the likelihood of being shot down by enemy air defenses or ship Close In Weapon Systems (CIWS) during flight.
The Brahmos may glide as low as 3–4 meters above the ocean. Experts suggest that YJ-12 has the good sea-skimming capability, but the data is classified, so we may never find out unless it punctures a hole in an INS hull.
In terms of Operational Platforms and Variants:
Brahmos can be launched from various operating platforms, including ships, ground vehicles, submarines, and fighter planes. The anti-ship variant launched from ships is now in use, while the one launched from land is being phased in.
Successfully tested air-launched anti-ship and land-attack variants and are moving toward the operational production phase. The test shot from a Sukhoi Su-30 MKI shows that Brahmos-A performs flawlessly in the air. Brahmo’s derivatives are already in use on the Indian Navy’s Vishakhapatnam, Kolkata, Delhi, and Rajput Class destroyers, and the Shivalik and Talwar Class frigates will join the fray soon.
To prevent Chinese invasion along the Line of Actual Control in east Ladakh, the Indian Army has stationed Brahmos armed with Akash and Nirbhay missiles.
However, the Indian Air Force has been slower to catch up, and the air-launched Brahmos is now only operational with the Su-30 MKIs of the Tigersharks squadron at the Thanjavur Air Force Station.
Only Su30s can fire the Brahmos today, but once the Brahmos-NG (Next generation) modifications are rolled out, the Mig-29Ks, HAL Tejas, and Dassault Rafales will be updated for the same. Each Su-30 can carry three missiles thanks to the planned Brahmos improvements, which will make the plane smaller and lighter without sacrificing speed or Range.
The YJ-12 can be launched from the air or from a vehicle on the ground. The YJ-12 is launched from aircraft, whereas the YJ-12B is designed for use on land. CASIC has also developed an export version of its SM-3 called the CM-302, which China promotes as the best anti-ship missile in the world since it can cripple a 5000-ton warship and achieve a terminal stage flying speed of Mach 3+.
When partnered with the Chinese Sukhoi Su-30 MKK or the Shenyang J-11, the YJ-12 has a theoretical range of 1900km, which has sparked some concern among analysts. The Xian H-6 bombers have already put it through its paces.
YJ-12s are also rumored to be in the works for equipping the Shenyang J-16 and the Chengdu J-10. Ship-launched YJ-12 variants are also installed on all four operational PLAN destroyers of the Sovremenny class.
It stands to reason that no nation would bravely come clean about the number of missiles it possesses. An official announcement from 2008 stated that Brahmos planned to increase annual missile production from 25 to 50, creating a Brahmo’s missile force of 1,000 for the Indian Armed Forces and possibly 2,000 for friendly export.
Several innovative Brahmos tests have been conducted across all platforms since then, and a Brahmos-NG manufacturing unit is even in the works in Uttar Pradesh. The Air Force has stated it needs 400 missiles, which will cost over Rs. 8,000 crores over the course of 5 years.
Maybe the rest of the world will wait until it’s too late, but not for the Chinese numbers! The YJ-12 was displayed as an example of an operational weapon during the 2015 China Victory Day Parade, meaning its entry into active duty likely occurred sometime around then. Unlike the small arm’s reliability factor, China is a major worrying powerhouse in missile development.
FUTURE:
Hypersonic development is nothing new for Brahmos Aerospace. Plans are for the Brahmos-II, a hypersonic cruise missile currently in development, to travel between 600 km and 800 km/h (or up to Mach 8).
Yet CASIC has its sights set on expanding the capabilities of its CM-302 and CM-400 export variants. They claim that the new CM-400AKG ‘Wrecker’ is hypersonic because its final stage speed can reach Mach 5.5+. Pakistan agreed to buy 60 Wrecker missiles in 2020 so that it could strike harder against India.
Pakistan has called the missile they include in the current contract “an aircraft carrier killer,” even though it was initially designed as an air-to-air weapon.
The West should not be surprised by the fact that China has statistically outperformed the United States AGM-84 Harpoon, one of the most commonly employed and most reliable anti-ship missiles.
According to sources, despite the indigenized effort, China is being given a run for its money. The unit cost of microchips has grown too expensive for them, all because of the limitations and backwardness of the Chinese microelectronic sector.
China spends about $250,000 on the radar seeker. Despite China’s tendency to keep its military plans under wraps, it’s important to remember that, historically speaking, Chinese weapons have rarely lived up to their theoretical potential. According to its paper specifications, the YJ12 appears to be more powerful than the BrahMos in certain respects.
