"China's missile technology is now combat-ready! For the first time, anti-ship ballistic missiles have sunk a ship," on July 9, the Yemeni Houthis publicly released footage showing four anti-ship missiles. The 30,000-ton Eternal C merchant ship was hit by six anti-ship missiles, and the Houthis publicly revealed the signals of the anti-ship missiles, including the Mandab-1 anti-ship cruise missile and the Faliq-1 anti-ship ballistic missile. The Eternal C merchant ship suffered seven explosion damages, and due to an unmanned suicide boat that exploded at the waterline, this large hole allowed a large amount of seawater to enter, ultimately causing the 30,000-ton giant ship to sink rapidly.
From the current situation, the Yemeni Houthis launched a tough move right from the start, directly using anti-ship missiles, while the Western mercenaries and security guards on board reported being attacked by five RPG rockets. Now it turns out that these were not RPG rockets, but anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and unmanned suicide boats, which directly sank the ship.
In this attack, the most notable was the use of the Mandab-1 anti-ship cruise missile by the Yemeni Houthis. This anti-ship cruise missile was provided by Iran, which is a copy of the Chinese C-801 anti-ship missile. In 2015, the Yemeni Houthis obtained an unspecified number of C-801 anti-ship missiles with a range of 200-300 kilometers, guided by active radar seekers. The Faliq-1 anti-ship ballistic missile launched by the Yemeni Houthis is the version of the Iranian Fars anti-ship ballistic missile used by the Houthis. The prototype of the Iranian Fars anti-ship ballistic missile is the M-7 tactical ballistic missile (a modified Hongqi-2 air defense missile). After obtaining the M-7 tactical ballistic missile, Iran made copies and eventually developed the Fars and Fateh series of tactical ballistic missiles. The Faliq-1 anti-ship ballistic missile launched by the Yemeni Houthis has a range of 300 kilometers. Like the original Iranian version, the Faliq-1 anti-ship ballistic missile is equipped with an electro-optical seeker and an infrared seeker.
The Yemeni Houthis, relying on Chinese-origin missiles, managed to win control of the Red Sea in the 21st century, ignoring the U.S. Navy's two aircraft carrier fleets, and created a record of sinking a vessel of great tonnage. The Yemeni Houthis are somewhat extravagant, using anti-ship missiles to attack civilian ships, drones, or unmanned boats, and even detonating them on board. They also tested the effectiveness of their weapons. Overall, even though it is difficult to sink a large ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile, the most destructive to a large ship is the unmanned suicide boat exploding at the waterline. The anti-ship missiles possessed by the Yemeni Houthis are all provided by Iran. Iran not only has a rich stockpile of ballistic and air defense missiles, but another strategy is to block the Strait of Hormuz, for which it has equipped a large number of anti-ship missiles.
Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837232332740931/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.