Recently, China publicly displayed its most dangerous weapons. During the military parade held on Victory Day, one missile attracted the most attention – YJ-21. China calls this missile a ‘killer missile’, whose speed is said to be six times the speed of sound (Mach-6). China says that its speed is so high that it is almost impossible for any air defense system to catch it.
Many people are comparing it with India’s Brahmos missile. In such a situation, it has become important to know which of Brahmos and YJ-21 is more powerful.
YJ-12 Vs Brahmos: Comparison Of Range And speed
Various claims have been made about the range of YJ-12. At the 2016 Zhuhai Airshow, its range was reported to be 290 km, while the United States Naval War College Review reported it to be up to 400 km. Some experts consider it to be 300 km. On an average, the range of YJ-12 is considered to be between 250 to 400 km and it can go up to a speed of 4 Mach.
The initial range of Brahmos was 290 km, which has now been increased to 350 km. Its speed reaches 3.5 Mach. In this way, YJ-12 has a slight edge, but this difference cannot be called decisive.
Comparison Of Propulsion System
Brahmos is a multi-stage missile, in which the first stage is a solid fuel rocket booster and the second stage is a liquid fuel ramjet engine. Its design is light, simple and reliable. On the other hand, YJ-12 uses an integrated ramjet system, which can make it less effective than Brahmos.
Guidance And Accuracy
Brahmos has a two-stage guidance system, in which inertial and satellite navigation are used. In the final stage, it hits the target through active radar homing and ‘fire and forget’ system. YJ-12 has inertial guidance and China’s indigenous BDS (Beidou Satellite System), which is considered an alternative to GPS. It has an active radar seeker for terminal homing, whose accuracy is said to be more than 90%.
The circular error probability (CEP) of Brahmos is only 1 meter, while the CEP of YJ-12 is between 5-7 meters. In this respect, Brahmos proves to be much more accurate than YJ-12.
Radar Protection And flexibility
Brahmos can fly at a height of 3-4 meters, which prevents it from getting caught by enemy radar. YJ-12 also has sea-skimming technology, but its exact information has been kept confidential.
Brahmos can be fired from air, water and land. It can be launched from warships, TEL, submarines and fighter aircraft. Its air-launch test has been done successfully from Sukhoi Su-30 MKI.
Several destroyers of the Indian Navy are already equipped with BrahMos. The Indian Army has deployed it in eastern Ladakh. In future, MiG-29K, HAL Tejas and Rafale will be equipped with BrahMos-NG.
Features And Limitations Of YJ-12
The YJ-12 can be fired from both air-launched and land-based platforms. Its export version CM-302, which is being promoted as the world’s best anti-ship missile, has the capability to destroy a 5000-tonne warship. The YJ-12 can also be launched from many Chinese fighter jets and bombers. PLAN’s four Sovremenny-class destroyers are equipped with YJ-12.
BrahMos-II Vs Chinese Export Variants
Work is underway on the BrahMos-II, which will have a range of 600-800 km and a speed of up to 8 Mach. At the same time, China’s CASIC company is working on export variants called CM-302 and CM-400AKG. CM-400AKG or ‘Recker’ is being described as a hypersonic missile, which can reach a speed of 5.5+ Mach in the terminal phase. Pakistan had signed a deal for 60 units of this missile in 2020.
