Details

The Hai Ying-4 (HY-4) is a short-range, turbojet-powered, single warhead, ground-, air-, and ship-launched cruise missile developed and manufactured by the People’s Republic of China.

 During the late 1950s, the former Soviet Union supplied China with a number of SS-N-2A “Styx” (P-15). These Russian missiles, which the Chinese designated SY-1 (NATO: CSS-N-1 “Scrubbrush”), constituted the basic design for a large number of Chinese missiles from the 1960s to the 1980s. During the late 1960s, China manufactured its own version of the Russian SS-N-2A, the HY-1.

China began developing the HY-4 in the mid-1970s as an improvement over the HY-1 and HY-2. The HY-4 was based on technology probably taken from U.S. BQM-34 Firebee drones recovered by the Chinese. The missile was originally intended as a coastal defense weapon. The ship-launched and coastal defense versions are believed to have entered service around 1985, with the air-launched version entering service in 1991. An improved version of the HY-4, known as the HY-41 or XW-41, is believed to have been developed from about 1987 but was terminated around 1991.

 The HY-4 is similar in appearance to the HY-1 and HY-2, with two delta-shipped wings and a rudder and tail. The missile also includes a large air inlet for the turbojet engine. The HY-4 is 7.36 m long, 0.76 m in diameter, and has a wingspan of 2.5 m. It carries a high explosive 513 kg warhead. The ground- and ship-launched versions include a solid propellant boost motor, which brings the total launch weight to 1,950 kg. The air-launched version has no solid propellant boost motor and weighs 1,740 kg.

The HY-4 is guided by autopilot in the midcourse phase, and by an active radar for the terminal phase. The missile’s altimeter allows for a cruising altitude of between 70 and 200 m, followed by a steep dive onto the target. The HY-2 has a minimum range of 35 km and a maximum range of 135 km. The later HY-41 (export version) has a maximum range of 200 km which is achieved by carrying extra fuel in the missile. The HY-4 has a subsonic cruising speed of Mach 0.8.

 There are at least two modified versions of the HY-4. These are known as the HY-4A and the HY-4B. The HY-4A, like the HY-4, is used for air, ship, and ground launch. It appears to be primarily an anti-ship missile. It is slightly shorter than its predecessor with a length of 6.1 m, but overall missile weight is the same and it employs a similar (if not identical) booster engine system. It has a slightly wider wingspan than the HY-4 at 2.9 m yet the body diameter is the same. Instead of the 513 kg payload, the HY-4A carries a 300 kg payload that probably includes conventional HE and a semi-armor-piercing warhead to be used against ship targets. HY-4A guidance is inertial with GPS in mid-course with a combined active/passive radar seeker in the terminal phase. The missile cruises at around 30 m altitude before descending to 7 to 10 m just before reaching the target. The missile is believed to have a range of 280 km. The HY-4A missile probably entered service in 1989.

 The HY-4B is an air-launch version of the HY-4 that seems fitted to land-attack functions. The missile has an extended range of 200 km with improved guidance systems. The missile is believed to employ either TV or infrared seekers with a datalink for external control. The missile carries a 500 kg payload that may have various warhead options. An unconfirmed report, for example, suggested that the missile may be fitted with a penetration warhead for attacking hardened targets. The HY-4B missile probably entered service in 2000. A version of the HY-4B with an extended range may have entered service in 2005.

 Some versions of the HY-4 were offered for export in the early 1990s, designated as the C-201 or C201W for the ground-launched missile and C-611 for the air-launched missile, although there have been no known exports. China has claimed that the C-201W, which is most likely the export version of the HY-41 upgrade, has an increased range of 200 km. An unconfirmed report suggests that China may have exported HY-4 coastal defense missiles to Iran. Since 1998, China has not offered the HY-4 for export.(1)