Editing Anti-ship missile (section)

==Threat posed==
{{More citations needed|section|date=February 2022}}
[[File:X-15c.gif|thumb|Attack against an aircraft carrier using a [[Kh-15|Kh-15S]]]]
[[File:Ракетный удар гвардейского ракетного крейсера «Варяг» и поражение судна-мишени класса «крейсер».ogv|thumb|Video of Russian [[P-1000 Vulkan]] missile destroying a target ship]]

Anti-ship missiles are a significant threat to surface ships, which have large [[radar]], radio, and thermal signatures that are difficult to suppress. Once acquired, a ship cannot outrun or out-turn a missile, the warhead of which can inflict significant damage. To counter the threat posed, the modern surface combatant has to either avoid being detected, destroy the missile launch platform before it fires its missiles, or decoy or destroy all of the incoming missiles.
 
Modern navies have spent much time and effort developing counters to the threat of anti-ship missiles since the Second World War. Anti-ship missiles have been the driving force behind many aspects of modern ship design, especially in navies that operate aircraft carriers.

The first layer of antimissile defense by a modern, fully equipped [[aircraft carrier]] [[task force]] is always the long-range [[air-to-air missile|missile-carrying]] fighter planes of the aircraft carrier itself. Several fighters are kept on [[combat air patrol]] (CAP) 24 hours a day, seven days a week when at sea, and many more are put aloft when the situation warrants, such as during wartime or when a threat to the task force is detected.
[[File:Mansup (13-09-2024).gif|thumb|right|Brazilian frigate [[HMS Battleaxe (F89)|''Rademaker'']] firing a [[MANSUP]] anti-ship missile in September 2024]]
These fighters patrol up to hundreds of miles away from the task force and they are equipped with airborne radar systems. When spotting an approaching aircraft on a threatening flight profile, it is the responsibility of the CAP to intercept it before any missile is launched. If this cannot be achieved in time, the missiles themselves can be targeted by the fighters's own weapons systems, usually their air-to-air missiles, but ''in extremis'', by their rapid-fire cannon.

However, some AShMs might "leak" past the task force's fighter defenses. In addition, many modern warships operate independently of carrier-based air protection and they must provide their own defenses against missiles and aircraft. Under these circumstances, the ships themselves must utilize multilayered defenses which have been built into them.

For example, some warships, such as the [[US Navy]]'s {{sclass|Ticonderoga|cruiser|0}} [[guided missile cruiser]]s, the {{sclass|Arleigh Burke|destroyer|0}} [[guided missile destroyer]]s, and the [[Royal Navy]]'s Type 45 guided missile destroyer, use a combination of radar systems, integrated computer fire-control systems, and agile [[surface-to-air missile]]s (SAM) to simultaneously track, engage, and destroy several incoming anti-ship missiles or hostile [[warplane]]s at a time.

The primary American defensive system, called the [[Aegis Combat System]], is also used by the navies of Japan, Spain, Norway, South Korea, and Australia. The Aegis system has been designed to defend against mass attacks by hostile anti-ship missiles or warplanes.

Any missiles that can elude the interception by medium-ranges SAM missiles can then be either deceived with electronic countermeasures or decoys; shot down by short-range missiles such as the Sea Sparrow or the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM); engaged by the warship's main gun armament (if present); or, as a last resort, destroyed by a [[close-in weapon system]] (CIWS), such as the American [[Phalanx CIWS]], Russian [[Kashtan CIWS]], or the Dutch [[Goalkeeper CIWS]].

===Current threats and vulnerabilities===
[[File:Khalij Fars (“Persian Gulf”) ballistic missile.jpg|thumb|Iranian [[Persian Gulf (missile)|Persian Gulf]] [[anti-ship ballistic missile]]]]
To counter these defense systems, countries such as Russia are developing or deploying missiles that slowly cruise at a very low level (about five meters above sea level) to within a short range of their target and then, at the point when radar detection becomes inevitable, initiate a supersonic, high-agility sprint (potentially with anti-aircraft missile detection and evasion) to close the terminal distance. Missiles, such as the [[SS-N-27|SS-N-27 Sizzler]], that incorporate this sort of threat modality are regarded by US Navy analysts as potentially being able to penetrate the US Navy's defensive systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a5LkaU0wj714&refer=home|title=Navy Lacks Plan to Defend Against 'Sizzler' Missile|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=13 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071119102801/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=a5LkaU0wj714&refer=home|archive-date=19 November 2007|url-status=live}}</ref>

Recent years have seen a growing amount of attention being paid to the possibility of [[ballistic missile]]s being re-purposed or designed for an anti-ship role. Speculation has focused on the development of such missiles for use by China's [[People's Liberation Army Navy]]. Such an [[anti-ship ballistic missile]] would approach its target extremely rapidly, making it very difficult to intercept.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.defensereview.com/chinese-anti-ship-ballistic-missile-asbm-kill-weapon-flummoxes-us-navy/|title=Chinese Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) 'Kill Weapon' Flummoxes U.S. Navy|author=David Crane|date=6 April 2009|publisher=DefenseReview.com (DR): An online tactical technology and military defense technology magazine with particular focus on the latest and greatest tactical firearms news (tactical gun news), tactical gear news and tactical shooting news.|access-date=13 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113185848/http://www.defensereview.com/chinese-anti-ship-ballistic-missile-asbm-kill-weapon-flummoxes-us-navy/|archive-date=13 November 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to China's development of anti-ship missiles and other [[anti-access/area denial]] capabilities, the United States has developed the [[AirSea Battle]] doctrine.