Exocet anti-ship missile: The British naval conqueror.

Anti-ship missiles (ASMs) began appearing in World War II. The Germans were pioneers with the Henschel Hs 293 and Kramer XL missiles, commonly known as the Fritz-X. The Hs 293 was essentially a bomb with added wings and a tail, short wings, and a rocket engine. Once the bomb was released from an aircraft, the rocket engine accelerated it to approximately 900 km/h, and it was guided to its target by a bomber using radio-controlled remote guidance.

Both of these weapons saw combat in World War II, albeit on a relatively small scale. Under ideal conditions, they possessed sufficient destructive power to sink enemy ships and were quite accurate.

Out of sight

The Soviet Union pioneered the ASM missile, launched from both air and ground. The AS-1 Kennel was their first, a turbojet-powered cruise missile with a range of up to 172 km, guided by a combination of autopilot, radar beam tracking, and semi-active radar guidance.

Shortly thereafter, the SS-N-2 Styx missile was developed, using active radar guidance in the terminal phase and command-line control via radio waves. It became the first post-World War II anti-ship missile to be deployed in combat, when an Egyptian missile boat sank the Israeli destroyer Etlat in 1967.

By this time, other countries around the world had caught up with the Soviet Union. NATO countries had been producing increasingly sophisticated ASMs, including the Exocet.

The Exocet anti-ship missile is an anti-ship weapon developed by France and entered service with the French Navy in 1975. Its immediate strength lies in its versatility – by 1979, it could be launched from land, from ships, or from the air with a range of approximately 50 km.

Like many other modern ASMs,Exocet missileApproaching its target at a "sea-skimming" altitude reduces the likelihood of detection by enemy radar. An active-seeking radar unit guides the missile to its target in the final 12-15 km of its flight path – during which time the altitude can drop as low as 3 meters above sea level. A 165 kg high-explosive/fragmentation warhead delivers devastating force with a timed impact fuse allowing the missile to penetrate the warship before detonating.

Falkland War

A terrifying example of the effectiveness of the Exocet anti-ship missile came in 1982, when the British deployed a fairly large Naval Rapid Reaction Force to retake the Flakland Islands, which had been seized by Argentina.

On May 4th, an Argentinian Super Etendard aircraft shot down an Exocet missile that struck the Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield. The missile penetrated approximately mid-course on the Sheffield, just above the waterline.

Although the warhead did not explode, the impact killed 20 people and caused the ship to burst into flames beyond repair, sinking five days later. Two weeks later, on May 25th, two more Exocet missiles struck the British transport ship Atlantic Conveyor, which was carrying helicopters and logistical supplies for the land operation. This ship also sank five days later.

The Exocet missile, an anti-ship missile, is the most formidable anti-ship weapon ever developed by Europe. (Image source: Military)

Later, under pressure from London, France was forced to halt the transfer of Exocet missiles to Argentina, thus preventing further attacks on British ships by these deadly weapons. Throughout the 1980s, more than 100 Exocet missiles were fired in battlefields around the world, mostly by Iraq targeting Iranian ships and oil rigs during the war between the two countries. However, two Exocet missiles also damaged the USS Stark in 1987.

As a result, Exocet became one of the most successful anti-ship missiles since World War II, proving that a few inexpensive missiles could change the outcome of an entire campaign simply by sinking strategically important enemy warships.

Video: Close-up footage of the Exocet missile strike that hit the British ship HMS Sheffield.