FL-7
In addition to developing the C-101 and C-301 supersonic anti-ship missiles which are fairly large in size, China has developed FL-7 (FL: Fei Long, meaning Flying Dragon) supersonic anti-ship missile which can be carried on airplanes and warships. The Feilong-7 has an effective range of 32 kilometers and a speed of Mach 1.4. It has powerful anti-jamming capability and its supersonic flight makes terminal interception difficult. The warhead of the FL-7 can pierce solid armor and destroy large and medium-sized surface warships. This missile can be roughly considered as the supersonic counterpart of the subsonic C-704 anti-ship missile. The missile is powered by a liquid fuel rocket motor and a solid rocket booster, which is under the airframe at the rear.
| FL-7 | |
|---|---|
| Type | anti-ship, and air-to-surface missiles |
| Place of origin | China |
| Service history | |
| In service | late 1980s–present |
| Used by | China |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Hongdu Aviation Industry Corporation |
| Produced | 1980s–1990s |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1.77 ton |
| Length | 6.59 meter |
| Diameter | 0.54 meter |
| Warhead | 360 kg warhead |
Detonation mechanism | Semi-armor-piercing |
| Engine | rocket motor |
| Wingspan | 1.86 meter |
| Propellant | liquid fuel |
Operational range | 32 km |
| Flight altitude | 5 to 50 cruising |
| Maximum speed | Mach 1.4 |
Guidance system | ARH |
Launch platform | Air & ground |
Along with C-101, FL-7 competed for the air-launched supersonic anti-ship missile program in China during the 1990s. However, C-101 was selected because it flies at faster speed and its range is nearly a third greater than that of FL-7, while it only weighs slightly heavier. Being the last Chinese anti-ship missile with rocket motor powered by liquid fuel, the role of FL-7 is decreasing, but not yet immediately phased out. The reason is that the Chinese coastal defense doctrine when using anti-ship missiles: multi-direction, multi-altitude, multiple waves attacks on targets with both supersonic and subsonic anti-ship missiles to make it difficult for the targets to defend itself from such saturated attacks, FL-7 is thus still have a little role to play in such saturated attacks at shorter range. However, it is safe to conclude that as newer missiles becoming widely available, the role of FL-7 would continuously decrease to its eventual retirement.
Western sources have claimed in 1996, with Chinese help in the forms of technology sales, that Iran had begun indigenous production of a medium-range anti-ship missile, based on the technologies of FL-7.
- Length: 6.59 m
- Diameter: 0.54 m
- Weight: 1,770 kg
- Wingspan: 1.86 m
- Warhead: 360 kg
- Speed: > Mach 1.4
- Range: 32 km max.
- Guidance: active radar homing seeker (Other types of seekers being developed)
- Propulsion: one liquid rocket engine with a solid rocket booster