According to the Haaretz.com
Report, the INS Spear, a Saar-5 Class covette was hit by an
Iranian made , land mobile Chinese developed C-802 Anti-ship
missile:
C-802 / YJ-2 / Ying Ji-802
CSS-C-8 / SACCADE
C-8xx / YJ-22
The Ying-Ji-802 land attack and anti-ship cruise missile [Western
designation SACCADE], is an improved version of the C-801 which
employs a small turbojet engine in place of the original solid
rocket engine. The weight of the subsonic (0.9 Mach) Yingji-802 is
reduced from 815 kilograms to 715 kilograms, but its range is
increased from 42 kilometers to 120 kilometers. The 165 kg. (363
lb.) warhead is just as powerful as the earlier version. Since the
missile has a small radar reflectivity and is only about five to
seven meters above the sea surface when it attacks the target, and
since its guidance equipment has strong anti-jamming capability,
target ships have a very low success rate in intercepting the
missile. The hit probability of the Yingji-802 is estimated to be
as high as 98 percent. The Yingji-802 can be launched from
airplanes, ships, submarines and land-based vehicles, and is
considered along with the US "Harpoon" as among the best anti-ship
missiles of the present-day world.
Following the 1991 Gulf War Iran imported the C-802 antiship cruise
missile from China. China suspended exports in 1996 in response to
comlaints by the the United States. In December 1996 Chairman of
the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, John Shalikashivili, warned Chinese
Defense Minister General Chi Haotian that arms exports would
increase destabilizing factors in the region. No international
agreement bans transfers of anti-ship missiles, and the C-802 is
not covered by the MTCR, which controls exports of ballistic and
cruise missiles that can deliver 500 kg. warheads to 300 km. Iran
expected to purchase 150 C-802 missiles from China but only
received a half of them because of the arms suspension. By mid-1997
Iran reportedly possessed some 60 of the missiles deployed in
coastal batteries on Qeshm Island, a strategic point on the eastern
side of the Arabian peninsula. In 1997, General J.H. Binford Peay,
Central Command commander, said that China transferred 20 patrol
boats with 15 equipped with C-802 missiles (Washington Times,
January 29, 1997). [Some reports claim that China may have
transferred hundreds of C-802s, although these claims are not
widely attested].
In early 2000 it was reported that North Korea and Iran were
jointly developing an advanced version of the C-802 cruise missile.
These missiles initially acquired by Iran were not equipped with
advanced systems, and the missiles acquired by Iran were rather
outdated. Iran turned to North Korea for missile system technology,
and the two countries are jointly developing an upgraded version
with improved accuracy. ["N. Korea, Iran Jointly Develop Missile:
Report" Korea Times February 17, 2000]
The precise application of the YJ-8 designation remains somewhat
obscure, as it is used with reference to both C-801 and C-802
missiles, and may be the overall designator for the weapon system
that fires both types of missiles.
The YJ-22 is a land-attack cruise missile development of the
anti-ship C-802 with a 400km range, and possible GPS/TM guidance
currently said to be under development with an IOC expected after
2005.
