A land-attack missile (LAM) is a naval surface-to-surface missile that is capable of effectively attacking targets ashore, unlike specialized anti-ship missiles, which are optimized for striking other ships. Some dual-role missiles are suitable for both missions.
Like long-range anti-ship missiles, land-attack missiles are usually turbojet or turbofan powered cruise missiles. To prevent early detection and counter-measures, they usually fly near the ground at very low altitude, employing terrain-following techniques, either with terrain-following radar or with precise navigation system, like GPS, combined with a stored map of obstacles and ground elevation data (TERCOM).
Land-attack missiles are usually programmed before launch to follow a set of way-points up to the target. Terminal guidance can be done with active radar homing, passive radar or electronic warfare support measures, infrared homing or optical guidance, or the (fixed) target was predesignated with as final way-point.
Some missiles allow mid-course updates after launch and some may even send information back to the launch platform or other units.
List of missiles
Specific types of LAMs (current, past and under development)| Name | Origin | Maximum Range |
|---|---|---|
| 3M22 Zircon | Russia | 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) |
| 3M-51 Alfa | Russia | 250 kilometres (160 mi) |
| 3M-54 Kalibr | Russia | 4,500 kilometres (2,800 mi) |
| BGM-109 Tomahawk | United States | 1,666 kilometres (1,035 mi)1 |
| BrahMos | India / Russia | 900 kilometres (560 mi) (Surface-launched version) |
| BrahMos-II | India / Russia | 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) |
| Nirbhay | India | 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) |
| CJ-10 | China | 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) |
| CJ-100 | China | 2,000–3,000 kilometres (1,200–1,900 mi) |
| Hermes (missile) | Russia | 100 kilometres (62 mi) |
| Hongniao | China | 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) |
| Hyunmoo-3 | South Korea | 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) (Hyunmoo-3C) |
| Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept | United States | >560 kilometres (350 mi)23 |
| Hsiung Feng IIE | Taiwan | >1,200 kilometres (750 mi)4 |
| Hsiung Feng III | Taiwan | 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) |
| Otomat Mk/2E | Italy | 360 kilometres (220 mi) |
| Kh-59 | Russia | 550 kilometres (340 mi) |
| Joint Strike Missile | Norway / United States | 555 kilometres (345 mi) |
| MAS | Brazil / United Arab Emirates | TBA (under development)56 |
| MdCN | France | 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) |
| P-800 Oniks | Russia | 800 kilometres (500 mi) |
| RBS15 | Sweden | >300 kilometres (190 mi) |
| RK-55 / S-10 | Russia | 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) |
| Wan Chien | Taiwan | 300 kilometres (190 mi)7 |
| YJ-12 | China | 546 kilometres (339 mi) |
| YJ-18 | China | 540 kilometres (340 mi) |
| YJ-62 | China | 400 kilometres (250 mi) |
| Yun Feng | Taiwan | 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) |
References
"U.S. Marines Experimenting with Tomahawk for Land-Attack and Anti-Ship Missions". 17 June 2021. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/06/u-s-marines-experimenting-with-tomahawk-for-land-attack-and-anti-ship-missions/ ↩
"US tested hypersonic missile in mid-March but kept it quiet to avoid escalating tensions with Russia". 5 April 2022. https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/04/politics/us-hypersonic-missile-test/index.html ↩
https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-07-18 [bare URL] https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-07-18 ↩
"Taiwan: New Hsiung Feng IIIE long-range strike missile | April 2018 Global Defense Security army news industry | Defense Security global news industry army 2018 | Archive News year". 25 April 2018. https://www.armyrecognition.com/april_2018_global_defense_security_army_news_industry/taiwan_new_hsiung_feng_iiie_long-range_strike_missiles.html ↩
"SIATT e a Marinha assinam acordo para desenvolvimento de mísseis antiaéreo e ar-superfície". Tecnodefesa (in Portuguese). 20 February 2024. https://tecnodefesa.com.br/siatt-e-a-marinha-assinam-acordo-para-desenvolvimento-de-misseis-antiaereo-e-ar-solo/ ↩
"A SIATT e a Marinha do Brasil assinam Acordo de Desenvolvimento dos Mísseis Superfície-Ar e Ar-Superfície". Defesa Aérea e Naval (in Portuguese). 20 February 2024. https://www.defesaaereanaval.com.br/naval/a-siatt-e-a-marinha-do-brasil-assinam-acordo-de-desenvolvimento-dos-misseis-superficie-ar-e-ar-superficie ↩
"WW3 fears growing as 'Ten Thousand Swords' missile for strike on China 'PRIMED and READY'". Dailystar.co.uk. 7 August 2018. https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/721661/china-news-taiwan-wan-chien-missile-ww3 ↩