ASuW missiles have been used in local and regionalised conflicts involving terrorist groups and non-state actors, with the conflict in Yemen a notable recent example. Lighter and stronger materials technologies also make ASuW missiles smaller and faster, with gains in range and an expanded number of options for smaller and non-traditional launch platforms – ships, submarines, ground vehicles and aircraft.Īmidst these strategic market and technology trends, the prospect that naval ASuW missiles will see active use in combat appears to be growing at both ends of the naval conflict spectrum. Changes in propulsion and materials will contribute to the development of new hypersonic missiles that combine the speed of ballistic missiles and the manoeuvrability of cruise missiles. Advances in communications and information technologies are clearly seen in the increasing number of “fire and forget” ASuW missiles that no longer depend on launch platform or other guidance support to strike targets at increasing ranges. Lastly, technology has fundamentally changed the conditions and constraints of ASuW missile design. This trend has the two-fold effect of increasing the market opportunity for ASuW missile suppliers, and increasing the likelihood that ASuW missiles will be used in active operations. More navies are acquiring the kinds of ships, and ASuW missiles that in previous decades were concentrated among fewer navies. The second trend is the increasing capability and dispersion of the new ships and submarines that are being built today. With fewer ships in service, naval planners will be pressed to decide which of those fewer ships will be equipped with new ASuW missiles. Those ships are now reaching 30, 40 and in some cases 50 years of service and are in large part incapable of serving much longer. The first is the overall reduction in naval ships and submarines in service, a result of the continuing retirement of ships that were brought into service during the Cold War or in the decade after. The ASuW market is influenced by three strategic trends that are reshaping naval force structures. These traditional offerors are joined by companies and countries such as India and Korea that have developed local ASuW missiles and bring them to the market with alternative supply chains, fewer export restrictions, and favourable trade terms. This article reviews the current and future prospects for naval ASuW missile in the global market. The global naval market for anti-ship missiles has entered a transition phase as established market leaders such as Boeing’s HARPOON and MBDA’s EXOCET compete against a growing number of increasingly capable, lethal, and inexpensive rivals offered from the US, Europe, China, and Russia.

Lcs harpoon missile range