Anti - ship missile Anti - ship missiles are guided missile s that are designed for use against ships and large boats . Most anti - ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety , and many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing . A good number of other anti - ship missiles use infrared homing to follow the heat that is emitted by a ship ; it is also possible for anti - ship missiles to be guided by radio command all the way . The first anti - ship missiles , which were developed and built by Nazi Germany , used radio command guidance , these saw some success in the Mediterranean Theater in 1943 - 44 , sinking or heavily damaging at least 31 ships with the Henschel Hs 293 and more than seven with the " Fritz X " , such as the Italian battleship " Roma " or the cruiser . A variant of the HS 293 had a TV transmitter on board . The bomber carrying it could then fly outside the range of naval AA guns and use TV guidance to lead the missile to its target by radio control . Many anti - ship missiles can be launched from a variety of weapons systems including surface warship s ( they can then be referred to as ship - to - ship missiles ) , submarine s , bomber s , fighter plane s , patrol plane s , helicopter s , shore batteries , land vehicles , and conceivably , even by infantry men firing shoulder - launched missiles . A typical acronym for the phrase " anti - ship missile " is ASM , but AShM can also be used to avoid confusion with air - to - surface missile s , anti - submarine missile s , and anti - satellite missile s . History . Anti - ship missiles were among the first instances of short - range guided missiles during World War II in 1943 - 44 . The German Luftwaffe used the Hs 293 , the " Fritz " X , and others , all launched from its bomber s , to deadly effect against some Allied ships in the Mediterranean Sea , seriously damaging ships such as the United States Navy light cruiser off Salerno , Italy . These all used radio command - guidance from the bombardier s of the warplane s that launched them . Some of these hit and either sank or damaged a number of ships , including warships offshore of amphibious landings on western Italy . These radio - controlled missiles were used successfully until the Allied navies developed missile countermeasures - principally radio jamming . The Allies also developed some of their own similar radio - guided AShMs , such as the " Tiny Tim " and the SWOD - 9 " Bat " , but these saw little to no use in combat . During the Cold War , the Soviet Union turned to a sea - denial strategy concentrating on submarine s , naval mine s and the AShM . One of the first products of the decision was the SS - N - 2 " Styx " missile . Further products were to follow , and they were soon loaded on to the Soviet Air Force ' s Tu - 95 " Bear " and Tu - 22 " Blinder " bombers , in the case of the air - launched " KS - 1 Komet " . In 1967 , the Israeli Navy ' s destroyer " Eilat " was the first ship to be sunk by a ship - launched missile - a number of " Styx " missiles launched by Egyptian Komar - class missile boat s off the Sinai Peninsula . In the Indo - Pakistani War of 1971 the Indian Navy conducted two raids using " " OSA " " 1 - class missile boats employing the " Styx " on the Pakistani Naval base at Karachi . These raids resulted in the destruction or crippling of approximately two thirds of the Pakistani Navy . Major losses included two destroyers , a fleet oiler , an ammunition ship , approximately a dozen merchant ships and numerous smaller craft . Major shore based facilities , including fuel storage tanks and naval installations were also destroyed . The " Osas " returned to base without loss . The Battle of Latakia in 1973 ( during the Yom Kippur / Ramadan War ) was the scene of the world ' s first combat between anti - ship missile - equipped missile boats . In this battle , the Israeli Navy destroyed Syrian warships without suffering any damage , using electronic countermeasures for defense . After defeating the Syrian navy the Israeli missile boats also sank a number of Egyptian warships , again without suffering any damage in return , thus achieving total naval supremacy for the rest of the war . Anti - ship missiles were used in the 1982 Falklands War . The British warship , a 4 , 820 ton Type 42 Destroyer , was struck by a single air - launched " Exocet " AShM , she later sank as a result of the damage that she sustained . The container ship " Atlantic Conveyor " was also sunk by an " Exocet " . HMS " Glamorgan " was damaged when she was struck by an MM38 missile launched from an improvised trailer - based launcher taken from the Argentine Navy destroyer ARA " Comodoro Seguí " by Navy technicians , but she was able to take evasive action that restricted the damage . In 1987 , a US Navy guided - missile frigate , the USS " Stark " , was hit by an " Exocet " anti - ship missile fired by an Iraqi " Mirage F - 1 " fighter plane . " Stark " was damaged , but she was able steam to a friendly port for temporary repairs . In October 1987 , the " Sungari " , an American - owned tanker steaming under the Liberian flag and a Kuwaiti tanker steaming under the American flag , the " Sea Isle City " , were hit by Iranian HY - 2 missiles . In 1988 ASMs were fired by both American and Iranian forces in Operation Praying Mantis in the Persian Gulf . During this naval battle , several Iranian warships were hit by American ASMs ( and by the US Navy ' s " Standard " missile s - SAMs which were doing double - duty in the anti - ship role ) . The US Navy hit the Iranian Navy light frigate IS " Sahand " with three Harpoon missiles , four AGM - 123 Skipper rocket - propelled bombs , a Walleye laser - guided bomb , and several 1 , 000 lb " iron bombs " . Despite the large number of munitions and successful hits , the 1 , 540 ton IS " Sahand " did not sink until fire reached her ammunition magazine , causing it to detonate , blowing the frigate to bits . In the same engagement , American warships fired three " Standard " missiles at an Iranian Navy corvette . This corvette had such a low profile above the water that a " Harpoon " missile that arrived several minutes later could not lock on to it with its targeting radars . In 2006 , Lebanese Hezbollah fighters fired an AShM at the Israeli corvette INS " Hanit " , inflicting battle damage , but this warship managed to return to Israel in one piece and under its own power . A second missile in this same salvo struck and sank an Egyptian merchant ship . Threat posed . Antiship missiles are a large threat to surface ships , which have large radar , radio , and thermal signatures that are difficult to suppress . Once acquired , a ship cannot outrun or outturn a missile , the warhead of which can inflict significant damage . To counter the threat posed , the modern surface combatant has to either avoid being detected , destroy the missile launch platform before it fires its missiles , or decoy and / or destroy all of the incoming missiles . Modern navies have spent much time and effort developing counters to the threat of antiship missiles since World War II . Antiship missiles have been the driving force behind many aspects of modern ship design , especially in navies that operate aircraft carriers . The first layer of antimissile defense by a modern , fully equipped aircraft carrier task force is always the long - range missile - carrying fighter planes of the aircraft carrier itself . Several fighters are kept on combat air patrol ( CAP ) 24 hours a day , seven days a week when at sea , and many more are put aloft when the situation warrants , such as during wartime or when a threat to the task force is detected . These fighters patrol up to hundreds of miles away from the Aircraft Carrier Task Force and they are equipped with excellent airborne radar systems . When spotting an approaching aircraft on a threatening flight profile , it is the responsibility of the CAP to intercept it before any missile is launched . If this cannot be achieved in time , the missiles themselves can be targeted by the fighters ' s own weapons systems , usually their air - to - air missiles , but " in extremis " , by their rapid - fire cannon . However , some AShM ' s might " leak " past the Carrier Task Force ' s fighter defenses . In addition , many modern warships operate independently of carrier - based air protection and they must provide their own defenses against missiles and aircraft . Under these circumstances , the ships itself must utilize multilayered defenses which have been built into them . For example , some warships , such as the U . S . Navy ' s " Ticonderoga " - class guided missile cruiser s , the " Arleigh Burke " - class guided missile destroyer s , and the Royal Navy ' s Type 45 guided missile destroyer , use a combination of powerful and agile radar systems , integrated computer fire - control systems , and agile surface - to - air missile s to simultaneously track , engage , and destroy several incoming antiship missiles and / or hostile warplane s at a time . The top American defensive system , called the Aegis Combat System , is also used by the navies of Japan , Spain , Norway , and South Korea . Aegis is also being built into three new guided - missile destroyer s for the Royal Australian Navy , either under construction or in the planning stages . The Aegis system has been designed to defend against mass attacks by hostile antiship missiles and / or warplanes . Any missiles that can elude the interception by medium - ranges SAM missiles can then be either deceived with electronic countermeasures or decoys ; shot down by short - range missiles such as the Sea Sparrow or the Rolling Airframe Missile ( RAM ) ; engaged by the warship ' s main gun armament ( if present ) ; or , as a last resort , blown to bits by a close - in weapon system ( CIWS ) , such as the American " Phalanx CIWS " or the Dutch " Goalkeeper CIWS " . Current threats and vulnerabilities . To counter these defense systems , countries such as Russia are developing or deploying very low - flying missiles ( about five meters above sea level ) that slowly cruise at a very low level to within a short range of their target and then , at the point when radar detection becomes inevitable , initiate a supersonic , high - agility sprint ( potentially with anti - aircraft missile detection and evasion ) to close the terminal distance . Missiles , such as the SS - N - 27 " Sizzler " , that incorporate this sort of threat modality are regarded by U . S . Navy analysts as potentially being able to penetrate the U . S . Navy ' s defensive systems . Recent years have seen a growing amount of attention being paid to the possibility of ballistic missiles being re - purposed or designed for an anti - ship role . Speculation has focused on the development of such missiles for use by China ' s People ' s Liberation Army Navy . Such an anti - ship ballistic missile would approach its target extremely rapidly , making it very difficult to intercept . Countermeasures . Countermeasures against anti - ship missiles include : On February 25 , 1991 , during the first Gulf War , the Phalanx - equipped was a few miles from the and the destroyer . The ships were attacked by an Iraqi Silkworm missile ( often referred to as the " Seersucker " ) , at which " Missouri " fired its SRBOC chaff . The Phalanx system on " Jarrett " , operating in the automatic target - acquisition mode , fixed upon " Missouri " ' s chaff , releasing a burst of rounds . From this burst , four rounds hit " Missouri " which was two to three miles ( about 5 km ) from " Jarrett " at the time . There were no injuries . A Sea Dart missile was then launched from HMS Gloucester , which destroyed the Iraqi missile , achieving the first successful engagement of a missile by a missile during combat at sea . Modern stealth ship s – or ships that at least employ some stealth technology – to reduce the risk of detection and to make them a harder target for the missile itself . These passive countermeasures include : Examples of these include the Norwegian " Skjold class patrol boat " , the Swedish " Visby class corvette " , the German " Sachsen class frigate " , the US Navy ' s " Arleigh Burke " class destroyer , their Japan ese Maritime Self - Defense Force ' s close counterparts in AEGIS warships , the Chinese Type 054 frigate and the Type 052C destroyer , the Indian Shivalik - class frigate and Kolkata class destroyer , the French La Fayette class frigate and the newer FREMM multipurpose frigate .