YJ-18
family of Chinese anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles

The YJ-18 (Chinese: 鹰击-18; pinyin: yingji-18; lit. 'eagle strike 18', NATO designation CH-SS-NX-13) is a Chinese anti-ship cruise missile.
Description
The United States believes the YJ-18 is similar to, or is a copy of, the Russian 3M-54 Klub. According to the United States Department of Defense, the YJ-18 has a subsonic cruise mode and a supersonic terminal attack. Performance estimates include a range of 290 nautical miles (330 mi; 540 km), with a threat ring of 264,200 sq nmi (349,900 mi2; 906,000 km2), and a cruising range of 180 km (110 mi; 97 nmi) at Mach 0.8 and a sprint range of 40 km (25 mi; 22 nmi) at Mach 2.5 to 3.0.
The missile can be launched from vertical launching systems, and possibly from submarine torpedo tubes. Chinese media claims the missile has an inertial guidance system using BeiDou Navigation Satellite System data, and carries a 300 kg (660 lb) high-explosive warhead with an anti-radiation seeker.
The YJ-18 is deployed aboard the Type 052D destroyer and the Type 055 destroyer. It may already be carried by the Shang II-class nuclear attack submarine outfitted with VLS cells, will replace the 20 nmi (23 mi; 37 km)-range YJ-82 aboard the Yuan-class air-independent propulsion (AIP) and Song-class diesel-electric submarines, will likely deploy on the Type 095 submarine, and may be capable of deployment on Kilo-class submarines. A land-based version could replace the subsonic 400 km (250 mi; 220 nmi)-range YJ-62 with shore batteries.
The public source identifies “YJ-18” as family of Chinese anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around YJ-18, family and Chinese.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “YJ-18”, the useful work is to connect “family of Chinese anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q25051538. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “YJ-18”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow YJ-18 primary sources, YJ-18 archive and YJ-18 research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “YJ-18”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “YJ-18” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.