Which missile is the first anti-ship ballistic missile?

Which missile is the first anti-ship ballistic missile?

• A. Dong Feng 21 missile
• B. YJ-12 missile
• C. YJ-18 missile
• D. Dong Feng 26 missile

Answer: (A)

Anti-ship ballistic missiles are designed to hit ships at sea by following a ballistic flight path and then using terminal guidance to home in on a moving naval target. The first system developed with that capability is the Dong Feng 21 family. It introduced the idea of a land-based ballistic missile armed with anti-ship targeting, and later variants refined the terminal guidance to strike ships at sea. The other options do not fit this category: one is an air-to-air missile, another is an anti-ship cruise missile, and the remaining is a later ballistic missile whose anti-ship role came after the initial Dong Feng 21 concept. So, the Dong Feng 21 is the earliest anti-ship ballistic missile among these.

Anti-ship ballistic missiles are designed to hit ships at sea by following a ballistic flight path and then using terminal guidance to home in on a moving naval target. The first system developed with that capability is the Dong Feng 21 family. It introduced the idea of a land-based ballistic missile armed with anti-ship targeting, and later variants refined the terminal guidance to strike ships at sea. The other options do not fit this category: one is an air-to-air missile, another is an anti-ship cruise missile, and the remaining is a later ballistic missile whose anti-ship role came after the initial Dong Feng 21 concept. So, the Dong Feng 21 is the earliest anti-ship ballistic missile among these.