The C-601, known in Chinese service as the YJ-6 and to NATO as CAS-1 Kraken, is a Chinese air-launched anti-ship cruise missile adapted from the HY-2/Silkworm family for H-6D bomber carriage. It gave Iraqi H-6D bombers a heavy standoff maritime-strike weapon during the 1988 Tanker War phase of the 1980 Iran-Iraq War.
Iraqi H-6D bombers used Chinese-exported C-601 anti-ship missiles in the 1988 Tanker War phase; the Iranian bulk freighter Entekhab was hit on 5 February 1988, and later tanker or bulk-carrier attacks were attributed to Iraqi C-601s, though sources disagree on which strikes used Silkworm-family missiles.
The C-601/YJ-6 translated the older HY-2/Silkworm anti-ship missile family into an aircraft-carried maritime-strike weapon. Public sources describe the missile as retaining the large 513 kg-class payload and active-radar terminal attack concept while deleting the surface-launch booster and adding H-6D carriage provisions.
CRS identifies the YJ-6/C-601 as the air-launched version of the HY-2, launched from the H-6D bomber.
Supported by CRS and GlobalSecurity.
NDU and CRS list a 513 kg-class warhead, making the missile a large anti-ship weapon for tanker and transport targets.
Supported by NDU and CRS specification tables.
C-611/YJ-61 reporting describes a longer-range modification, but no separate public catalog record exists for that branch yet.
Supported by GlobalSecurity, NDU, and CRS.
Open references use YJ-6 for the Chinese-service missile and C-601 for the export air-launched anti-ship missile; YJ-61/C-611 is treated as the longer-range modification of the same branch, while later YJ-62/C-602 reporting is less consistent across sources.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| YJ-6 | Chinese-service missile | NDU lists YJ-6 as the air-launched member of the YJ-6 series, with CAS-1 and C-601 as associated NATO and export designations. Sources: A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier |
| C-601 | Export designation | GlobalSecurity identifies C-601 as the export/Western-designated air-to-ship missile carried by Hong-6D/H-6D bombers. Sources: C-601 / YJ-6 |
| YJ-61 / C-611 | Extended-range follow-on | NDU, CRS, and GlobalSecurity describe the C-611/YJ-61 branch as the longer-range modification of the C-601/YJ-6 family. Sources: A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier, C-601 / YJ-6, China: Ballistic and Cruise Missiles |
The missile was built around H-6D bomber carriage for maritime strike.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Maritime strike bomber | GlobalSecurity says the C-601 was carried by the Hong-6D/H-6D, and NDU describes PLAN H-6D bombers as equipped with YJ-6 anti-ship cruise missiles for missile attack. |
GlobalSecurity says formal development work on the C-601 air-to-ship missile system was approved in September 1975.
Sources: C-601 / YJ-6
GlobalSecurity says design formulation flight tests for the weapon system were completed in 1984.
Sources: C-601 / YJ-6
NDU notes that China began deploying the air-launched YJ-6/C-601 in 1987, while National Interest reports Iraqi receipt of H-6Ds and C-601s that year.
Sources: A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier, China's H-6 Bomber
National Interest identifies the Iranian bulk freighter Entekhab as the first ship hit by a C-601 on 5 February 1988.
Sources: China's H-6 Bomber
