Profile
- Type
- Anti-ship cruise missile
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Origin
- China
- Service note
- 1990s-present
Munitions
C-802 anti-ship missile
The C-802 is a Chinese export anti-ship cruise missile built by CASIC's Third Academy. In Yemen Civil War reporting, it is the class believed to have been used by Houthi-aligned forces in the October 2016 Red Sea attacks on HSV-2 Swift and USS Mason.
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forces
- Built in
- China
Service History
- In service
- Exported from the early 1990s; documented in Yemen Civil War maritime attack reporting in 2016.
- Used by
- Pakistan Navy
- Wars
- Yemen Civil War
Production History
- Designer
- China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Third Academy
- Designed
- 1990s
- Built in
- China
- Produced
- 1990s-present
- Variants
- C-802A, YJ-83
- Developed from
- YJ-8
- Developed into
- YJ-83
Specifications
- Length
- 6.39 m
- Diameter
- 0.36 m
- Weight
- 715 kg
- Warhead
- 165 kg high-explosive
- Speed
- Mach 0.8 to 0.9
- Range
- About 120 km
- Guidance
- Inertial navigation with active radar homing terminal guidance
- Propulsion
- French TRI 60-2 turbojet with solid booster
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Maritime anti-ship strike
Used by Houthi-aligned forces in the Yemen Civil War during the October 2016 Red Sea attacks on HSV-2 Swift and USS Mason; reporting identified the missiles as Chinese-built C-802s believed to have been supplied through Iranian channels.
C-802 anti-ship missile Images
Related Weapon Systems
Al-Mandab-1 anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileAl-Mandab-1 is the Houthi designation for a Chinese C-801-family anti-ship cruise missile. Open-source reporting ties it to pre-war Yemeni stocks and shows Houthi forces fielding it during the Yemen Civil War, while the exact C-801 or C-802 variant remains uncertain.
Al-Mandab-2 anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileAl-Mandab-2 is the Houthi designation for a long-range anti-ship cruise missile used in the Yemen Civil War against Red Sea shipping. UN reporting described it as a seven-meter, 300-kilometer system with micro-turbojet propulsion and noted strong external similarities to the C-802 and Iran's Ghader/Ghadir family..jpg?width=480)
Quds-Z-0 anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileThe Quds-Z-0 is a Houthi anti-ship cruise missile unveiled in 2023 as an anti-shipping derivative of the Iranian Paveh/Quds land-attack family. Open-source analysis describes it as EO/IR-guided, likely produced in Iran or Yemen with Iranian technical support, and fielded in Yemen Civil War maritime-strike displays.
Sayyad anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileThe Sayyad is a Houthi-fielded anti-ship cruise missile first displayed in Sana'a in 2023 and linked by analysts to Iran's Paveh/Project 351 cruise-missile lineage. In the Yemen Civil War, it added a long-range naval strike option to the Houthi arsenal and was reported in the Red Sea campaign.
Ghader anti-ship cruise missileAnti-ship cruise missileThe Ghader, also reported as Qader, is Iran's 200-kilometre C-802-derived anti-ship cruise missile. In the Yemen Civil War, Houthi forces' anti-shipping arsenal included Iranian-supplied Nour and Ghadar missiles used to threaten Red Sea shipping..jpg?width=480)
Iranian anti-ship missile systemsAnti-ship missile systemIranian anti-ship missile systems combine coastal-defense cruise missiles and longer-range anti-warship missiles to threaten shipping across the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman. In the United States-Iran Conflict, they form a core part of Iran's maritime-denial posture against U.S. and commercial traffic.Sources
C-802 Chinese Short-Range Anti-Ship Cruise MissilePublisher: U.S. Army ODIN | Note: Supports C-802 background, manufacturer, and core specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-20A Potent Vector: Assessing Chinese Cruise Missile DevelopmentsPublisher: National Defense University Press | Note: Supports C-802 background, CASIC Third Academy manufacturing context, and the exported C802/C802A family relationship. | Accessed: 2026-06-20USS Mason 'Appears to Have Come Under Attack'Publisher: USNI News | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use; USNI reported the missiles were believed to have been launched by Houthi rebels using Chinese-built C-802 anti-ship cruise missiles supplied by Tehran. | Accessed: 2026-06-20C-802 anti ship missile.JPGPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Wikimedia Commons file page for a CC BY-SA image of C-802 launchers aboard PNS Zulfiquar. | Accessed: 2026-06-20PNS Saif - C-802 4-cell Cannister Front View.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Wikimedia Commons file page for a CC BY-SA image of a four-cell C-802 launcher on PNS Saif. | Accessed: 2026-06-20PNS Saif - C-802 8-cell Cannister.jpgPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Wikimedia Commons file page for a CC BY-SA image of the full eight-cell C-802 launcher fit on PNS Saif. | Accessed: 2026-06-20