C-704

During the Falkland War, the Royal Air Force (RAF) used Westland Lynx to launch Sea Skua anti-ship missiles against Argentinian patrol boats. Helicopter-based anti-surface operation was seen as a viable option in any potential Taiwan Strait operation by the Chinese military industry. In the 1990s, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC) Third Academy and Hongdu Aviation Industry Group (Hongdu) both initiated small anti-ship missile projects, resulting in CASIC's C-701 missile and Hongdu's TL-10 missile. Both missiles shared very similar specifications, but with a slight deviation in launch profile. The initial model of the C-701 focused on surface launch from boats, while TL-10 focused on helicopter air-launch integration.^[3]

In the 1990s, Hongdu developed TL-6, an enlarged TL-10.^[4][5] CASIC also developed the C-704, an enlarged C-701. The C-704 became a general-purpose air-to-surface missile that can engage both naval and land targets, making it a Chinese equivalent of the American AGM-65 Maverick.^[6]

Jane's Defence Weekly suspected that the reason behind the similar roles, dimensions, and performance of the C-701 and TL-10 was that they were part of a competition bid intended for Iran's Kowsar missile program.^[4] Sources conflict regarding which missile variant ultimately entered service with the Iranian military; one account states that the TL-10/FL-8 and TL-6/FL-9 became the Kowsar and Nasar missiles,^[7] while another suggests that the C-701^[8] and C-704^[9][10] were the ones developed into these two systems.

The C-704KD is an air-to-surface version of the C-704.

The C-705 is part of the C-701 series^[1] and a direct development of the C-704, resembling a miniaturized C-602. Compared to the C-704, the C-705 has a larger rocket motor with an additional turbojet engine. The C-705 with rocket booster and the engine can have a range of 170 km (92 nmi).^[1][11]

The C-705KD is an air-to-surface version of the C-705. It supports a radar seeker, a TV seeker, or an imaging infrared (IIR). It supports fire-and-forget mode, a data-link mid-course correction and target switching.^[12][13]

On 16 March 2011, Israeli Defense Forces allegedly intercepted a shipment of six C-704 missiles with launchers and Kelvin Hughes radar units, along with other munitions aboard the Liberian-flagged cargo vessel Victoria, managed by a French shipping company, en route from Turkey to Alexandria, in international waters. Israeli authorities stated that the weapons were of Iranian origin^{[by whom?]}, and that they were being shipped to Hamas in the Gaza Strip.^[14][15]

In 2013, Bangladesh Navy corvette BNS Dhaleshwari fired four C-704 anti-ship missiles in a domestic naval exercise with all four of them hitting their target successfully.^[16]

On 14 September 2016, the Indonesian president witnessed two failed firings of C-705 missiles during a demonstration by the Indonesian Navy. The first missile failed to launch on command and fired unexpectedly five minutes later, missing the target. The second missile fired as expected but failed during flight.^[17] Indonesia planned to manufacture the missile locally; however, the project is halted due to the incident.^[18]

On 29 June 2016, the Indonesian Navy announced its purchase of the Chinese-made C-705.^[19] Indonesia used C-705 against land targets in 2026, the first public display of this capability.^[20]

C-704

Original variant

C-704KD

Air-to-surface variant of the C-704.

C-705

Anti-ship missile with a turbojet engine.

C-705KD

Air-to-surface variant of the C-705.

• C-701 - a smaller anti-ship missile in the C-701 series
• TL-6 - the competitor to the C-704 missile
• AGM-65 Maverick
• AGM-84E
• AGM-119
• Kh-25