Objective Aiming at the urgent need for research on vulnerability analysis methods for ship targets, a vulnerability analysis method for supply ship targets under anti-ship missile strikes is proposed.

Methods Taking a typical supply ship target as the research object, anti-ship missiles are selected as the strike weapon, and the structure-activity relationship of the target is analyzed. The dynamic response of a supply ship under the action of anti-ship missile internal explosion load is obtained through numerical simulation. The damage and damage criteria of key components under the action of anti-ship missile internal explosion load are studied, and the function damage degree of the supply ship is obtained. The target vulnerability of the supply ship is analyzed, and the attack method that causes the maximum damage to its navigation function is determined.

Results A vulnerability analysis method flow is formed which includes an analysis of target structure-activity relationships, damage modes of key components, damage criteria and degree of target functional damage. Based on the vulnerability distribution information, the target should be targeted at the location where non-redundant components are concentrated, achieving the goal of causing maximum range damage.

Conclusion The findings of this study can provide technical support for future research on ship target vulnerability.