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Although the concept was proven sound and the 500-megawatt engine finished a successful test run in 1961, no airworthy device was ever completed. It has been widely used in military operations worldwide, ranging from conflicts in the Middle East to deployments in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. The Tomahawk is one of the most effective missiles in the Pentagon’s history. The missile, which General Dynamics first designed in the 1970s, was one of the first truly effective cruise missiles.
Variants
But most importantly, the latest version has counter-jamming technology installed. As we have seen in the Ukrainian war with Russia, the HIMARS missile system albeit very precise, was quiet susceptible to mass jamming efforts. Like a lot of weapons in America’s arsenal, the Tomahawk missile is old—at least in concept.
Tomahawk missile variants
The truth is that advanced naval warfare is a very costly endeavor, especially when it comes to defending one's fleet or destroying the enemy's fleet with guided missiles. In August it was reported that RTX, formerly Raytheon, secured a $124.2m contract worth to enhance the capabilities of Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST) missiles for the US Navy. The developmental MST seeker suites are a component of the weapon’s recertification process, currently underway with the Low-Rate Production Three initiative. There is limited competition for the Tomahawk Missile System in the world, from the perspective of a long range cruise missile that is highly reliable and can utilize US intelligence and expertise. It's currently the US's only long range cruise missile and works well with other missile systems (supersonic and decoy systems). From a value perspective, the missile costs about $1 million and holds a 450 kg (1,000 lbs) warhead, which is the equivalent force of 23 Russian BM-21 GRAD rockets or that of 5 M31A1 GMLRS (HIMARS) missiles.
Guidance and control
The missile can be launched from over 140 US Navy ships and submarines and Astute and Trafalgar class submarines of the Royal Navy. All cruisers, destroyers, guided missile and attack submarines in the US Navy are equipped with a Tomahawk weapons system. Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile in service with the surface ships and submarines of the US and the UK’s Royal Navy. Originally produced by General Dynamics, Tomahawk is currently manufactured by Raytheon. Japan’s military also is reportedly planning to build a ‘test boat’ to study equipping Japanese submarines to fire Tomahawks.
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It can be fired from surface ships and submarines, making it useful for operations in multiple environments. The cruise missile's guidance system is semi-autonomous, allowing it to fly low to avoid detection and hit a target with pinpoint accuracy. Additionally, the Tomahawk can be re-tasked mid-flight and comes in multiple variants with different capabilities for targeting or launching defence systems. Submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles entered service in 1983 with conventional (i.e., nonnuclear) land-attack and antiship missile variants, as well as with a land-attack missile carrying a nuclear warhead. The nuclear variant has since been retired, and a land-attack cluster-bomb variant that disperses bomblets has been added. By the start of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Tomahawks had been fitted to surface ships.
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It is however much more flexible in terms of deployment, as it has been fitted both on Frigates and even Corvettes (the US has Tomahawks installed on Destroyers). On top of that, it is reported that some versions have a second propulsion system installed, which grants the missile a "supersonic sprint" at its final stage of descent. The Tomahawk was first deployed in combat in the 1991 Gulf War in Operation Desert Storm, with the first salvo launched from the USS Paul F. Foster (DD 964) at Iraqi targets.18 Overall, the mission achieved initial success. Raytheon received a $349m contract for phase two of the Maritime Strike Tomahawk Rapid Deployment Capability to improve the Tomahawk cruise missile system in August 2019.
In response to this threat, there have been increasing calls in Tokyo to field a “counter-strike capability” that could put China and North Korea’s missile launchers at risk. The United States Air Force's first operational surface-to-surface missile was the winged, mobile, nuclear-capable MGM-1 Matador, also similar in concept to the V-1. Deployment overseas began in 1954, first to West Germany and later to the Republic of China and South Korea. Air Force deployed Matador units in West Germany, whose missiles were capable of striking targets in the Warsaw Pact, from their fixed day-to-day sites to unannounced dispersed launch locations. This alert was in response to the crisis posed by the Soviet attack on Hungary which suppressed the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. In the Soviet Union, Sergei Korolev headed the GIRD-06 cruise missile project from 1932 to 1939, which used a rocket-powered boost-glide bomb design.
Raytheon was awarded a $346m production contract for 473 Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles in March 2006. The contract includes 65 submarine torpedo tube-launched missiles for the Royal Navy. US Navy launch platforms were modified to accommodate upgraded Tomahawk missile variants. Four Ohio class nuclear ballistic missile submarines were converted into cruise missile submarines for firing Tomahawk missiles. The Virginia class submarines and the Royal Navy Astute class submarines were also fitted with new vertical launch modules for Tomahawk missile. Despite upgrades to Japanese air defense, including huge warships dedicated to ballistic missile defense using SM-3 missiles, likely some attacks would get through and potentially wreak great destruction.
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Supposedly, the Tomahawk's relatively low speed helps it avoid radar systems more efficiently. Additionally, it flies at an altitude of between 100 and 300 feet, much lower than conventional fighter aircraft. Army selected the Navy’s Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) and the BGM-109 Tomahawk for its Mid-Range Capability (MRC), part of the service’s ground-launched strike modernization effort. Following the selection, the Army awarded a $339.3 million contract to integrate both weapons for a ground-based launcher by late 2022.
That’s the Tomahawk’s key differentiator, said Jerry Hendrix, a retired Navy captain and analyst with Telemus Group. The plan, Red explained, was to upgrade all Block IV Tomahawks to a new Block V standard with improved guidance and extended range. Using a combination of GPS, inertial and terrain-matching guidance systems, a Tomahawk can strike targets as far as 1,000 miles away. No fewer than 89 Navy destroyers and cruisers plus 54 attack submarines and four guided-missile submarines are compatible with the 20-feet-long Tomahawk, the first model of which entered service in 1983. In May 2022, the UK announced that its stock of Block IV TLAM munitions were to be upgraded to the Block V variant for specific use in the Astute-class submarines.
“The proposed sale will improve Australia’s capability to interoperate with U.S. maritime forces and other allied forces as well as its ability to contribute to missions of mutual interest,” the State Department announcement reads. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.
Now, just as we did with air-launched weapons and decoy flares, we aim to change that. Block Vb is more oriented toward striking land targets with the new Joint Multiple Effects Warhead (MEWS). The weapon is a bit mysterious, but it seems to be a 1,000-pound warhead capable of striking both surface and underground hardened targets, including “integrated air defense systems and weapons of mass destruction”. At least 2,193 BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired in combat since entering service in 1983. Powered by an F107 turbofan engine, the latest Block IV and V models have a range exceeding 1,000 miles, and can blast targets with a massive half-ton of explosives. Former nuclear-armed BGM-109A and BGM-109 Tomahawks have been retired, however.
It has been fielded in many wars by the US and Britain, with the latter being the only non-US nation that has the missile system (up to this day). In the past, Israel had asked for it, but never got the green light - which in way served it well, as it prompted the nation's military to develop its own capabilities. It’s the latest in a surge of demand for the Raytheon Technologies-made Tomahawk, after U.S. Navy officials said this week their proposed budget, with foreign military sales, would max out the production line. Japan’s new budget would reportedly bulk-buy 400 Tomahawks for as much as $1.6 billion, among other counterstrike capabilities. The new Block V can run down enemy ships and blast them with a half-ton high explosive warhead.
Based on comparison results the missile's inertial navigation system is updated and the missile corrects its course. The first iteration of the Block V upgrades the missile’s communication and navigation systems. This is about making it tougher to counter and detect electronically, said Bryan Clark, a retired submarine officer and senior fellow at The Hudson Institute.
According to budget data from the United States Marine Corps from 2022, each Tomahawk costs around $2 million. As of now, the United States and the United Kingdom are the only countries to deploy Tomahawk missiles, although Australia and Japan have put out bids to purchase Tomahawks. “Between Tomahawk Block V, the SM-6 and the NSM, the Navy has a collection of attack weapons that they are happy with,” he said, adding that a long-running effort to develop a next-generation land-attack weapon has lost some of its urgency. Tom Karako, an expert in missile technology with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, agreed that cost is a big advantage of Tomahawk, especially for low-end missions. And that’s not taking into account any Tomahawks the Navy fires in combat. In just the last couple of years, the fleet has fired more than 100 Tomahawks at targets in Syria.
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