Tomahawk

The US Navy’s primary long-range, subsonic land-attack cruise missile, launched from ships and submarines, in service since 1983 and used across the world’s hot spots.

Overview

The BGM-109 Tomahawk — widely known by its acronym TLAM (Tomahawk Land-Attack Missile) — is a turbofan-powered, subsonic cruise missile that forms the backbone of US naval deep-strike capability. Fired from surface combatants and submarines, it delivers a 1,000-lb-class unitary warhead against high-value, heavily defended fixed targets at ranges commonly cited as ~1,600 km (Block IV) to ~2,400 km for earlier variants. The missile has been in continuous production since 1983, with over 9,000 produced, and is operated by the US, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, and the Netherlands. CSIS

Development

Development began in the early 1970s as a joint Navy/USAF project before the Air Force withdrew; the first flight took place in 1976, and the BGM-109A (nuclear-tipped TLAM-N) reached initial operating capability in 1983. Wikipedia The conventional Block II followed in 1986, introducing the WDU-36 unitary warhead. Through the 1990s and 2000s, incremental blocks added GPS, digital scene-matching (DSMAC), and an anti-jam GPS receiver. The Block IV “Tactical Tomahawk,” fielded from 2004, added a two-way datalink, loiter, and in-flight retargeting; the latest Block V recertification programme, supported by US and allied funding, extends service life and adds a maritime strike (Block Va) and a Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System (Block Vb). Naval Technology The nuclear-armed TLAM-N was retired from the fleet in the 2010s.

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