Tomahawk Cruise Missiles

Land-attack cruise missiles launched from ships or submarines. The BGM-109 Tomahawk flies at low altitudes to strike fixed targets, such as communication and air-defense sites, in high-threat environments and in all weather conditions. The Tomahawk eludes radar detection because of its small cross section and low-altitude operation. A turbofan engine propels the missile after launch, emitting little heat, which makes infrared detection difficult, as well.

Once it reaches land, the Tomahawk uses inertial and terrain-contour-matching (TERCOM) radar guidance. A map is stored on the missile's computer, and the system continually compares the map with the actual terrain to locate its position relative to the target. Similarly, the target is identified from a stored image. As the TERCOM scans the landscape, the Tomahawk missile is capable of twisting and turning like a radar-evading fighter plane, skimming the landscape at an altitude of only 100 to 300 feet.

The Tomahawk is a long-range, highly survivable, unmanned attack weapon capable of pinpoint (nearly 92%) accuracy. During the opening salvos of a regional attack, military planning calls for sea-based Tomahawks to be used to compromise and suppress enemy air operations and defenses. The 20-foot-long missile has a range of about 700 miles. Manufactured by Hughes Missile Systems at an average unit cost of $1.4 million, Tomahawk missiles traveling at 550 mph are capable of carrying conventional, cluster, and nuclear payloads.

Ships and submarines have different weapons-control systems for launching the Tomahawks. A vertical launch system is used on ships, whereas attack submarines can launch the system horizontally by using torpedo tubes or from external launchers attached to the hull.

The first combat test of the Tomahawk system occurred in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq. In the war, about 280 Tomahawks were used to destroy hardened targets, such as Iraqi surface to air [Page 725]missile sites, command and control centers, and electrical power facilities; the missiles also are credited with destroying the Iraqi presidential palace.

The launching of a Tomahawk cruise missile from the USS Florida in the Gulf of Mexico in January 2002. The launch was part of Giant Shadow, a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces experiment of potential future submarine force capabilities. The event was a milestone in the history of the submarine force—the first time that a Tomahawk missile had been launched from a missile tube of an SSBN class (ballistic missile) submarine.

U.S. Navy.

Operation Desert Storm saw the first coordinated Tomahawk and manned-aircraft strike in history. Since then, Tomahawks have been used extensively in Iraq (January and June 1993), Bosnia (1995), Operation

Desert Strike against Libya (1996), Afghanistan (2002), and Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003).