The U.S. Navy and Raytheon Company completed two flight tests of the Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile, demonstrating how missions can now be planned in real time to strike time-sensitive targets.
“Tomahawk’s tactics and procedures have evolved to support the new missions that are being assigned to the weapon. Tomahawk continues to serve and rapidly deliver urgently needed capabilities to the Fleet,” said Dave Adams, Senior Program Director for Tomahawk at Raytheon Missile Systems.
Two Tomahawk missiles containing inert warheads were launched from the Vertical Launch System of USS Pinckney (DDG 91) at the Naval Air Systems Command Sea Test Range off the Southern California coast.
The first test was planned in real time by the crew of the USS Pinckney, who used the Launch Platform Mission Planning (LPMP) capability of the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System, based on data provided by the United States Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia. The Tomahawk missile followed a pre-planned route until the conclusion of the test.
In the second test, mission planners again used the dynamic LPMP capability to generate a longer-duration mission that also concluded with a terminal dive maneuver against the target. This test also validated missile performance for a long-duration mission. Tomahawk has a range of 1,000 statute miles and can defeat heavily defended targets virtually anywhere on Earth.
The U.S. Navy has conducted more than 75 successful Tomahawk flight tests since 2006. The cruise missile has been employed in combat more than 2,000 times since it was introduced. Tomahawk is the key weapon used by U.S. and British forces to defeat integrated air defense systems and strike high–value, fixed and mobile targets in support of national policy.
Raytheon Company, with 2015 sales of $23 billion and 61,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions.
With a history of innovation spanning 94 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries.
