The U.S. Navy on Dec. 9 test-fired the latest version of the Raytheon RGM-109 Tomahawk cruise
missile.
The USS Chaffee, a DDG-51 destroyer, conducted the first operational test of the Raytheon
Tomahawk Block V.
The aim of the testing was to support the initial fleet release of the Block V Tomahawk’s
Navigation/Communications (NAV/COMMs) upgrade, as well as upgrades to the Theater Mission
Planning Center (TMPC) system and the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS).
Tomahawk Weapons System Program Manager Capt. John Red.
stated, “This is the culmination of years of planning
and effort.
We’re working every day to modernize the Tomahawk missile, and to deliver the best
warfighting capability to the fleet.”
In this video Defense Updates analyzes why U.S Navy's Tomahawk Block V is a major step
forward?
Let's get started.
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Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile.
It was designed and initially produced in the 1970s by General Dynamics
At least six variants and multiple upgraded versions have been introduced since then,
including air-, sub-, and ground-launched variants and conventional and nuclear-armed
ones.
Tomahawk uses a liquid fuel turbojet engine because it enabled greater range than a rocket
engine of roughly the same size.
A slower speed also makes low altitude flight more viable, which in turn makes the missile
much more difficult to detect by radar.
Depending on the variant the missile has a maximum range of 1,550 mi or 2,500 km
Over the years, the missile has seen many upgrades to keep it relevant.
The tomahawk missile, which debuted in Operation Desert Storm, has been fired more than 2,300
times.
The Tomahawk was most recently used by the U.S. Navy against Syrian chemical weapons
facilities when 66 were launched in the 2018 missile strikes against Syria.
Let us now check what is special about the latest Block V variant.
The good news is that the Block IV variant of Tomahawk can be upgraded to Block V.
This will essentially enable the reuse of existing missiles which will facilitate faster
deployment time
All Block IV will be converted and become Block V Tomahawks, said Capt. John Red, speaking
to reporters during the 2020 Surface Navy Association Symposium.
The upgrades are being done at Raytheon’s Tucson, Ariz., facility.
The existing Tomahawk Block III missiles will be retired and demilitarized.
The administration requested $320 million for research and development in the Fiscal
Year 2020 year budget to move ahead on these upgrades to Tomahawk.
As of now, Block V will have 2 variants - Va & Vb.
The Block Va variants will be called Maritime Strike.
It will have a new seeker capable of hitting a moving target.
So, it could be used to target a rival's surface combatants.
The target information in the variant could be updated in flight.
The warhead will be geared towards destroying enemy warships.
Block Vb will feature the JMEWS or Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System.
The new warhead was first announced in 2010 and tested in 2014.
It is a two-stage warhead that combines blast-fragmentation and enhanced penetration in one warhead.
It will be able to destroy a wide variety of targets - soft targets like parked aircraft
well as hardened once like bunkers.
During an August 2010 test, the initial stage of the warhead created a hole large enough
in a reinforced bunker for the follow-through element to penetrate the concrete target and
pass through two witness plates.
JMEWS has seen further improvement, the details of which have been withheld
The Tomahawk Va and Vb variants were highlighted in the administration’s new Offensive Missile
Strategy.
Block V will see major upgrades to the missile’s communication and navigation systems.
This will make it hard for the enemy to jam the missile with electronic countermeasures.
This will mean that more missiles will be able to navigate unhindered to the target
and hit them.
In 2017, Raytheon’s Tomahawk program manager told reporters at an event at the missile
plant in Tucson, Ariz., that the navigation system upgrades will ensure the missile can
strike targets even if GPS is taken down.
It is interesting to note that Block III added GPS, removing a time-consuming programming
system that required 80 hours to plot a missile’s course as well as a loitering capability.
Near peer rivals like Russia and China have Anti-satellite weapons that could cripple
the GPS system.
The ability to work without GPS will make the missile very robust.
The missile will see an improved stealth characteristic, though the exact nature of which is classified.
Since the missile's external contour will remain the same, it is likely that the missile
will see the use of RAM or Radar Absorbing Material.
Stealth is achieved by designing the asset in such a way that radar signals reflect away
in a different direction or get absorbed and don't reach back to the sensor which is emitting
them.
RAM will soak up the radar signals.
U.S military has a lot of expertise in RAM as it has developed stealth fighter like F-22
Raptor, B-2 Spirit as well as F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
This know-how is likely to come in handy.
Even the Block V variant will cost around $1 million price range, which is on the low
end for missiles.
Raytheon’s supersonic SM-6 which can reach speeds of Mach 3.5 it costs more than four
times as much per shot and has less range.
The low cost of the Tomahawk will ensure that they will be acquired in large numbers.
Viewers may note that Arleigh Burke-class has up to 96 cell VLS while Ticonderoga-class
cruiser has up to 122 cell VLS.
The U.S Navy has around 68 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers and 22 Ticonderoga-class cruisers
in active service.
This means on any day U.S Navy will have a potent payload of these missiles which can
be fired from long ranges.
So, American warships will be able to saturate enemy air defenses with a massive barrage.