US Navy awards Raytheon contract for Maritime Strike Tomahawk Block Va

US Navy awards Raytheon contract for Maritime Strike Tomahawk Block Va
The guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) launches a Block V Tomahawk during a missile exercise Dec. 1 2020 off the coast of California. (U.S. Navy photo)
Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a Raytheon Technologies business, was awarded a $20 million contract for low-rate production of the Maritime Strike Tomahawk® cruise missile Block Va, which includes navigation and communication upgrades in addition to an advanced multi-mode seeker for engaging moving targets at sea.
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Raytheon press release

“This award is a significant and essential step toward addressing the U.S. Navy’s need to counter moving targets at sea,” said Kim Ernzen, vice president of Naval Power at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “Maritime Strike Tomahawk Block Va production ensures our Sailors have the most advanced long-range, first-strike weapons available to defeat advancing threats.”

The Tomahawk cruise missile is a precision weapon that launches from ships and submarines and can strike targets precisely from 1,000 miles away, even in heavily defended airspace. U.S. and allied militaries have flight-tested the GPS-enabled Tomahawk 550 times and used it in combat more than 2,300 times. Its most recent use came in 2018, when U.S. Navy warships and submarines launched 66 Tomahawk missiles at Syrian chemical weapon facilities.

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Naval News comments:

USS Chafee Conducts First Operational Test of Tomahawk Block V
[Click to enlarge] PACIFIC OCEAN (Dec. 01, 2020) – The guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) launches a Block V Tomahawk, the weapon’s newest variant, during a missile exercise. This event marked the first time a Block V Tomahawk missile was operationally tested, marking the Navy’s transition to a more advanced capability for the fleet. Block V includes an upgrade that will enhance navigation performance and provide robust and reliable communications. Chafee is currently assigned to Carrier Strike Group ONE and is homeported in Pearl Harbor. (U.S. Navy photo by Ens. Sean Ianno/Released)

U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) was the first to launch and operationally test a Block V Tomahawk cruise missile in December 2020.

All Tomahawk Block IVs are being upgraded to Block V with longer range and dynamic targeting with the capability to hit vessels at sea (maritime strike role). Raytheon is recertifying and modernizing the missile, extending its service life by 15 years, and resulting in the new Tomahawk Block V series:

  • Block V: A modernized TACTOM with upgraded navigation and communication
  • Block Va: Block V that can strike moving targets at sea
  • Block Vb:Block V, with a joint multi-effects warhead that can hit more diverse land targets

The Tomahawk IV – known in the Royal Navy as TLAM (Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile) – allows submarines and surface vessels to strike at ground targets hundreds of miles inland with pinpoint accuracy. Tomahawk IV has a longer range than its predecessors (well in excess of 1,000 miles), can be directed at a new target in mid-flight, and can also beam back images of the battlefield to its mother submarine.

According to Raytheon, U.S. and allied militaries have flight-tested the GPS-enabled Tomahawk 550 times and used it in combat more than 2,300 times. Its most recent use came in 2018, when U.S. Navy warships and submarines launched 66 Tomahawk missiles at Syrian chemical weapon facilities.

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