Navy asks RTX Raytheon for land-attack missiles with terrain-matching guidance in $401.2 million deal
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – U.S. Navy land-attack experts are asking RTX Corp. to build 131 BGM-109 Tomahawk Block V missiles to attack ground and sea targets under terms of a $401.2 million contract announced in December.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking the RTX Raytheon segment in Tucson, Ariz., to build 131 full-rate production Block V Tactical Tomahawk all-up round missiles -- 26 for the Army, 16 for the Marine Corps, 11 for Australia, and 78 for Japan.
Subsonic missile
Tomahawk is a long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, surface-attack subsonic cruise missile used primarily by the U.S. Navy and the United Kingdom Royal Navy in ship- and submarine-based land-attack operations. The missile also launches from land sites.
For navigation and guidance, the missile uses a combination of inertial, GPS, and terrain-matching that uses an electro-optical sensor and radar altimeter to the terrain over which the missile is passing to an internal terrain database.
The Tomahawk Block V is the latest version, and is an upgraded Tomahawk Block IV, which has a data link that enables the missile to switch targets while in flight. It can loiter for hours and change course instantly on command.
The Tomahawk Block V is a recertified and modernized missile with upgraded guidance, navigation, and communications. The Block Va can strike moving targets at sea, while the Block Vb has a multi-effects warhead that can hit diverse land targets. Tomahawk's most recent use was in 2018 when U.S. Navy surface warships and submarines launched 66 Tomahawk missiles at Syrian chemical weapon facilities.
In-flight targeting
Tomahawk Block V was introduced in 2021 with improvements to navigation and in-flight targeting. Block Va, the Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST), enables the missile to engage a moving target at sea, and Block Vb outfitted with the Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System (JMEWS) warhead for hard-target penetration.
Related: High-energy laser weapons move quickly from prototype to deployment
Tomahawk Block V has longer range and dynamic targeting than its predecessors, and has unique flight, launch, and information-processing capabilities. Raytheon can integrate a new sensor suite into the Tactical Tomahawk quickly. The company provides seeker, processor, software, and a new inertial measuring unit for terminal maneuvers, as well as redesigned power budget and system cooling.
On this contract Raytheon will do the work in Tucson and Phoenix, Ariz.; Pontiac, Mich.; East Camden and Berryville, Ark.; Huntsville and Anniston, Ala.; Clearwater, Fla.; Spanish Fork, Utah; Glenrothes, Scotland; El Segundo, Calif.; Dublin, Ga.; Middletown, Conn.; Vergennes, Vt.; Midland, Ontario; Blaine, Minn.; Boulder, Colo.; and other U.S. location, and should be finished by March 2028.
For more information contact RTX Raytheon online at www.rtx.com/raytheon, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
