Scribd
Upload
116 views2 pages

BGM-109 Tomahawk

The Tomahawk is a long-range, highly survivable, submarine or ship-launched cruise missile capable of pinpoint accuracy against fixed targets. It uses a solid propellant booster followed by a small turbofan engine. Guidance systems include TERCOM radar and DSMAC imaging to navigate to pre-programmed targets. Tomahawk missiles can be launched from vertical launch systems on ships or from torpedo tubes on submarines to conduct strikes against high-value targets in support of joint military operations.

Uploaded by

namratharkellod
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
116 views2 pages

BGM-109 Tomahawk

The Tomahawk is a long-range, highly survivable, submarine or ship-launched cruise missile capable of pinpoint accuracy against fixed targets. It uses a solid propellant booster followed by a small turbofan engine. Guidance systems include TERCOM radar and DSMAC imaging to navigate to pre-programmed targets. Tomahawk missiles can be launched from vertical launch systems on ships or from torpedo tubes on submarines to conduct strikes against high-value targets in support of joint military operations.

Uploaded by

namratharkellod
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

BGM-109 Tomahawk

The Tomahawk is an all-weather submarine or ship-launched land-attack cruise missile. After


launch, a solid propellant propels the missile until a small turbofan engine takes over for the
cruise portion of flight. Tomahawk is a highly survivable weapon. Radar detection is difficult
because of the missile's small cross-section, low altitude flight. Similarly, infrared detection is
difficult because the turbofan engine emits little heat. Systems include Global Positioning
System (GPS) receiver; an upgrade of the optical Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation
(DSMAC) system; Time of Arrival (TOA) control, and improved 402 turbo engines.

The Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile has been used to attack a variety of fixed targets,
including air defense and communications sites, often in high-threat environments. The land
attack version of Tomahawk has inertial and terrain contour matching (TERCOM) radar
guidance. The TERCOM radar uses a stored map reference to compare with the actual terrain to
determine the missile's position. If necessary, a course correction is then made to place the
missile on course to the target. Terminal guidance in the target area is provided by the optical
Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation (DSMAC) system, which compares a stored image of
target with the actual target image.

The Tomahawk missile provides a long-range, highly survivable, unmanned land attack weapon
system capable of pinpoint accuracy. The Surface Navy's deep strike capability resides in the
Tomahawk missile system - the proven weapon of choice for contingency missions.

Tomahawk's operational environment is changing significantly. The first operational design


involved global warfare using conventional Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) against
known, fixed, non-hardened targets. The strategic assumptions underlying this environment
continue to change. Tomahawk Weapon System (TWS) capability is evolving into major systems
with expanding capabilities. Today, Tomahawk is able to respond to rapidly developing
scenarios and attack emerging land-based targets. A more diverse threat coupled with a smaller
U.S. force structure place an absolute premium on system flexibility and responsiveness.

The projected operational environment for Tomahawk is now characterized by scenarios in


which the U.S. Navy will most likely be called upon to defend U.S. interests in regional conflicts,
in crisis response, or to execute national policy. Tomahawk will operate from littoral seas as an
integral part of joint forces.

During the critical early days of a regional conflict, Tomahawk, in conjunction with other land
attack systems and tactical aircraft, denies or delays forward movement of enemy forces,
neutralize the enemy's ability to conduct air operations, and suppress enemy air defenses. In
addition, Tomahawk attacks high value targets such as electrical generating facilities, command
and control nodes, and weapons assembly/storage facilities. Thus, making Tomahawk the
weapon of choice to strike reinforced, hardened targets.
The Tomahawk Weapon System (TWS) is comprised of four major components: Tomahawk
Missile, Theater Mission Planning Center (TMPC)/Afloat Planning System (APS), Tomahawk
Weapon Control System (TWCS) for surface ships, and Combat Control System (CCS) for
submarines.

Ships and submarines have different weapon control systems (WCSs). A vertical launching
system (VLS) accommodates missile stowage and launch on ships. On all attack submarines,
missiles are launched from torpedo tubes (with stowage in the torpedo room); in addition,
some attack submarines have VLS located forward, external to the pressure hull, which will
handle both stowage and launch.

The Fire Control Systems (FCS) on both ships and submarines perform communications
management, database management, engagement planning, and launch control functions.
These systems provide the interface between the missile and FCS for missile initialization and
launch as well as environmental protection. The FCS supporting the ship is TWCS of ATWCS
(AN/SWG-3). The FCS on submarines is the CCS MK1, CCS Mk2, or AN/BSY-1.

Unified Commanders develop contingency plans in response to developing strategic situations


to achieve National Command Authority directed goals. The Unified Commander passes tasking
for TLAM mission development to a Cruise Missile Support Activity (CMSA) for overland mission
planning. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) provides the necessary databases
for planning. Targets and maps are generated for TERCOM and DSMAC. Threat databases are
provided for missile attrition analysis. Unified, Joint, and Battle Group (BG) Commanders direct
the deployment and employment of the mission. Strike Planners select, task and coordinate
TLAM strikes. The Launch platform FCS prepares and executes the TLAM mission. The launch
platform launches the missile. The missile boosts and transitions to cruise flight, then navigates
on the planned route. During flight, the missile will navigate using TERCOM and DSMAC and
GPS (Block III). Enroute, some missiles may also execute a Precision Strike Tomahawk Mission
(PST) transmitting its status back to a ground station via satellite communication. The missile
executes its planned terminal maneuver and for TLAM-C hits a single aim point and for TLAM-D,
single or multiple targets.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy