Matthew Nelson
The U.S. Navy has received its first Tomahawk Block V cruise missile from Raytheon Technologies' missiles and defense business.Â
The next generation of the Tomahawk missile features updated communication and navigation capabilities and is a result of the Navy's efforts to expand the weapon's service lifespan to 15 years, the company said Thursday.
The said updates add to Tomahawk's ability to hit targets at a distance of 1,000 miles. The missile is GPS-enabled and is launched from ships and submarines.
"We’re advancing the capability of the Tomahawk missile by recertifying and modernizing our Block IV inventory, and contracting for the production of Block V missiles," said Capt. John Red, program manager for the Tomahawk Weapons System program.
Raytheon and Navy test-fired two Tomahawk Block V missiles in December as part of the team's missile modernization and recertification efforts and used a new communications technology to simultaneously hit two different targets.
Programmable missile warheads and maritime strike capabilities are planned to be incorporated into future Tomahawk missile deliveries.
