Free Republic

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy’s new Tomahawk cruise missile, the Block IV, or Tactical Tomahawk, soared through yet another first this week as it was launched from Los Angeles-class submarine USS Tucson (SSN 770) July 9 in the waters of the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) sea test range off the coast of southern California. The event marked the first launch of the Tactical Tomahawk from an operational submarine launch platform. The test demonstrated the newly-developed Block IV Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) and the Tomahawk Command and Control System functionality, allowing the launch platform to...

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- Two successful test launches of U.S. Navy Tomahawk cruise missiles were conducted in late May from USS Columbus (SSN 762), a Los Angeles-class attack submarine underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. In the first test event, the (inert) Block III missile flew a fully guided 575-nautical mile flight at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Pacific test range. Seconds after launch from the submarine’s torpedo tube launch system, the Tomahawk missile transitioned to cruise flight, utilizing global positioning satellite navigation to a target impact site on the NAVAIR land range....

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. (NNS) -- The Navy’s next generation of Tomahawk Cruise Missile, the Tactical Tomahawk, took flight May 16 at the White Sands Missile Test Range, N.M., in the final phase of a Defense Threat Reduction Agency sponsored advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD). This was the second of two demonstration test flights of the Tactical Tomahawk configured with a live penetration warhead and completes the scheduled ACTD testing effort. Additionally, today marked the sixth successful test flight for Tactical Tomahawk. Similar to its previous penetration test flight in March 2003, the Tactical Tomahawk was launched vertically from a ground...

A Block IV Tactical Tomahawk cruise missile--built by Raytheon Missile Systems--has been launched for the first time from an operational surface combatant equipped with the Tactical Tomahawk Weapon Control System. The test, conducted in the Naval Air Systems Command sea range off southern California, marked the beginning of the final phase of government evaluation of the new missile. The missile--launched from the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem--was the first of four scheduled for launch from ships and submarines during the missile's operational test phase. During the 5 April test, the missile "established a satellite link with its launch platform...

Story Number: NNS030321-25 Release Date: 3/21/2003 4:55:00 PM By Sandra Schroeder, Naval Air Systems Command Public Affairs WHITE SANDS, N.M. (NNS) -- The Navy’s next generation cruise missile, the Tactical Tomahawk, took flight March 21 at the White Sands Missile Test Range in New Mexico. The flight is part of a Defense Threat Reduction Agency sponsored advanced concept technology demonstration. This marked the first developmental test flight of the Tactical Tomahawk configured with a live penetration warhead. The Tactical Tomahawk was launched vertically from a ground test stand that simulated the normal shipboard Vertical Launching System. The missile successfully executed...