It concerns me that they know this missile has limited capabilities at this point and they do not expect to have a replacement for 10 more years.
Aren’t all capabilities limited?
A lot of the ordinnce used in Iraq was not replaced.It was on the shelf.
What’s going on here is admirals and generals making sure they have plenty of money making opportunities after they retire and get jobs at defense contractors.
Naive.
The Navy is currently wrapping up the procurement cycle for the Block IV Tactical Tomahawk missile. In 2019, the service will conduct a recertification and modernization program for the missiles reaching the end of their initial 15-year service period, which will upgrade or replace those internal components required to return them to the fleet for the second 15 years of their 30-year planned service life.The current Tomahawks are going back in the shop for a round of maintenance plus upgrades to their sensor and control electronics. Plus Raytheon still has the ability to make more.
“The enhanced TACTOM (Tactical Tomahawk) modernization program will incorporate an all-weather seeker into the Tomahawk Weapon System Baseline IV. The seeker, coupled with mid-course in-flight target updates, will provide the missile the ability to strike a moving maritime target,” the Navy Tomahawk Program Manager, told Scout Warrior last year.The Navy’s 2017 budget request included $439 million to develop and integrate the software and hardware for this advanced Tomahawk modernization program.
“Development of enhanced TACTOM modernization, which integrates seeker technology and processing capability to the missile, is scheduled to commence in FY17 (fiscal year 2017) with a projected Initial Operational Capability in FY22 (fiscal year 2022),” the official added. “These modernization kits include a seeker with an associated data processor, cables and harnesses which will be integrated into the TACTOM All-Up-Round missile.”
Using internal funding, Raytheon has developed and tested a so-called “active seeker” engineered to better enable the weapon to more quickly find, track and destroy moving targets.