Navy Praises Tomahawk- Cites Weapon’s Future

By Kris Osborn

“We were operating in international waters. Being forward-deployed on our platforms, Tomahawks provide an ability on short notice to give the national leadership options in accord with national policy,” Capt. Paul Stader, Director, Plans and Policy, told Scout Warrior in an interview.

In a manner consistent with the attacks on Syrian airfields, Tomahawk missiles have a history of being used to destroy “fixed” target locations such as enemy bunkers, airfields, command and control systems and building locations. They are often the first weapon to attack and will likely remain so as they evolve into the future. Current state of the art Tomahawks, called Block IV, have some technical innovations making them even more effective.

Looking to the future, the Navy is also pursuing high-tech seeker upgrades to the submarine and ship-launched Tomahawk missile as a way to better enable the weapon to destroy moving enemy ships at sea, officials said.

“Tomahawk is a weapon we have evolved. It is not the same as it was 20-years ago and can really minimize collateral damage because of precision,” Stader said.

A Navy statement said the US took extraordinary measures to avoid civilian casualties and to comply with the Law of Armed Conflict.

“Every precaution was taken to execute this strike with minimal risk to personnel at the airfield,” the statement continued.

The idea is to engineer a Tomahawk missile able to engage and destroy fast-moving near-peer rival ships and land targets in a wide variety of anticipated threat environments. For instance, should there be combat engagements with Russia or China, U.S. weapons, missiles and assets will need to operate in more challenged or contested environments – such as a scenario where satellites or GPS communications and navigational systems are destroyed.