Raytheon can increase production of the new Block 4 Tactical Tomahawk by more than 30% if extra funding is available, the company has told the US Navy. However, this will not address the more immediate need to restock the BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile inventory depleted by one-third during the war.
Coalition forces are husbanding their remaining Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) after firing 760 in the first 14 days of the war- 650 during the first week. The USN is estimated to have deployed around half its 2,000 ship and submarine-launched TLAMs to the Middle East theatre of operations.
The follow-on Tactical Tomahawk missile is still in operational test and deliveries are not due until the second quarter of next year. The USN has ordered two low-rate initial production batches totalling 192 missiles, and is negotiating to buy 267. The planned purchase is nearly 2,200. The Block 4 missile is intended to be half the price to produce, with fewer parts, a lighter turbofan engine, a two-way datalink for inflight retargeting and anti-jam GPS guidance.
"The navy has asked if we could increase production from 38 missiles to 50 a month, if funding became available. We're well positioned to respond to the increased capacity of 600 missiles a year should it be needed," says Raytheon. The concern, meanwhile, is that the US Navy will be short of cruise missiles if there is another regional conflict.
Around 3,000 Tomahawks were produced before the line shut in 1999, but the missile was used in the 1991 Gulf War, against Iraq in 1993 and 1998, against Serbia in 1999 and in the Afghanistan conflict.
Source: Flight International
