The U.S. Navy and Tomahawk manufacturer Raytheon Missile Systems Company celebrated the delivery of the 4,000th Block IV cruise missile to the fleet in August.
“Tomahawk is known as the ‘nation’s weapon of choice’ and delivery of 4,000 missiles is significant,” said Capt. Mark Johnson, Tomahawk Weapons System program manager. “Each member of the Tomahawk team has played a vital role in achieving this meaningful milestone and it is definitely one to be celebrated.”
Earlier in the month, the Functional Ground Test (FGT) team at Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, Maryland successfully conducted a production acceptance test of the latest missile.
Mike Spriggs, FGT lead engineer, explained that the Indian Head FGT team has been supporting the Block IV missile, from early development to the most recent production tests.
“We take pride in supporting the Tomahawk program by helping them provide a more reliable and effective weapon to the fleet,” he said.
The Block IV variant was initially fielded in 2004 and provided the fleet with added capability to reprogram the missile while in-flight via two-way satellite communications. The missile can be pre-programmed to strike alternate targets or manually redirected to any GPS coordinates.
The Tomahawk Weapons System is a highly advanced missile that can be launched from ships or submarines and can fly into heavily defended airspace 1,000 miles away. Tomahawk is used for deep land attack warfare, and is currently employed by U. S. Navy surface ships and U.S. Navy and United Kingdom Royal Navy submarines.
Members of the Functional Ground Test (FGT) team pose with the 4,000th Block IV Tomahawk cruise missile to come off the production line Aug.2 at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Indian Head, Md. (U.S. Navy photo)
