Tomahawk Missile

It is a US-made long-range cruise missile used for deep-land attack warfare.It can be launched from a ship or submarine and deliver its warhead precisely to a target at a long range.

It flies at low altitudes to strike fixed targets, such as communication and air-defense sites, in high-risk environments where manned aircraft may be vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles.

Features:

• It is designed to fly at subsonic speed while maintaining a low altitude, making it difficult to detect on radar.
• It uses tailored guidance systems to manoeuvre at such low elevations.
• It has an accuracy of about 5 meters (16 feet).
• The 6-meter (18.4-foot) long missile has a range of up to 2,400 km (1,500 miles) and can travel as fast as 885 km (550 miles) per hour.
• Tomahawks are launched vertically from ships, but they can be launched horizontally from torpedo tubes on attack submarines or from external launchers attached to a submarine’s hull.
• Propulsion: It is powered by a solid propellant during its launch phase. Thereafter, it is powered by a turbofan engine that does not emit much heat, which makes infrared detection difficult.
• It uses satellite-assisted navigation and TERCOM (Terrain Contour Matching) radar to guide it to a target.
• It is capable of twisting and turning like a radar-evading fighter plane, skimming the landscape at an altitude of only 30–90 metres (100–300 feet).
• It can carry either conventional or nuclear payloads.