USN completes first Tomahawk Block V firings

The US Navy (USN) DDG-51 Flight IIA guided missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) has conducted the first operational tests of the Tomahawk Block V cruise missile. A modernised and recertified Tomahawk Block IV missile, the new Block V variant embodies an upgraded navigation/communication (NAV/COMMs) package as a baseline capability. The NAV/COMMs upgrade delivers enhanced navigation performance and more robust and reliable communications.

Chafee , part of the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group, undertook a first Block V firing during an exercise on a Pacific test range on 30 November. The event “marked the first time a Block V Tomahawk, the weapon’s newest variant, was operationally tested, marking the navy’s transition to a more advanced capability for the fleet”, said the US Department of Defense in a statement. A second Tomahawk Block V was fired from Chafee on 1 December.

US Navy DDG-51 Flight IIA guided missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) conducts the first operational test of the Tomahawk Block V cruise missile on 30 November. (US Navy)

The missiles hit targets at ranges on San Nicolas Island and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in California. During the tests, both missiles were redirected mid-flight to different targets using their new communications systems.