Navy’s Next Tomahawk Missile: Block 5
ARLINGTON,
Va.— Raytheon Missile Co. will build a new block upgrade of the Tomahawk cruise
missile for the U.S. Navy even as the company takes older missiles into a recertification
program to return them to service.
“Tomahawk has
returned to production [after a one-year gap],” said Chris Daily, Raytheon’s
Tomahawk program manager, speaking to reporters May 7 at the Sea-Air-Space Expo
in National Harbor, Md. “All production beginning in fiscal ’20 will be Block 5.”
He said the
fiscal 2020-2021 production — 90 missiles per year — will emerge as Block 5
versions.
The Block 5
version is an upgrade of the Block 4 Tomahawk, with upgrades such as navigation
and communications improvements.
A subversion,
Block 5A, will be the Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST), equipped with a multimode
seeker that retains a land-attack capability.
“The MST is
going to be a great addition to the fleet,” Daily said.
Another, the
Block 5B, will be a Block V armed with the Joint Multiple Effects Warhead and
will be fielded in 2024-2025.
Daily said
the Block 4 Tomahawks being recertified after 15 years in service also will
emerge as Block 5 versions. The first deliveries will occur in 2020.
“Tomahawk will be in the
fleet until the 2050s,” Daily said.