Tomahawk Land Attack Missile

In the recent Operation Midnight Hammer on June 22, 2025, the United States utilized 30 Tomahawk missiles in conjunction with B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and six 30,000-pound ‘bunker buster’ bombs to strike Iran’s nuclear sites, including the Fordo facility, Natanz, and Isfahan. The Tomahawk missiles were launched from US Navy submarines positioned approximately 400 miles away from the targets.

Key details of Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM):

• Type: Long-range, subsonic cruise missile.
• Developer: Developed by the US Navy.
• Launch Platforms: Primarily launched from ships or submarines using a Vertical Launch System (VLS).
• Purpose: Designed for precision strikes on land-based targets.
• Guidance System: Guided by advanced GPS, inertial navigation, and terrain contour mapping (TERCOM), enabling high accuracy with a margin of error of just 10 meters.
• Stealth and Evasion:
  • Capable of flying at low altitudes, which helps in avoiding radar detection.
  • Built to follow a non-linear path, reducing the chance of interception.
  • Turbofan engine does not emit much heat, making infrared detection difficult.
  • Small radar cross-section.
• Operational History:
  • First deployed in combat during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
  • Used in various conflicts since then, including strikes in Syria in 2017.
• Range: Has a range typically between 1,000 and 1,500 miles (1,550 to 2,500 km), depending on the variant. In the Iran strike, they were launched from 400 miles away, well within their operational range.
• Speed: Travels at subsonic speeds, around Mach 0.74 (880 kmph or 550 mph).
• Warhead: Can carry a 1,000-pound conventional warhead or cluster munitions.
• Cost: Reportedly costs about $2 million each.

(Source: HT)