The Navy earlier this month demonstrated the effectiveness of the Tomahawk Block IV’s new anti-jam GPS system during an operational test, the service said.
The Tomahawk Block IV was launched from the USS Princeton (CG-59), a Ticonderoga-class Aegis cruiser underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California. The missile flew a land attack mission into San Nicolas Island in support of a Special Operations team, the Navy said yesterday.
“This test proves that Tomahawk provides a key enabler for time-critical strike,” said Tomahawk Program Manager Capt. Dave Davison. “As the only network-enabled, land attack weapon, Tomahawk can re-target, loiter, or provide last minute weapons coverage to deployed forces from on-station naval combatants.”
The Raytheon [RTN]-built missile destroyed a time-critical target after receiving targeting information from a combined U.S./U.K. Special Operations team on the island using the Precision Strike Suite-Special Operations Forces (PSS-SOF) and Joint Strike Planning and Execution Auto Router (JSPEAR) portable units. Live target updating was conducted from the field using these portable units and confirmation was provided by satellite and unmanned systems imagery, according to the Navy.
The mission was initiated from JSPEAR and sent to the fleet commander and Princeton. Seconds after launch from the ship’s vertical launch system, the Tomahawk missile transitioned to cruise flight. The total flight time was short and the test was conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Tomahawk’s new eight channel anti-jam GPS receiver (AGR-4). The results of this test confirmed the ability of Tomahawk Block IV to be used in time critical strike operations to meet the requirements of U.S. Special Forces, the Navy said.