Size: 20.5 feet long by 8.75 foot wingspan, diameter of 20.4 inches. Propulsion and Speed: Turbofan engine with rocket booster; about 550 mph Mission: Long range, subsonic cruise missile used for land attack warfare, launched from surface ships and submarines, can carry one large warhead or a canister of small bombs that are dispersed over target. Can carry out high–accuracy missions with minimal risk.
Among the 31 flavors of whoop-ass weaponry…
Tomahawk® Cruise Missile
Description:Long range, subsonic cruise missile used for land attack warfare, launched from surface ships and submarines.
Background: Tomahawk® cruise missiles are designed to fly at extremely low altitudes at high subsonic speeds, and are piloted over an evasive route by several mission tailored guidance systems. The first operational use was in Operation Desert Storm, 1991, with immense success. The missile has since been successfully used in several other conflicts. In 1995 the governments of the United States and United Kingdom signed a Foreign Military Sales Agreement for the acquisition of 65 missiles, marking the first sale of Tomahawk® to a foreign country. After a November 1998 launch and live warhead test, the U.K. declared operational capability.
Features: Tomahawk® Block II uses a Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) and Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation (DSMAC) missile guidance system. Block III adds a Global Positioning Satellite guidance capability to TERCOM and DSMAC. Radar detection of the missile is extremely difficult because of the small radar cross-section and low altitude. Tomahawk® has two warhead configurations: a 1,000-lb. blast/fragmentary unitary warhead and a general-purpose submunition dispenser with combined effect bomblets. Because of its long range, lethality, and extreme accuracy Tomahawk® has become the weapon of choice for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The capabilities of the future Tomahawk®, Block IV or Tactical Tomahawk®, will include battle damage assessment, in flight retargeting, and mission planning from the launch platform. With added capabilities Tactical Tomahawk® will carry on the superior tradition of its predecessor into the 21st Century. It is projected to enter service in 2003.
General Characteristics
Primary Function: long-range subsonic cruise missile for striking high value or heavily defended land targets.
Contractor: Raytheon Systems Company, Tucson, Ariz.
Unit Cost: approximately $600,000 (from the last production contract)
Power Plant: Williams International F107-WR-402 cruise turbo-fan engine; CSD/ARC solid-fuel booster
Sporting turbo engines and a GPS locator, the $500,000 Tomahawk reads terrain contours and compares them to a map of the area. Nearing its goal, it actually “looks” at the target, matching it with a preprogrammed image. If it looks the same, it’s history. If it looks like one of those cheap imitation knockoffs of the target, the ’hawk
haggles to buy it for less than $5 before the cops show up.
Torpedoes: Mark 46, Mark 48, Mark 50
Description: Self-propelled guided projectile that operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target.
Features: Torpedoes may be launched from submarines, surface ships, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. They are also used as parts of other weapons; the Mark 46 torpedo becomes the warhead section of the ASROC (Anti-Submarine ROCket) and the Captor mine uses a submerged sensor platform that releases a torpedo when a hostile contact is detected. The three major torpedoes in the Navy inventory are the Mark 48 heavyweight torpedo, the Mark 46 lightweight and the Mark 50 advanced lightweight.
The MK-46 torpedo is designed to attack high performance submarines, and is presently identified as the NATO standard. The MK-46 Mod 5 torpedo is the backbone of the Navy's lightweight ASW torpedo inventory and is expected to remain in service until the year 2015.
The MK-48 is designed to combat fast, deep-diving nuclear submarines and high performance surface ships. It is carried by all Navy submarines. The improved version, MK-48 ADCAP, is carried by attack submarines, the Ohio class ballistic missile submarines and will be carried by the Seawolf class attack submarines. The MK-48 replaced both the MK-37 and MK-14 torpedoes. The MK-48 has been operational in the U.S. Navy since 1972. MK-48 ADCAP became operational in 1988 and was approved for full production in 1989.
The MK-50 is an advanced lightweight torpedo for use against the faster, deeper-diving and more sophisticated submarines. The MK-50 can be launched from all ASW aircraft, and from torpedo tubes aboard surface combatant ships. The MK-50 will eventually replace the MK-46 as the fleet's lightweight torpedo.
General Characteristics
MK-46 MOD 5
Primary Function: Air and ship-launched lightweight torpedo
Length: 102.36 in. tube launch configuration (from ship)
Weight: 517.65 lbs (warshot configuration)
Diameter: 12.75 inches
Range: 8,000 yards
Depth: Greater than 1,200 ft (365.76 meters)
Speed: Greater than 28 knots (32.2 mph, 51.52 kph)
Guidance System: Homing mode: Active or passive/active acoustic homing
Launch/search mode: Snake or circle search
Warhead: 98 lbs. of PBXN-103 high explosive (bulk charge)
Date Deployed: 1966 (Mod 0); 1979 (Mod 5)MK-46 MOD 5
Size: 19 feet long by 21 inch diameter Propulsion and Speed: Piston engine w/pump jet; 28+ knots (32+ mph) Mission: Self–propelled guided projectile that operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. The Mark 48 carries 650 pounds of high explosive and can sink subs or even large ships.
MK-48, MK-48 (ADCAP)
Primary Function: Heavyweight torpedo for submarines
Contractor: Gould
Power Plant: Piston engine; pump jet
Length: 19 feet (5.79 meters)
Weight: 3,434 lbs (1545.3 kg) (MK-48); 3,695 lbs (1662.75 kg) (MK-48 ADCAP)
Diameter: 21 inches (53.34 centimeters)
Range: Greater than 5 miles (8 km)
Depth: Greater than 1,200 ft (365.76 meters)
Speed: Greater than 28 knots (32.2 mph, 51.52 kph)
Guidance System: Wire guided and passive/active acoustic homing
Warhead: 650 lbs (292.5 kg) high explosive
Date Deployed: 1972 MK-48 ADCAP torpedo
ADCAP stands for Advanced Capabilities, such as searching for
programmed targets, blowing past decoys and countermeasures, jamming enemy systems, and reattacking many times if the torpedo misses on the first pass. It’s kind of like a powerful, explosive ex-girlfriend who keeps calling and calling and calling until you
have to pick up and take your punishment.
AGM-84 Harpoon
The sub fires a capsule from a torpedo tube, the capsule floats to the surface, and out pops the Harpoon missile. It skims low over the water, measuring the coordinates of a preprogrammed target—say, a Greenpeace boat—against the radar and altimeter readings from its missile guidance unit (MGU). Then: boom!
MK-50
Primary Function: Air and ship-launched lightweight torpedo
Contractor: Alliant Techsystems, Westinghouse
Power Plant: Stored Chemical Energy Propulsion System
Length: 112 inches
Weight: 750 pounds
Diameter: 12.75 inches
Speed: 40+ knots
Guidance System: Active/passive acoustic homing
Warhead: Approximately 100 pounds high explosive (shaped charge)
