August 14, 2026: The American military is planning to purchase 28,000 less expensive cruise missiles over the next five years. The cost is $450,000 each, about a third of what current cruise missiles cost. Eventually, the cost per missile will fall to half that price. Manufacturers of cheap missiles include Anduril, supplying its Barracuda-500; CoAspire, for its Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile; and Zone 5 Technologies, for its Rusty Dagger. These three firms are competing to drive prices down further. This will increase sales to the military, which is rebuilding its missile arsenal to replace heavy missile use during the Iranian War.

Existing American cruise missiles slated for replacement are still being upgraded. Three years ago, the American military placed a multi-year contract for 10,000 GMLRS guided rockets per year through 2026, at a cost of $170,000 each. An unspecified number will be the longer-range SDB version, which uses an SDB glide bomb as a second stage and extends range to 150 kilometers, compared with 70 kilometers for the standard rocket. The SDB uses multiple guidance systems to strike targets, including moving ones, with greater precision. Some SDB versions have been used effectively in Ukraine. Because of growing export orders, plans call for increasing total GMLRS production to 14,000 rockets per year. Ukraine is currently the largest GMLRS user, having received about 3,000 rockets and at least 20 HIMARS launcher vehicles in the past year, making it the largest combat user of GMLRS. U.S. forces previously used GMLRS in Iraq and Afghanistan. GMLRS entered service in 2004, followed by the smaller, truck-mounted HIMARS launcher in 2005. Together, GMLRS and HIMARS have proved popular with a growing number of export customers. GMLR-ER, the longer-range, 150-kilometer version of GMLRS, recently entered service.

Raytheon, the American manufacturer of Tomahawk cruise missiles, has received orders from Japan and Australia for a total of 600 of the new Mark V (5) version of the Tomahawk. Both countries will install the missiles on their warships to provide a long-range guided missile capable of hitting moving targets over 1,000 kilometers away. The Tomahawk has undergone a number of improvements over the last decade and is currently one of the most effective land-attack and anti-ship weapons available to American and allied warships.

In 2020, the U.S. Navy introduced Tomahawk Block 5, the first new version since Block 4 in 2005. The block versions actually represent an accumulation of individual upgrades that have turned the current Tomahawk into a substantially different cruise missile than the previous block. The unique new features of Block 5 include the ability to hit ship-sized targets at maximum range (over 1,600 kilometers) using a new target seeker. Block 5 also uses a new warhead with greater penetrating power against large warships and greater effectiveness against all targets. There are also upgraded communication and navigation systems which are more resistant to jamming and other EW (Electronic Warfare) measures. All this means Block 5 communications are more difficult to detect and disrupt. The navigation system can function even with heavy GPS jamming thanks to a more accurate, unjammable INS (Inertial Navigation System). Another notable feature is that Block 5 does not increase the price, which remains between $1 million and $1.5 million per missile, depending on the features. That’s a lot cheaper than high-speed missiles that cost three or four times more, are heavier and have shorter range. The relatively low cost of the Tomahawk makes it effective for more missions, like attacking land targets or being used in large numbers. All Block 4 Tomahawks are being upgraded to Block 5, and the remaining Block 3s will be retired because most were built in the 1990s and are no longer worth the expense of an upgrade and refurbishment.

Most Tomahawks in U.S. service are carried and fired from surface ships or nuclear submarines (SSNs) in VLS (Vertical Launch System) cells. There is also a torpedo-launched version which all British SSNs use. The Tomahawk has quietly become the primary offensive weapon for the American fleet.

The RGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile weighs 1.2 tons, is six meters (18 feet) long, and has a range of 1,600 kilometers. It reaches its target at a speed of 600-900 kilometers an hour, flying at an altitude of 17-32 meters (50-100 feet), and is propelled by a jet engine generating only 273 kg (600 pounds) of thrust. Accuracy is on a par with JDAM (10meters/31 feet). Tomahawk can be reprogrammed in flight to hit another target and carries a digital video camera to allow someone to check on prospective targets.

With Block 4 came the new JMEW (Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System) warhead. This is a 450 kg (1,000-pound) warhead designed mainly to penetrate underground bunkers, but it will also provide an excellent blast effect against less robust targets. Exact penetration was not revealed. JMEW uses laser terminal guidance, enabling it to hit within a few meters (ten feet) of its aiming point. JMEW can also hit moving targets, like ships.

The Tomahawk, when it showed up in 1983, was one of the first combat UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles), but it wasn't reusable. The Tomahawk has been a primary land attack weapon for surface ships and submarines since the 1990s. Over 6,000 have been manufactured so far. The U.S. Navy has fired over 2,200 in combat and over 600 for training and testing. The U.S. Navy currently has over 3,000 Tomahawks on its warships or in storage. Tomahawk is expected to remain in service until 2040, with older ones refurbished to extend their useful lives. That usually means batteries and electronics are replaced or upgraded, along with elderly mechanical components.

Block 0, 1 and 2 Tomahawks were introduced during the Cold War, which ended in 1991. Some Cold War versions of Tomahawk were optimized for ranges of up to 2,500 kilometers, or for use from aircraft carrying nuclear warheads. These were gone by the time Block 3 entered service in 1994. In between new blocks, there were often major upgrades. Block 4 received a major upgrade in 2012 with the addition of GPS and in-flight remote control. The more recent upgrades improved the guidance system and defensive capabilities against electronic jamming. The need for these new features was recognized in 2015, when the Navy tested the current Block 4 Tomahawk to determine whether its new two-way communications capability could enable it to hit moving targets effectively. The Block 4 managed to do so, but not under combat conditions. That is, not with warships using defensive or electronic weapons to shoot down the incoming missile or mislead its guidance system. One navy test used a nearby aircraft, possibly a drone, to track the target ship's exact location. That could also be done from a space satellite. A fully developed anti-ship capability for the Tomahawk requires regular upgrades to the guidance system to enable it to operate without constant two-way communications.

The U.S. Navy is aware that the Tomahawk is not the ideal anti-ship missile. Against modern defenses, anti-ship missiles must travel faster than a Tomahawk and be equipped with a better terminal guidance system. The speed problem cannot be fixed, but the Tomahawk could be equipped with a more capable terminal guidance system. That might be able to handle the tracking and targeting systems for guns and missiles designed to knock down anti-ship missiles when they get close. In any event, Tomahawk Block 4 has a way to go before it is a competitive anti-ship missile against modern warships. But developing and testing upgrades will give Tomahawk a useful anti-ship capability without making it the most effective anti-ship missile on the market.

There are apparently some novel proposals for using a radically new anti-ship warhead that turns Tomahawk into a two-stage missile with the warhead making the final attack at much higher speed. That increases the cost and weight of the Tomahawk, a stable, reliable design with extensive combat experience. It was easier to tinker with the guidance system, warhead, and range and come up with affordable new capabilities that work. One reason for the continued usefulness of Tomahawk is its ability to do more and more things reliably and affordably. Many new cruise missile designs can do high-speed attack, but at great expense. Tomahawk can carry out a wide range of missions, many of which do not require high speed or a more elaborate terminal guidance system.

Because of these constant improvements and consistent reliability, American (and other) warships continue to use Tomahawks in combat regularly. The targets tend to be on land and not mobile. Most of these uses are publicized, but some are not. Several hundred Tomahawks were used in massed attacks against Libya in 2011, which demonstrated the effectiveness of Tomahawks in delivering major airstrikes on short notice, anywhere in the world without losing more expensive manned aircraft and exposing their pilots to getting shot down and captured. Tomahawk is also an ideal weapon for a potential war in the Pacific against China. This would be a war featuring large distances between targets, and Tomahawk can handle that, in addition to many other tasks. The fleet goes to sea with lots of Tomahawks, and quantity is an asset as well as reliability and a track record of success.

The planned Tomahawk replacement is currently the NGLAW (Next Generation Land Attack Weapon). Development of a successor to the Tomahawk has been underway since the 1990s, and the current (NGLAW) effort is for a cruise missile that will be heavier (2.2 tons), have a longer range (2,000 kilometers), and a larger (1-ton) warhead than the Tomahawk. NGLAW will be stealthier and use a combination of new guidance and targeting systems to improve the chances of success. Price will probably be the key factor, but it is expected to cost at least twice as much as Tomahawk. NGLAW has been going on for so long because it’s not easy to develop a Tomahawk replacement that justifies the higher weight and cost of a new missile while so many navies are satisfied with updated Tomahawks.