The BGM-109 Tomahawk is a modern American maneuvering missile that entered service in 1983 and remains in service today. The total mass of the missile - with the auxiliary rocket engine - is 1,600 kilograms, and the mass of the classic warhead is up to 450 kilograms. The length of the projectile is 6.25 meters and the diameter is 520 millimeters. Depending on the version, the range of the missile ranges from 1,300 to 2,500 kilometers.
The first conceptual work on the Tomahawk missile began in the first half of the 1970s, with the aim of creating a tactical nuclear weapon-carrying maneuvering missile, which, however, would not violate the provisions of the SALT I Treaty. The project was carried out relatively quickly, but slightly delayed. work on improving the prototype / prototypes. Ultimately, two entities were responsible for the production of the missile: Boeing and General Dynamics. Several versions of this missile were developed in the course of production, including: BGM-109A (land version with the W-80 nuclear warhead), BGM-109B (sea version, designed to attack enemy surface units) or BGM-109C (sea version of the missile intended to attack land targets). Currently, the US armed forces are equipped with only BGM-109 missiles stationed on US Navy units. It is worth adding that the currently used Tomahawk missiles have a very precise steering and navigation system, thanks to which they are characterized by very high accuracy. Tomahawk missiles were widely used during the First and Second Gulf Wars (1990-1991 and 2003), as well as in many limited US activities, such as shelling selected targets in Syria in 2017.