Munitions experts at Raytheon will build 196 Tomahawk Block IV long-range cruise missiles for the U.S. Navy under terms of a new order. The Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., are asking Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz., to build the advanced surface ship- and submarine-launched cruise missiles under terms of a $260.3 million contract modification. The RGM/UGM-109E Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM Block IV) is one of the latest versions of the 1970s-vintage Tomahawk cruise missile with digital scene matching area correlator system and improved turbofan engine. The subsonic long-range cruise missile is designed to attack targets on land, as well as large hardened surface warships. The Tomahawk Block IV can attack targets from as far away as 900 nautical miles, can be controlled in flight, and has a real-time targeting system for striking moving targets. Controllers reprogram the missile in flight to send it to alternate targets preprogrammed before launch or redirect it to a new target.
