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Submarine USS COLUMBUS Launches Tomahawks in West Coast Tests

NAVAIR Release

Press Release Number: EPEOW200305221

Release Date: 5/22/2003

Two successful test launches of U.S. Navy Tomahawk cruise missiles were conducted this week from the USS COLUMBUS (SSN 762), a LOS ANGELES-Class attack submarine underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Calif.

In the first test event, the (inert) block III missile flew a fully guided 575-nautical mile flight at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) Pacific test range. Seconds after launch from the submarine's torpedo tube launch system, the Tomahawk missile transitioned to cruise flight, utilizing global positioning satellite navigation to a target impact site on the NAVAIR land range.

In the second test event, the (inert) block III missile ejected from the vertical launch system and flew a fully guided 520-mile flight onto the same range complex. This second flight also utilized global positioning satellite navigation to a target impact site on the same range. Additionally, this particular mission was planned aboard the launch platform.

Both tests were part of the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) operational evaluation process. TTWCS will allow increased flexibility of the Tactical Tomahawk missile and launch platform mission planning. Additionally, the TTWCS software will reduce the operator's workload and decrease the time required to prepare and launch the missile. This system was successfully demonstrated last fall from a surface ship, the USS STETHEM (DDG-63). This week's tests marked the first such demonstration for an attack submarine. The Tactical Tomahawk weapons system will be delivered to the fleet in the spring of 2004.

Tomahawk missiles are deployed throughout the world's oceans on numerous surface ships and submarines, including AEGIS-Class Cruisers, Guided Missile Destroyers, and SEAWOLF and LOS ANGELES-Class submarines.

As in all Tomahawk flight tests, air route safety was carefully planned in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). For safety purposes, the Tomahawk could have been guided by commands from safety chase aircraft.

The Tomahawk program is managed by the Program Executive Office, Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation (PEO(W)) co-located at the NAVAIR complex in Patuxent River, Maryland. The missile is manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz. Tomahawk is a registered trademark of the United States Navy.

NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts. From professional training to carrier launch and recovery; from sensor data to precision targeting and real-time communications; from aircraft and weapons development to successful deployment and sustainment; NAVAIR provides dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities to the American warfighter.