Tomahawk Missile:
Australia recently finalised a deal to buy more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States.
- Tomahawk Missile is a US-made long-range cruise missileused for deep land attack warfare.
- It can be launched from a ship or submarineand can deliver its warhead precisely to a target at a long range.
- It is used primarily by the U.S. and United Kingdom navies.
- It is designed to fly at subsonic speed while maintaining a low altitude, making it difficult to detect on radar.
- It uses tailored guidance systems to manoeuvre while at such low elevations.
- It has an accuracy of about 5 meters (16 feet).
- The 6-meter (18.4-foot-) long missile has a range of up to 2,400 km(1,500 miles) and can travel as fast as 885 km (550 miles) per hour.
- It is powered by a solid propellant during its launch phase. Thereafter it is powered by a turbofan engine that does not emit much heat, which makes infrared detection difficult.
- It is capable of twisting and turning like a radar-evading fighter plane.
- It can carry either conventional or nuclear payloads.
