A U.S. Navy Tomahawk Block III cruise missile was launched yesterday from USS PREBLE (DDG-88), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer underway in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern Calif. The missile was launched vertically, and flew a land attack mission from the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) sea ranges.

Seconds after launch from the destroyer’s launch system, the Tomahawk missile transitioned to cruise flight. It flew a fully guided 560-nautical mile test flight using global positioning satellite and digital scene matching area correlator navigation, to a target site on the NAVAIR land range. The total mission lasted one hour and 18 minutes.

Today’s test also exercised the latest in missile control systems, the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS). Developed for the Navy by Lockheed Martin, Valley Forge, Penn., TTWCS provides additional war-fighting flexibility by allowing launch platform or a command and control node to redirect Tomahawk to a new target while in flight. In this test, TTWCS was used to prepare the missile, load the test mission, and launch the missile. The Navy began installing TTWCS on surface ships in 2004, and is scheduled to be complete in 2009.

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. 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)). The missile is manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, AZ. Tomahawk is a registered trademark of the United States Navy.