The Navy’s Tomahawk Weapons System program office (PMA-280) welcomed a new program manager during a ceremony July 6 in Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
Rear Adm. Stephen Tedford, Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO (U&W)), presided over the change of command ceremony where Capt. Jon Hersey relieved Capt. John Red, who will transition to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency in Arlington, Virginia later this month.
The Navy awarded a $217.1 million contract May 24 to Raytheon Missile Systems to deliver 154 Tomahawk missiles to the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army by 2025.
The Full Rate Production (FRP) contract, Lot 18, marks the first multi-service procurement for Tomahawk, which further expands integration into new firing platforms for the Marine Corps and Army.
The Navy received its first Block V configured Tomahawk missile from Raytheon March 25, paving the way to provide the
fleet with an upgraded warfighting capability.
These first Block V missiles are from the existing Tomahawk Block IV inventory, and have been recertified and modernized for fleet use.
The Navy recently completed its first operational flight tests of the Block V Tomahawk missile, the weapon’s latest variant, from the guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG-90) off the coast of California.
The objective of the testing was to support initial fleet release of the Block V Tomahawk’s Navigation/Communications (NAV/COMMs) upgrade, as well as upgrades to the Theater Mission Planning Center (TMPC) system and the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS).
Capt. John Red relieved Capt. Mark Johnson as commanding officer of the Tomahawk Weapons System Program Office (PMA-280) June 13 during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
"This [PMA-280] is a really diverse, geographically dispersed, multi-national team that work together to get the job done for our warfighter everyday," said NAVAIR Commander Vice Adm. Dean Peters, who provided remarks at the ceremony.
Peters recognized Johnson for his accomplishments as program manager and expressed his confidence incoming leader Red.
The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long range cruise missile used for deep land attack warfare used by U.S. forces and international partners.
Tomahawk provides on-scene commander with the flexibility to attack long-range fixed targets or support Special Operations Forces with a lethal, responsive, precision weapon system and as such has become the weapon of choice for the U.S. Department of War.
