The U.S. "Tomahawk" missile has been upgraded again. The dual-stage warhead will be mass-produced. It specializes in underground bunkers and solid targets.

The picture shows the Kongo-class destroyer "Chomi" firing a Tomahawk missile for the first time. (Picture taken from the Ministry of Defense)

[Reporter Wu Zheyu/Comprehensive Report] The U.S. Navy continues to strengthen the precision strike capabilities of the "Tomahawk" cruise missile. According to an announcement announced by the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) on the 7th, the U.S. military plans to award a single-source contract to Raytheon to initiate low-speed initial mass production of the "Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System" (JMEWS) and integrate this new warhead with both penetration and blast fragmentation killing capabilities into the "Tomahawk" Block Vb missiles enhance the ability to strike underground bunkers, missile positions and other solid targets.

The military news website "Defence Blog" reported that the U.S. Navy's Tomahawk missile program office in Patuxent River, Maryland, stated that JMEWS has entered a critical period of transitioning from the engineering and manufacturing development stage to mass production, and plans to negotiate directly with Raytheon Company, a subsidiary of the RTX Group. However, the contract amount, warhead procurement quantity and delivery schedule have not yet been announced.

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The U.S. Navy stated that Raytheon has been the only developer, designer, and manufacturer of Tomahawk missiles since 1994. It has mastered the existing missile configuration and manufacturing data, and is therefore the only known manufacturer that can complete mass production preparations within the established timeframe without having to invest in additional research and development costs. Other companies can still submit capability statements before October 22, but this announcement is not an open bidding.

The report pointed out that the biggest feature of JMEWS is the dual-stage warhead design, which combines penetration and explosion fragmentation killing effects, so that the missile can not only attack general ground facilities, but also cause damage to underground bunkers, reinforced defenses and missile positions, while taking into account the need to strike dispersed targets. In comparison, the existing Tomahawk Block IV is mainly equipped with a single 1,000-pound warhead.

Raytheon has previously received a $90.4 million contract to be responsible for the engineering and manufacturing development of JMEWS. This new procurement plan will push the warhead towards mass production. The U.S. Navy had previously planned that the version equipped with JMEWS would achieve initial operational capability in 2027.

The "Tomahawk" Block V modernization plan mainly extends the service life of existing Block IV missiles through upgrading navigation and communication systems and re-certification. The U.S. Navy received the first Block V in March 2021. The two subsequent configurations have different missions. Block Va "Sea Strike Tomahawk" is equipped with a seeker to attack mobile ships at sea; Block Vb integrates JMEWS warheads to focus on improving the strike effect on solid ground targets.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense’s 2023 fiscal year test report, the Navy has completed some JMEWS tests and was originally scheduled to complete the live-fire test in the fourth quarter of the 2026 fiscal year, that is, before the end of September this year. However, the United States has not yet announced the final lethality effectiveness evaluation results, and the actual mass production and service progress still need to be confirmed later.