Raytheon Marks 1,000th Tomahawk Delivery

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)
June 14, 2008 Latest Tomahawk generation big in Navy's arsenal
By Jack Gillum, Arizona Daily Star
Tucson-based Raytheon Missile Systems celebrated the delivery of the 1,000th Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile to the U.S. Navy this week as the company builds on the success of the sea-launched guided weapon.
With both an indoor ceremony and a barbecue, complete with grilled chicken and commemorative T-shirts, Raytheon and military officials on Tuesday commended hundreds of employees for a job well done.
"Four years, 1,000 missiles — it's time to celebrate," Harry Schulte, the vice president of Raytheon's Air Warfare Systems product line, said in an interview Thursday.
Initially conceived as a dual-purpose land and naval weapon, the Tomahawk has been used extensively in Iraq and Bosnia. During the first Gulf War, the U.S. military fired almost 300 Tomahawk missiles.
Since then, Tomahawk has evolved into the current Block IV, which Raytheon has been building for about four years. That version uses a two-way satellite data link so controllers can redirect it to other targets, for example.
Today, the the Block IV is an important weapon in the war on terrorism, particularly for when targets may change locations.
"Raytheon's come through, and they've really been the only viable producer of cruise missiles," said Paul Nisbet, a Raytheon analyst with Newport, R.I.-based JSA Research Inc. "They've done better than anybody else when it comes to producing them."
Last year, speculation emerged about whether Tomahawk would be used by the Air Force as a possible replacement for the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM.
Schulte said that although Raytheon was previously asked to look at an air-launched version of Tomahawk when JASSM "was in a little bit of trouble," there are currently no plans to move forward with an Air Force version.
Still, Raytheon is looking at expanding the missile's capabilities at sea. The Navy is looking at Tomahawk for what Schulte calls "maritime interdiction," or targeting ships. Tomahawk presently is designed to attack land-based, stationary targets.
After 1,000 deliveries, the missile has proved to be solid business for the local defense contractor.
During the first quarter of 2008, Raytheon booked $293 million in Tomahawk contracts.
Last year, Missile Systems recorded $4.99 billion in total net sales.
Raytheon is Southern Arizona's largest employer, with more than 12,500 Tucson-area workers, according to this year's Star 200 survey of major Southern Arizona employers.
 
Back
Top