Fri, Aug 20, 2004
When You Care Enough To Send The Very Best....
Raytheon has been
awarded $287 million in Fiscal Year 2004 as part of a full-rate
production contract to supply the U.S. Navy with the
next-generation Block IV Tomahawk cruise missile. The Navy and
Raytheon have entered into a multi-year procurement contract to
replenish the Tomahawk inventory. The value of this contract could
reach $1.6 billion once all of the procurement orders are placed
over the next five years.
Work is expected to be completed on this initial missile order
by December 2006. Work will be done at Raytheon's Missile Systems
businesses in Tucson, Ariz., and Camden, Ark. The first low-rate
production Block IV missiles were delivered to the Navy in May.
"The Navy-Raytheon team
is very honored and excited to provide the warfighter the Block IV
Tomahawk missile. This revolutionary weapon, with its flexible
targeting and loitering capabilities builds on the tremendous
32-year tradition and success of the legacy Tomahawk program," said
Navy Capt. Bob Novak, Tomahawk All-Up-Round program manager. "The
Navy's first weapons multi- year contract ensures that the fleet
will get the best possible cruise missile at the best price."
Block IV Tomahawk will be the centerpiece of the Navy's new
Tomahawk Baseline IV Weapons System. The system integrates the
Block IV missile with improved mission planning and platform
weapons control capabilities. This latest version of the Navy's
surface- and submarine-launched precision strike standoff weapon
incorporates innovative technologies to provide unprecedented
operational capabilities while dramatically reducing acquisition,
operations and support costs. The Block IV missile will have a
15-year warranty and recertification cycle, compared to the Block
III variant's eight-year recertification cycle.
The new capabilities
that Block IV Tomahawk brings to the Navy's sea strike capability
are derived from the missile's two-way satellite data link that
enables the missile to respond to changing battlefield conditions.
The strike controller can "flex" the missile in flight to
preprogrammed alternate targets or redirect it to a new target.
This targeting flexibility includes the capability to loiter over
the battlefield awaiting a more critical target.
The missile can also transmit battle damage indication imagery
and missile health and status messages via the satellite data link.
For the first time, firing platforms will have the capability to
plan and execute Global Positioning System-only missions. Block IV
will also introduce an improved anti-jam GPS receiver for enhanced
mission performance.
The Navy and Raytheon are entering into a five-year procurement
contract to replenish Tomahawk inventory at the most affordable
cost. The legacy program Tomahawk missile is the Navy's weapon of
choice for critical, long- range precision strike missions against
high value, heavily defended targets. The Block IV costs about half
the price of a newly built Block III missile.
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