BGM-109 Tomahawk: A brief look

Whatever course of action President Obama and allies decide on in Syria, you can bet the attack will begin with salvos of BGM-109 cruise missiles.

The BGM-109, known commonly as the Tomahawk, has been used in each of America's official conflicts in the last 22 years. Using wings and a flight system, Tomahawk can carry a heavy warhead at subsonic speeds over a significant distance.

Originally developed by General Dynamics in the 70s, the 3,500 lb. 20 foot long Tomahawk missile is now manufactured by Raytheon, a large U.S. defense contractor. The missile's modular system allows it to carry a conventional or nuclear payload if needed. When launched, the missile flies low at close to 550 mph, with current versions allowing an operator to control the missile's speed on target. All U.S. Navy destroyers, cruisers, and attack submarines are equipped with the Tomahawk weapons system.

Tomahawks come in four varieties:

The Block II TLAM-A: a nuclear version

The Block III TLAM-C: conventional version

The Block III TLAM-D: cluster bomb version

The Block IV TLAM-E: called the Tactical Tomahawk, it can hover over it's target for hours and change directions long after it's been fired. 

Technical Specifications

Contractor: Raytheon Missile Systems Company, Tucson, AZ

Unit Cost:

• $600,000 for older Tomahawks
• $1.45 million for Tactical Tomahawks

Length: 20.3 feet 
Diameter: 21 inches 
Wingspan: 8 feet 9 inches 
Weight: 3,330 pounds
Speed: Subsonic (meaning slower than the speed of sound.)

Range:

• Block II TLAM-A - 1350 nautical miles (2.500 Km)
• Block III TLAM-C - 900 nautical miles (1.667 Km)
• Block III TLAM-D - 700 nautical miles (1.300 Km)
• Block IV TLAM-E - 900 nautical miles (1.667 Km)

Warhead:

Block II TLAM-N: W80 nuclear warhead
Block III TLAM-C: 1.000 pounds (453 Kg) warhead
Block III TLAM-D: conventional submunitions dispenser with combined effect bomblets.

Block IV TLAM-E: 1.000 pounds (453 Kg) warhead

Syria: U.S. U.K. and France entering the stage

UK, US and France military planners are drawing up potential targets for missile strikes on Syria amid growing certainty that the Assad regime was behind chemical weapons attacks which killed hundreds of civilians last week.

While there has been no decision on the type of action, military staff in London and Washington are compiling a list of targets among a range of "and/or" options:

• Arming the rebels
• Creating a safe haven
• Establishment of a no-fly zone
• Surgical cruise missile strikes against chemical weapons facilities (Sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles are the most likely option)

Below are details of U.S., French and British forces in the region that could be involved in case of any attack.

United States

 
• The U.S. Navy has increased its number of cruise missile-carrying destroyers in the Mediterranean to four from three by delaying the return to the United States of the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Mahan.

 
• The aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, by far the most powerful warship in the region, left the Mediterranean last weekend, passing through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea.

 
• As well as the strike aircraft carried by the Truman, several of her escort ships are also capable of firing Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles.

 
• The United States has also had F-16 jets in Jordan, where they remained after a major military exercise this year at the request of the Jordanian government.

 
• Also has a major air base at Incirlik in Turkey that could easily house multiple aircraft as part of a wider military campaign.

United Kingdom

 
• Britain would likely be dependent on its cruise missile-carrying Trafalgar and Astute class attack submarines if it wished to join in any U.S.-led campaign. 

 
• Britain does not currently have any combat aircraft in the region, although they could theoretically operate from UK sovereign bases in Cyprus providing the local government agreed.

France

 

• The French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is operational and remains for now in the Mediterranean port of Toulon.

 

• Also has Rafale and Mirage jets based in the United Arab Emirates that could potentially reach Syria.

Syria: US prepares for potential missile strike

An additional warship (equipped with ballistic missiles) was dispatched to the region late Friday, joining the three other Sixth Fleet's ships currently there to prepare a possible long-range missile strike against the Syrian government.

All four ships are capable of launching cruise subsonic missiles BGM-109 Tomahawk to reach land targets. Commanders of the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean ordered warships to move closer to Israel, so they would be in better striking range to hit forces in Syria. The maximum range for Tomahawk Cruise Missiles is about 1,500 Km, enough to reach Syrian government targets.

Possible targets include command bunkers and missile sites that could be used to launch chemical-tipped missiles. On Saturday, humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders said approximately 3,600 patients were treated with "neurotoxic symptoms" at three hospitals outside Damascus early Wednesday, following a series of missile strikes.