Using both of Eglin Air Force Base’s water and land test ranges, a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile was launched in February from the USS Boise, a Los Angeles-class submarine under way in the Gulf of Mexico.

Seconds after launch, the Tomahawk transitioned to cruise flight. It flew a fully guided 613-nautical mile test flight to the base's land test range where it executed a simulated programmed warhead detonation followed by a parachute recovery. Total flight time to target was one hour and 27 minutes.

The Tomahawk cruise missile is a long range, subsonic cruise missile used for land attack warfare, launched from surface ships and submarines. It is designed to fly at extremely low altitudes at high subsonic speeds, and can be flown over evasive routes by several mission tailored guidance systems.

As in all Tomahawk flight tests, air route safety was carefully planned in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. For safety purposes, the Tomahawk could have been guided by commands from safety chase aircraft provided by the 46th Test Wing.

The Tomahawk program is managed by the Program Executive Office, Strike Weapons and Unmanned Aviation, co-located at the NAVAIR complex at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md.

The missile is manufactured by Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Ariz.

(Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)