Raytheon, U.S. Navy complete Tomahawk flight tests

SAN NICOLAS ISLAND, Calif., Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Raytheon and the U.S. Navy have recently completed two flight tests with the Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile.

According to the company, the tests were conducted to demonstrate the missile's ability to engage time-sensitive targets. Raytheon officials praised their product's performance following the demonstration.

"Tomahawk's tactics and procedures have evolved to support the new missions that are being assigned to the weapon," program director Dave Adams said in a press release. "Tomahawk continues to serve and rapidly deliver urgently needed capabilities to the Fleet."

During the first test, a Tomahawk missile was fired by U.S. Navy personnel from the USS Pinckney using the Launch Platform Mission Planning capability. The weapon followed a pre-planned route throughout the trial.

For the second test, crew members fired the weapon for a longer duration, and also conducted a terminal dive maneuver to strike the intended target. Raytheon said the performance confirms the Tomahawk's ability to attack heavily defended targets.

The Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile is designed to engage targets 1,000 miles away from maritime platforms, a characteristic the manufacturer says can help keep deployed sailors out of harms way on the battlefield.