HMAS Brisbane fires a Tomahawk Weapon System off the coast of San Diego, US. (Commonwealth of Australia)
A Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Hobart-class destroyer has carried out the service's first firing of the Tomahawk cruise missile.
The Department of Defence (DoD) in Canberra said on 10 December that HMAS Brisbane (DDG-41) – the second of the RAN's three Hobart-class destroyers – carried out the firing during a test and evaluation activity conducted off the west coast of the United States.
The DoD said the firing was a success but did not elaborate. The DoD had not responded to Janes questions about the test at the time of publication.
According to the DoD, the firing positions Australia as the third country in the world alongside the US and UK to “acquire and fire” a Tomahawk cruise missile.
Australia's intention to procure Tomahawk for its Hobart-class destroyers and future Hunter-class frigates was announced in August 2023. Under current plans Australia will procure more than 200 Tomahawk missiles for about AUD1.3 billion (USD834 million). Some of these missiles will also deploy from Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines Australia will receive in the early 2030s.
The Tomahawk cruise missile is a submarine and surface vessel-launched subsonic land-attack cruise missile with inertial navigation system (INS) guidance. The Raytheon-supplied weapon has a range of about 1,500 km and is able to strike at both static and dynamic targets.
For more information, please seeRoyal Australian Navy.
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