Operation Desert Storm marked the first time that the Navy’s Tomahawk Land Attack Missile and the Air Force’s Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) were used in combat. A total of 323 cruise missiles were fired against a variety of Iraqi targets in the conflict’s early stages. The missile attacks were part of a multiphase air campaign designed to decapitate the Iraqi leadership, gain air superiority, and reduce Iraqi combat power in preparation for the ground offensive to restore Kuwait’s border. Tomahawk missiles have subsequently struck two Iraqi facilities in the Baghdad area. U.S. ships launched 42 missiles against the Zafraniyah Nuclear Fabrication Facility on January 17, 1993, and 23 missiles against Iraqi Intelligence Service headquarters on June 26, 1993. These attacks demonstrated that cruise missiles could play an important role in both major conflicts and more limited engagements by allowing U.S. forces to strike an adversary with a high degree of accuracy at long ranges and without risking the loss of aircraft or aircrew. The Tomahawk cruise missile is a long-range, unmanned subsonic missile with both land attack and antiship capability that can be employed under a variety of weather conditions. It is launched from a variety of Navy surface ships and attack submarines. There are four Tomahawk variants: the nuclear land attack missile (TLAM-N), the antiship missile (TASM), the conventional land attack missile with a unitary warhead (TLAM-C), and the conventional land attack missile with a submunition warhead (TLAM-D). Each variant employs a common body and propulsion system but is equipped with different warheads and guidance systems. The four variants are shown in figure 1.1. Navy ships and submarines currently deploy predominantly with TLAM-Cs and TLAM-Ds. The TLAM-Ns were removed from the vessels as the Cold War was ending. Navy officials said that the TASM’s mission has been reduced because this variant is not particularly suited to warfare in littoral waters that may be crowded with both combatant and noncombatant ships. The TASM was originally intended as an over-the-horizon, open ocean, antiship weapon to be employed against ships in a battle group. The TLAM-Cs and -Ds employed during Operation Desert Storm and the subsequent strikes were Block II missiles, which make up the majority of the current inventory. All Tomahawks delivered to the Navy since April 1993 have been improved Block III models. The Navy plans production of a Block IV variant by the end of this decade. The improvements incorporated in the Block III missile and those planned for Block IV are discussed in appendix I. The principal difference between the Block II TLAM-C and TLAM-D is the warhead. The TLAM-C carries a 1,000-pound-class unitary warhead, and the TLAM-D carries a submunitions payload consisting of 166 bomblets. The TLAM-C is employed against a single fixed target, such as a specific point on a building, whereas the TLAM-D is designed to attack area-type targets, such as aircraft parked on a ramp. A single TLAM-D missile can dispense its submunitions payload over as many as three separate targets. The Block II TLAM-C and TLAM-D ranges equal or exceed the unrefueled combat radius of most U.S. manned tactical strike aircraft. However, those missiles that are launched from a submarine torpedo tube have a range about 30 percent less than surface ship-launched missiles. The submarine-launched Tomahawk has a booster rocket that propels the missile to the surface after it leaves the torpedo tube. The missile is partially de-fueled to compensate for the booster’s added weight, which decreases its range. However, the Navy has begun procuring an improved booster that allows submarines to launch fully fueled missiles. The Tomahawk missile follows a pre-programmed route over specific terrain features to its target using a combination of terrain contour matching (TERCOM) and digital scene matching and area correlation (DSMAC). The Tomahawk’s flight profile is illustrated in figure 1.2. During the initial portion of its flight, the missile navigates by TERCOM. A radar altimeter aboard the missile periodically scans the terrain over which the missile is flying. The on-board computer then compares the resulting terrain elevation profile to its profile of the predicted route to the target, which was stored in the computer before the missile’s launch. The computer then adjusts the missile’s course so that it is following the planned route to the target. The Tomahawk navigates by DSMAC during the terminal leg of its flight to the target. The DSMAC process uses an optical sensor in the missile that scans the ground over which the missile is flying. The on-board computer converts the scanned image of the ground features into an image of black and white contrasts. The computer then compares that image to its stored DSMAC black and white images of the selected sites along the route. As with TERCOM, the missile’s computer then adjusts the missile’s course so it is following the preplanned route. The Block II missile uses inertial navigation between TERCOM and DSMAC update points. Currently, 60 surface ships and 75 submarines are capable of launching Tomahawk missiles. The Navy projects that by 1999 the Tomahawk-capable force will consist of 82 ships and 55 submarines. Table 1.1 shows the projected Tomahawk platform force. The planned wartime loads of TLAM-C and TLAM-D missiles vary for surface ships and submarines. Navy officials said that notional missile loads are used for planning purposes; actual loads could vary depending on the specific mission assigned by the operational commander. The Tomahawks share launcher space with other missiles on several ship classes. Arleigh Burke class destroyers and Ticonderoga class cruisers are predominantly loaded with standard surface-to-air missiles. Because attack submarines have limited weapon storage space, all TTL Tomahawks carried displace an equal number of torpedoes. The Navy plans to continue procuring Block III TLAM-C missiles until fiscal year 1998. It plans to procure 216 missiles in fiscal year 1994 at a cost of about $1.2 million per missile and 217 missiles per year from fiscal years 1995 to 1998. The Navy currently plans to begin production of the Block IV missile through the remanufacture of existing Block II missiles and TASMs after fiscal year 1998. The Air Force’s CALCM was the other U.S. cruise missile used in the Gulf War. The CALCM is a modification of the nuclear-armed Air Launched Cruise Missile, which is a subsonic, all-weather cruise missile. During the modification process, certain components are removed, and a conventional warhead is installed. A Global Positioning System navigation capability is also added. The resulting weapon has a circular error probable (CEP) roughly twice that of the Block III TLAM-C. The CALCM is carried by B-52 bombers and is launched within range of the target. After launch, CALCM follows a preplanned route to its target, using inertial navigation with Global Positioning System updates. The missile’s mission can be changed or updated by the flight crew while the B-52 is airborne. New or updated missions can be transmitted to the aircraft from the air base and then loaded into the missile’s computer. This process allows CALCM missions to be changed or updated any number of times before launch. However, once launched, no communications with the missile are possible. The Air Force’s current inventory of CALCM’s includes missiles authorized to replace those used in Desert Storm. Mission planning for the CALCM is performed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. The average mission planning time for a new target for CALCM is comparable to the planning time for a Block II Tomahawk mission. The completed missions are transmitted to a U.S. air base from which the B-52 CALCM flight will be launched. Bomber preparation and loading can take an average of 24 hours but can be done concurrently with mission planning. Flight times to Iraq during Desert Storm averaged 16 hours. Total response time for CALCM for an unplanned target in Iraq is similar to that of the Block II Tomahawk. We initiated this review because Desert Storm and subsequent Iraqi strikes showed that the Tomahawk and CALCM added a new dimension to offensive air operations. We determined the missiles’ performance during Desert Storm, including any limitations. We also addressed the advantages of these missiles over tactical aircraft and the missiles’ potential impact on the requirements for future tactical weapon systems and forward presence. We met with agency officials responsible for program management and obtained pertinent documents concerning the characteristics, missions, and employment concepts of the Tomahawk cruise missile system and several tactical aircraft systems capable of striking the same types of targets as the Tomahawk. We also obtained information on future planned aircraft and missile systems and planned modifications to existing systems. To gain the operators’ perspective on the Tomahawk, CALCM, other unmanned standoff weapons, and manned aircraft, we met with officials of two unified commands and various Navy and Air Force commands. During those visits, we discussed the commands’ policies and procedures for employing Tomahawk and various precision strike systems. We also visited two Tomahawk-capable ships—the U.S.S. Stump, a Spruance class destroyer, and the U.S.S. Key West, a Los Angeles class attack submarine—and discussed Tomahawk operations with the officers and crews of those vessels. Additionally, we visited the Navy’s Strike Warfare Center and discussed the planning and conduct of carrier strike operations with officials of the Center.