US Navy tests sub-launched Block IV Tomahawk missile

California, USA: The US Navy has carried out a successful first test of a submarine torpedo tube-launched Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile at the Navy's missile range off the coast of southern California on March 26.

Launched from the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Pasadena (SSN-752), the missile went into cruise flight and flew a satellite-guided 635-nautical mile test flight to the NAVAIR Land Range at China Lake, California.

According to reports, test parameters included a successful re-direction of the missile in flight to an alternate flight route, and an alternate target, using satellite communications. The one-hour, 26-minute flight concluded with a commanded 60-degree dive to the new target.

The Tomahawk cruise missile is a surface ship and submarine-launched long-range, subsonic cruise missile used for land attack warfare. It is designed to fly at extremely low altitudes at high subsonic speeds, and can be flown on evasive routes by several mission-tailored guidance systems. Tomahawk missiles are deployed throughout the world's oceans on numerous surface ships and submarines, including Aegis cruisers, guided missile destroyers, and Seawolf and Los Angeles-class submarines.

According to US Navy sources, the Block IV Torpedo Tube Launch missile is an all-weather,  survivable cruise missile that can be launched from submarines. Sources said that the redesign brings improvements to missile navigation, guidance, and communications subsystems.