, A test of a U.S. Navy Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile was conducted on January 17, from USS Donald Cook (DDG-75), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer underway in the Gulf of Mexico sea ranges off the coast of the Florida panhandle.
Seconds after launch from the ship's vertical launch system, the Tomahawk missile transitioned to cruise flight. It flew a fully guided 645-nautical mile test flight using global positioning satellite and digital scene matching area correlator navigation. The one-hour, 30-minute flight concluded at a target and recovery site on the Eglin Air Force Base land range.
The Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) provides command and control of the missile during launch and while in-flight. Using TTWCS, the ship can redirect the Tomahawk to a new target while in flight. TTWCS has been developed for the Navy by Lockheed Martin, Management and Data Systems in Valley Forge, Penn.
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USS DONALD COOK launches a Tomahawk Block IV during a test on January 17, from the Gulf of Mexico test range.
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This marked the first execution of a Tomahawk Block IV test mission into Eglin ranges. Tomahawk program manager, Capt. Rick McQueen remarked,
