On the night between the 6 and the 7 April, the first US missile attack on Syrian territory took place.
Il modus operandi of the Pentagon was based on a classic scheme: salvos of cruise missiles, launched by two class destroyers Burke, sailing off the Syrian coast. The bombs launched from the vertical cells of the ships - to punish the Syrians for the alleged chemical attack on the town of Khan Sheikhun - are the XMG Tomahawk.
The design of this weapon starts in the 1972, when the decision was taken to develop a tactical naval version of the strategic missile SLCM (Sea-Launched Cruise Missile - cruise missile launched from the sea); in 1977 (photo below), after a series of launch tests and evaluations, the XMUMX BGM was chosen Tomahawk for mass production.
The tactical variant is similar to the strategic BGM 109A, except for the use, instead of the nuclear one, of a conventional 454 kg warhead.
As for the terminal search system, it uses the same anti-ship missile Harpoon (BOL - Bearing Only Launch); an inertial guide unit - which controls the cruciform tail fins - serves to control during the cruise phase, while the final plunge-dive maneuver is the same as the Harpoon Block IA.
The missile can be launched from surface ships and submarines and, after being taken to cruising speed, is sustained by a CAEJ402 turbojet Teledyne.
The 109C BGM is the version developed for attacks against terrestrial targets, its maximum range is 1500 km with a maximum mach 0.7 speed, the main feature of this model of Tomahawk it is the possibility of adjusting the deflagration times of the head, in fact thanks to the use of proximity fuses, the weapon can reach over the target to hit and explode, thus expanding the area saturation. The airport's runways would be privileged targets since the Tomahawk would seriously damage the parked aircraft as well as the runway, making it unusable for any aircraft still in a condition to take off.
(photo: US Navy / San Diego Air & Space Museum)
