The US Navy updates the Tomahawk but plans to drastically reduce its stocks

With the legendary B-52 and the bomber with futuristic lines B-2, the Tomahawk TLAM cruise missile is undoubtedly the most symbolic device of American strike power. Entered into service in the mid-1980s, this missile has been involved in all conflicts since then under various variants regularly updated. While the US Navy has never had so many launch platforms for this missile - 10000 compatible tubes scattered over 89 destroyers and 58 submarines - and it still has nearly 4000 Tomahawks in stock, the 'US Naval Institute announces that the US Navy is preparing to start a new major missile update, Block V.

But if Block V promises to bring revolutionary capabilities to the Tomahawk, the modernization program should also lead to a drastic reduction in the number of missiles in stock. If the new programs are not lacking to compensate in the long term for this loss of capacity, the US Navy could still experience a few lean years in terms of deep strike. Now, more than ever, American foreign operations are fundamentally based on stocks of cruise missiles intended to decapitate enemy defenses before any ground or air intervention.

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