Battles & Wars › Cold War › Precision-guided munitions (smart bombs)
Tomahawk cruise missile
in service 1983; first combat January 17, 1991· Invention or discovery· Weapons, armor & warships
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A long-range American cruise missile: a small pilotless jet that flies low and steers itself to targets up to about 1,600 km away.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
Developed by General Dynamics in the 1970s and now made by RTX (Raytheon), the Tomahawk is launched from ships and submarines. A small jet engine carries it at about 880 km/h (550 mph), low over land. It first navigated by matching radar readings of the terrain and camera images to stored maps; later versions add GPS and can be redirected in flight. In 1991, 288 were fired at Iraq. More than 2,000 have been used in combat, from Iraq to Syria, Libya and Yemen.
Why it matters
It let navies hit targets deep inland without risking pilots, making the Tomahawk the standard opening shot of US strikes since 1991.
How we know
US Navy launch records, Pentagon after-action reports, published contracts and budgets (roughly $1–2 million per missile), and imagery of struck targets.
Still debated
Early Pentagon claims of Tomahawk success in 1991 were later judged overstated by government auditors; how many hit their exact aim points remains uncertain.
Connections (3)
▸Tomahawk cruise missile helped open the Desert Storm air campaignWell documented
The connection
Before dawn on January 17, 1991, US warships in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea launched the first Tomahawks ever fired in combat; submarines joined two days later. They struck power plants, command sites and air defenses in Baghdad, where crewed aircraft faced the greatest risk. By the war's end 288 had been fired.
When and how
Persian Gulf and Red Sea, January 17, 1991; launchers included the cruiser USS San Jacinto and the battleship USS Wisconsin.
How we know
Navy launch logs and the Gulf War Air Power Survey list missions and numbers; reporters in Baghdad saw the missiles fly past.
Debates and open questions
The Navy's early success claims were later judged overstated by government auditors; the true 1991 hit rate remains uncertain.
▸Tomahawk cruise missile struck Baghdad at the start of the Iraq WarWell documented
The connection
The 2003 invasion began on March 20 with Tomahawks and stealth-jet bombs aimed at a Baghdad compound where Saddam Hussein was thought to be. 'Shock and awe' strikes on government buildings followed. About 800 Tomahawks were fired in the war's first weeks.
When and how
Baghdad, March 20–21, 2003, onward; launched from US and British ships and submarines in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.
How we know
Pentagon briefings, Navy records and imagery of struck government buildings document the launches and targets.
Debates and open questions
Whether Saddam was at the Dora Farms compound at all remains unclear; 'shock and awe' did not, as some hoped, make the regime collapse by itself.
▸Tomahawk cruise missile hit Isfahan from a submarine in Operation Midnight Hammer (US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites)Well documented
The connection
While B-2s struck Fordow and Natanz, a US submarine fired more than two dozen Tomahawks at Isfahan's above-ground nuclear facilities, which did not need bunker-busters. It was a role the Tomahawk had played since 1991: hitting fixed targets precisely from far away, with no pilot at risk.
When and how
Fired from a US Navy submarine in the region on June 22, 2025, timed to arrive with the bombers.
How we know
Gen. Dan Caine's Pentagon briefing and satellite imagery of the damage at Isfahan.
Debates and open questions
Which submarine fired them, and exactly what was destroyed at Isfahan, including tunnels that may hold enriched uranium, are not public.