T-39 aircraft

Raytheon is gearing up for a multi-mode seeker test, designed for a Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile, to show the processor’s capability to broadcast active radar as well as passively receive target electromagnetic radiation.

Scheduled to be carried out in the second quarter of this year, the captive flight test will be supported using the company-funded independent research and development investment.

Raytheon Air Warfare Systems vice-president Mike Jarrett said: "Completion of this test and last year’s passive seeker test will demonstrate that Tomahawk can hit moving targets on land and at sea.

"Raytheon is working to quickly and affordably modernise this already advanced weapon for naval warfighters."

The test, which will be carried out using a modified Tomahawk Block IV missile nose cone, is a crucial step in enabling the missile to strike moving targets on land and at sea, the company stated.

During the test, the nosecone of a Tomahawk Block IV missile will be installed with active and passive radio frequency antennas integrated with Raytheon’s new modular, multi-mode processor.

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"Raytheon is working to quickly and affordably modernise this already advanced weapon for naval warfighters"

The T-39 aircraft, equipped with the missile, will fly at high subsonic speed and at varying altitudes to simulate a Tomahawk flight regime.

In a complex, high density electromagnetic environment, the multi-mode seeker and multi-function processor will operate the active radar against fixed and mobile targets on land and at sea, Raytheon said.

The Tomahawk missile is a key weapon used for defeating integrated air defence systems and striking heavily defended high value targets.

The missile, which is integrated on all major US surface combatants, has been deployed in combat more than 2,000 times to date.


Image: During the test, the nosecone of a Tomahawk Block IV missile will be fitted to a T-39 aircraft. Photo: courtesy of Raytheon Company.