Despite reports that U.S. missile stocks are running low, the Americans launched 49 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iranian targets over the last 48 hours. Targets included enemy air defense systems and radar installations. The new American offensive sparked over the downing of an Apache helicopter gunship earlier this week. The crew was rescued, but the shoot down infuriated President Donald Trump, who ordered the execution of strikes by American warships in the region.
At Least 1,000 Tomahawks Have Already Been Employed
Tomahawk Block IV Missile. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Tomahawk Launch. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
USS Iowa Tomahawk Box. National Security Journal Photo.
The choice to use Tomahawks is noteworthy. The U.S. military has used more than 1,000 of the land-attack projectiles since the beginning of the war, according to the New York Times. Eight hundred and fifty Tomahawks were expended in the first month of Operation Epic Fury. The CSIS think tank estimated that the Navy has about 3,000 Tomahawks left, and they are time-consuming and difficult to produce. Plus, the cost is prohibitive. Each cruise missile can run between $1 million and $3 million.
More About the Valuable Cruise Missile
Tomahawks have a range of 1,000 miles and can be launched from ships or submarines. The projectiles with 1,000-pound warheads can sometimes be fired from ground launchers as well.
“The Block IV Tactical Tomahawk, or TACTOM, has a data link that allows it to switch targets while in flight. It can loiter for hours and change course instantly on command,” according to RTX.
The new Block V Tomahawk is even better than the TACTOM with extended range and precision. Block Vb variants were probably used against Iran in the latest strikes. These can use “joint multi-effects warheads that can hit more diverse land targets,” RTX explained.
Estimating the Number Left Is Difficult
The U.S. military has not disclosed how many Tomahawks remain and keeps this number secret. But clearly, the supply is not infinite, and their use in further attacks could reduce the stockpile to surprisingly low levels since the attacks on Iran have been so extensive.
The Military Times interviewed Mark Cancian of CSIS. “They’re very flexible, and the fact that they’re long range means that if the opposition has some defensive capabilities, [U.S. forces] can stay out of those defensive capabilities. That’s why it was used in the early stages of Epic Fury, until the United States and Israel had beaten down what was left of the Iranian air defense system,” Cancian replied.
Other Combatant Commands Around the World Need Tomahawks Too
However, as Cancian explained, there are more hot spots around the world where Tomahawks are needed. These are deployed on ships that patrol the Atlantic and the Pacific. So that means the number of those primed for Iran is limited. The United States military may be short of Tomahawks needed for a two-front war.
They Are Launched When the President Beckons
Tomahawks are presidential assets, and the White House often prefers to deploy them rather than boots on the ground. They are excellent weapons for delivering precise strikes that can take out military infrastructure at will.
Let’s Take a Look at the Math
Forty-nine missiles used up during the latest U.S. strike are not a huge amount, but what if warfare against Iran is extended for another week? If you do the arithmetic and estimate that each day around 50 Tomahawks are used for the next seven days, that’s 350 cruise missiles that will be expended.
Moreover, if you reckon that 1,000 Tomahawks are used by ships and submarines in the Indo-Pacific and another 1,000 are earmarked for the European theater, that means only about 1,000 are available for Central Command. If there is another month of fighting with daily Tomahawk strikes, the Americans could run out of the valuable projectiles in the Middle East.
Difficult to Produce Quickly
It would be difficult to make more and transport them to Central Command. The missile has scores of subcontractors that supply the prime manufacturer. Even if these companies run three shifts a day for the next several months, it will still be hard to make up for the number utilized.
There is definitely an arithmetic problem with the Tomahawk supply. These are the main methods for long-range strikes against Iran, and they might also be used against China should Xi Jinping order an attack on Taiwan. The options for the Americans are thus handcuffed by what could become an intolerably low level of cruise missiles.
The Countdown Begins
We will keep an eye on how many of the projectiles are used in the coming days. We could see American strikes for the next 48 hours. The Tomahawks would also be used in an attack on the critical Iranian oil hub at Kharg Island that Trump has threatened to execute.
Iran can count the number of cruise missiles used, too, and they may take their chances in goading the Americans to use up the supply that Central Command needs to accomplish its objectives in this escalation of hostilities. Trump’s generals could warn him that missile stocks are going down and that the game plan may have to be amended toward using more fighter jets and bombers for ground strikes.
About the Author: Brent M. Eastwood, PhD
Author of now over 3,500 articles on defense issues, Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: A Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for US Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former US Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
