호주, 토마호크 첫 시험발사

[위종민]

호주 해군의 구축함 DDG-41 HMAS 브리스번이 샌디에이고 근해에서 토마호크 시험발사를 실시했다고 월요일 호주 해군이 밝혔습니다. 

호주는 호바트급 구축함 3척 및 추후 획득할 수상함에 토마호크를 배치할 예정이며, 200발 이상의 토마호크 미사일을 구매할 예정입니다. 

Australian Navy Fires Tomahawk Cruise Missile For The First Time

Australian Navy Fires Tomahawk Cruise Missile For The First Time

Australian Navy Fires Tomahawk Cruise Missile For The First Time

Tomahawks will give Australia the ability to reach deep into China's anti-access bubble, striking ships and land targets.

Geoff Ziezulewicz

Posted Yesterday

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(Royal Australian Navy)

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Australia has become just the third country to launch a Tomahawk land-attack cruise missile (TLAM) after the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) Hobart class destroyer HMAS Brisbane (DDG-41) successfully test fired the long-range weapon for the first time during its current deployment off San Diego, the RAN announced Monday. Australia now joins the United States and the United Kingdom in having the capability.

The test fire comes as Brisbane is in the midst of a so-called “interchangeability deployment” off the American West Coast, and the X account WarshipCam spotted the destroyer pulling in and out of Naval Base San Diego over the past week. Brisbane spending time in SoCal reflects the ever-deepening military ties between Washington and Canberra. 

The TLAM’s 1,000-mile range instantly beefs up the RAN’s firepower over great maritime distances, a welcomed capability should war with China break out. They can strike ships or shore targets, and they would be a very well-proven standoff weapon in a fight where Beijing seeks to keep the United States and its allies at a distance via anti-access defenses. Tomahawks can also loiter over a target or be tasked to hit another target mid-flight via a satellite data link.

Australia isn’t the only nation in China’s vicinity to pursue Tomahawk missiles. Japan inked a $2.35 billion deal with the United States to acquire 400 of the missiles and support equipment in January 2024, USNI News reported then.

“The successful test firing of the Tomahawk missile demonstrates the strength of our alliance and defence cooperation with the United States, in support of a peaceful, stable and prosperous region,” Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a statement. “By enhancing our own Defence capabilities, and by working with partners, we change the calculus for any potential aggressor so that no state will ever conclude the benefits of conflict outweigh the risks.

HMAS Brisbane fires its first TLAM. (Royal Australian Navy) (Royal Australian Navy)

The three-ship Hobart class–which in addition to Brisbane includes the class namesake, HMAS Hobart (DDG-40), as well as the destroyer HMAS Sydney (DDG-42), is a sound home for the Tomahawk. The 7,700-tons displacement warships were all commissioned between 2017 and 2020 and are considered Australia’s most modern and capable surface combatants, even as the force moves on plans that would grow the fleet via smaller frigates and optionally crewed warships loaded with missiles. Go here to read TWZ’s past coverage of that vision. 

Australia is looking to buy more than 200 Tomahawks, both for their Hobart class destroyers and for future platforms, the defense ministry said. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced last year that the ally had requested to buy up to 200 Tomahawk Block V All Up Rounds, and 20 Tomahawk Block IV All Up Rounds, as well as the associated equipment required to field them, for $895 million.

Aside from Tomahawks, it’s been a time of change and new capabilities for the Hobart class in recent years. The Sydney successfully fired an anti-ship Naval Strike Missile (NSM) in August 2024 during the multinational Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, Richard Thomas at Naval Technology reported. The NSM, with its stealthy design and secondary land-attack capability has been gaining in popularity with fleets around the globe, including America’s, and replaces the Harpoon anti-ship missile aboard those Australian warships. It is slated to be installed on the destroyers and the Anzac-class frigates under a deal inked in 2023, USNI News reported.

HMAS Sydney (DDG-42) fires a Naval Strike Missile as part of Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024. (Royal Australian Navy) LSIS Daniel Goodman

Hobart successfully fired a SM-2 Standard Missile for the first time in 2019, according to the Australian government. In August 2024, Sydney fired Australia’s first SM-6 missile as well. That missile will be “progressively deployed” aboard the class and on future Hunter class frigates, according to the government. The SM-6 is the only missile capable of taking on anti-air, anti-surface, strike and elements of ballistic missile defense, according to past TWZ reporting and its manufacturer, Raytheon. It was also reportedly used by a U.S. Navy destroyer to take out a Houthi anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM).

And as cutting-edge munitions come online for the Hobart class, the three ships have already been readied by Lockheed Martin to receive enhanced combat systems. The company announced in November 2023 that it had upgraded the class’ design architecture to support Aegis Combat System Baseline 9 capabilities. Baseline 9 will allow the Hobart class to defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and enemy aircraft simultaneously, TWZ previously reported. USNI News reported in May 2024 that the Baseline 9 upgrade work will begin in 2026. Public records show the Hobart class currently sporting Aegis baseline 7.1.

A Tomahawk missile fired from Australia’s HMAS Brisbane (DDG041) heads for its target. (Royal Australian Navy) U.S. Navy

The destroyers also feature 48 Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells, which, along with SM-2 and SM-6 missiles, also pack medium-range surface-to-air RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles (ESSMs).  The ships are also fitted with a Mark 45 5-inch main gun, MU90 torpedoes, two 25mm M242 Bushmaster chain guns and a Phalanx Close-In Weapons System (CIWS).

While it remains unclear when the Hobart class will have all its newer Aegis and weapons systems in place, Brisbane’s deployment turned historic when it fired the Tomahawk. Australian Defence reported that the ship will be home after Christmas following a five-month, so-called “interchangeability deployment.”

A Tomahawk missile fired from Australia’s HMAS Brisbane, moments before impacting it’s target. (Royal Australian Navy) U.S. Navy

Australia’s 2021 announcement that it would buy Tomahawks from the U.S. for its Hobart class came a day after the U.S., U.K. and Australia announced plans to provide the RAN with nuclear-powered attack submarines under a trilateral agreement known as AUKUS. 

TWZ has previously reported what AUKUS will mean for Australia’s undersea capabilities, which will involve nuclear-powered boats armed with conventional weapons:

“The U.S. plans to sell Australia between three to five Virginia class submarines that carry Tomahawks loaded in vertical launch tubes systems (VLS). However, the first of those boats won’t be delivered until the early 2030s, pending Congressional approval.

The new class of SSN AUKUS will also have VLS tubes capable of launching Tomahawks, but they are not currently scheduled for delivery to RAN until the early 2040s.”

While the Australian subs are still years away, AUKUS has already produced increased ties, including American boats stopping for maintenance Down Under. The Virginia class sub USS Hawaii (SSN 776) was the first U.S. boat to do so in August 2024. In addition to turning western Australia’s HMS Stirling naval base into a nuclear sub hub, rotational deployments are also being planned there for American and British boats. 

The Virginia class attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN-776) departs Australia’s HMAS Stirling base after undergoing maintenance. (U.S. Navy) Lt.Cmdr. Rick Moore

To prepare for their own nuclear fleet, the first cohort of Australian officers has gone through the U.S. Navy’s nuclear education pipeline, and the first seven enlisted Australian sailors graduated from the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power School in October 2024. 

Meanwhile, Australian entry into club Tomahawk appears to be restricted solely to the Hobart class destroyers for now. Canberra announced in June 2024 that its six Collins class diesel-electric attack submarines won’t be getting the TLAM capability, which will leave the RAN’s undersea force with a firepower gap for years to come, TWZ previously reported. You can read more about that decision here. 

Brisbane’s Tomahawk firing once again showcases how Beijing’s rapidly advancing military capabilities have pushed traditional Western allies even closer together. Judging by the comments of some AUKUS nation leaders around the globe, that potential is not far over the horizon.

“We are doing everything humanly and legally possible to optimise the Royal Australian Navy’s surface combatant fleet as quickly as possible, as directed by the Australian Government,” Australian Defence quoted Australian Navy Chief Hammond as saying Monday.

Contact the author: geoff@twz.com

[백선호]

200발은 고강도 전쟁에서는 하루에 다 쏴버릴 양이네요.

[위종민]

호바트급 세 척에만 탑재한다면 ESSM 32발만 탑재하고 죄다 토마호크로 채워도 120발이라 그마저도 하루에 다 쏘지도 못하네요 ㅋㅋㅋ

[사처포(곽명기)]

토마호크는 자체 입력으로 목표물을 찾아가나요 ?
아니면 위성 등의 도움을 받습니까 ?

[위종민]

GPS/INS에다가 정밀지도 도움을 받습니다. (TERCOM, DSMAC) ( https://cafe.daum.net/NTDS/5q1/314 )

[사처포(곽명기)]

왕초보가 상상한 '만능'은 아니네요, 토마호크. 크 크

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