Illustrative image. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Leah Stiles/Released.)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked United States President Donald Trump to provide Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles capable of reaching the Russian capital, Moscow, from the territories of Ukraine, The Telegraph reported on September 26.
According to the British news outlet, Zelenskyy told Trump that the weapon could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table to discuss a peace accord.
The report said, citing multiple sources, that the Ukrainian request was made during what has been hailed as a massively positive meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump that was held on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly’s 80th meeting.
The subsonic Tomahawk, which was developed by the U.S. in the 1970s, are guided via a GPS-aided Inertial navigation system (INS) in addition to a terrain contour matching system. The latest versions of the missile, which can fly as low as 30 meters, have a range exceeding 1,500 kilometers and can carry a variety of traditional warheads weighing up to 450 kg.
Such a range would allow Ukraine to attack almost any target in western Russia, including Moscow. Thus, supplying the Tomahawk would represent a major escalation by the U.S.
Trump could opt to supply Ukraine with a lighter version of the missile, the RGM/UGM-109E, also known as Tactical Tomahawk. The range of this version is limited to 460 kilometers. Shorter than other versions, but still enough to reach the Russian capital.
As for how Ukraine could launch the missile that was mainly designed for the shipborne Mark 41 vertical launching system, the most likely scenario is that the U.S. would supply the country with the Typhon missile system.
The Typhon, commonly referred to as the “Strategic Mid-range Fires System,” is basically a towed launcher that contains four strike-length cells from the Mark 41 mounted in the footprint of a standard 12 shipping container. Interestingly, the system can also launch the RIM-174 Standard Extended Range Active Missile interceptor, also known as SM-6.
The U.S. has already approved the sale of thousands of especially-designed, air-launched, ground-attack cruise missiles with a nearly identical range to Ukraine. The missile, known as the Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) is guided via a GPS-aided INS and armed with a warhead weighing 260 kg.
Recent reports revealed that the production of the ERAM has not yet fully taken off, with only ten missiles set for delivery to Ukraine in October. This could explain why Zelenskyy, whose forces are struggling across the frontline, is trying to get some version of the Tomahawk as soon as possible.
The Tomahawk is a very capable missile. However, not a “wunderwaffe” by any means. The Russian military is already very familiar with the missile. In fact, it recovered a nearly intact one following the 2018 U.S. strikes on Syria, which saw the interception of dozens of other such missiles by the country’s Soviet and Russian-made air defenses.
While The Telegraph reported that Zelenskyy wants the Tomahawk to improve the position of Ukraine in talks with Russia, supplying the weapon to the country could lead to unprecedented escalation.
Any attempt by Kiev to target Moscow with the missile will lead to a serious crisis between Russia and the U.S. This is what Zelenskyy likely hopes for in reality.
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zel’s problem with understanding english crops up again; he thought he was asking trump for “tom cruise” missiles; they never miss.
i make 2700-4892+dollar per week while i’m daring to the furthest corners of the planet. last week i worked by my pc in rome, monti carlo finally paris… this week i’m back in the usa. all i do are basic tasks from this one cool site.
see it,
https://extrapay1.blogspot.com/
now that was funny. and given the u.$. leadership as there is no ukrainian government -only an american one – most likely true!
appena lo gasano un attimo, inizia a pretendere e a fare lo sborone peracottaro
happy 3 year anniversary of the nord stream destruction.
weet u nog dat de navo beloofde alleen helmpjes te geven aan zelensky en zich verder niet met deze oorlog te bemoeien?
zelensky needs to missiles to create more folly, to fix the folly, which always makes it worse. stopping is free / cheap. there will be a great embarrassment and shame when answers are required.
what is this? where is my nazi transgender janitor loopy battle no europe?
pirate governments are just theater to enslave taxpayers by debt creation. a banker creation . the uk starmer demands digital id’s now required for the “right to work in england”. expanding the slave class .
soon, moscow will look like gaza!!!
why do ports in odessa still function
i hope he gives them to him.