Navy chief Evmenov addressed the threat posed by American Tomahawk cruise missiles, as reported by the state media outlet Red Star.
During remarks on threats to Russia’s military security, he highlighted persistent sea patrols by vessels armed with long-range Tomahawk missiles. These patrols, he warned, could enable a major strike against targets across much of Russia.
Evmenov also warned that Russia faces risk from large foreign naval formations in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Mediterranean. He underscored that the Arctic presents a potential flashpoint, with Western nations aspiring to overturn Russia’s interests there. He noted foreign plans to reassess the Northern Sea Route and open it to warships. The Arctic basin, he added, is seeing active development of British and American nuclear submarines, along with growing military infrastructure by those states in the region.
Why is the Tomahawk dangerous?
The Tomahawk family is produced by Raytheon Technologies, one of the world’s biggest defense contractors. The unit cost for a single missile is about 1.45 million dollars.
Tomahawks can be launched from ships or submarines to strike land targets. The family entered U.S. Navy service in 1983, and since 2004 the Tomahawk Block IV variant has been deployed. Block V is currently in the late stages of deployment, with the first missiles delivered in spring 2021.
The latest launch event data shows that the United States last employed this weapon in 2018, when naval and submarine forces fired 66 missiles at targets in Syria. Today, the U.S. Navy operates roughly four thousand of these missiles.
Tomahawks travel at altitudes between 30 and 50 meters and fly at subsonic speeds. Block IV and Block V missiles can reach ranges up to 1600 kilometers. Block IV travels at about Mach 0.74 and carries a warhead heavier than 450 kilograms. A defining feature is midflight guidance, allowing missiles to navigate a war zone for hours and alter course on command.
Block IV and Block V use a combination of inertial guidance, TERCOM, DSMAC, and GPS. Block V improves navigation and communications and can strike moving water targets as well as a broader set of ground targets.
If GPS is disrupted, the Tomahawk does not lose its way completely. It relies on terrain recognition data stored in memory and can verify target contours before impact. In the defense circles, these missiles are viewed as highly resilient and difficult to counter with electronic warfare systems. There is a common assertion that the gap in effective electronic countermeasures worldwide makes neutralizing Tomahawks challenging for any single country, including Russia.
Analysts note that the most effective countermeasures remain ground-based air defenses, such as Pantsyr systems, though some commentators speak more cautiously about the overall defensive picture in different theaters.
Experts point out that typical Tomahawk strikes target a relatively small footprint, while satellites can bolster guidance accuracy. This combination makes pinpoint hits possible on specific sites such as storage facilities or missile silos.
Recent commentary from Russian defense observers suggests that existing air defense networks, including modern systems like S-400 and S-500, along with various short-range and multi-mpectral systems, can challenge cruise missiles on certain missions. Others argue that newer calibers and countermeasures could provide a layered response to Tomahawks in specific operational contexts.
Analysts also highlight that Russia has previously relied on Kalibr missiles to meet similar challenges. The Kalibr family has been used in multiple naval operations to strike land targets along with other roles. In the Black Sea, ships equipped with Kalibr have conducted notable strikes against military targets in Ukraine, with Russian forces reporting significant impact across several campaigns.