A Tomahawk cruise missile hits a moving maritime target Jan. 27 after being launched from USS Kidd (DDG 100) near San Nicolas Island in California. U.S. Navy photo

A Tomahawk cruise missile hits a moving maritime target Jan. 27 after being launched from USS Kidd (DDG 100) near San Nicolas Island in California. U.S. Navy photo

CHINA LAKE, Calif., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy has successfully demonstrated the use of a Tomahawk cruise missile to strike a moving target through the use of synthetic guidance.

In a test off the coast of California, a Tomahawk Block IV was fired from the destroyer USS Kidd and altered its course in flight toward a moving target after receiving position updates from surveillance aircraft.


The U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division called the successful test a significant accomplishment.

"It demonstrates the viability of long-range communications for position updates of moving targets," said Capt. Joe Mauser, Tomahawk Weapons System (PMA-280) program manager. "This success further demonstrates the existing capability of Tomahawk as a netted weapon, and in doing so, extends its reach beyond fixed and re-locatable points to moving targets."

The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division said its team used existing Tomahawk strike communications frameworks to develop synthetic guidance for the missile.

Working with NAWCWD on the project was Raytheon Missile Systems, the Office of Naval Research Advanced Sensors Technology Program and the surface warfare centers at Dahlgren, Va., and Port Hueneme.