 |
| A tomahawk is launched from a US destroyer in the Mediterranean |
Greetings! Please Share & Subcribe.
The mighty force of the sophisticated Tomahawk cruise missile is likely to prove a key weapon in the allied assault on Libyan military targets.
It is not just devastatingly effective. Tomahawks put allied personnel at less risk because they can be fired well away from the conflict, from ships and submarines, with high accuracy.
Used by both the UK and the US, they are difficult to detect because they can follow a complicated route and fly at very low altitude.
The RAF's Tornado and Typhoon jets are expected to provide another important offensive capability in the UK's contribution to international efforts.
They are likely to be a major concern for Col Gaddafi, whose arsenals are considered ramshackle in comparison to those of coalition forces.
Tomahawks, which can travel at supersonic speeds, were used extensively during the first Gulf War conflict and in follow-up operations in June 1993.
The sight of cruise missiles heading across Iraqi landscape in broad daylight became one of the most enduring images of the 1991 conflict.
They were also used in Bosnia in 1995 and in Iraq again in 1996.
Cruise missiles can be armed with conventional weapons and also with nuclear warheads.
Sky's foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall said their use in the assault on Libya's air defences would clear the way for the enforcement of the no-fly zone to kick in.
However, he said there would be possibility of restraint by coalition forces, to give Col Gaddafi another opportunity to install a ceasefire.
SKYNEWS
0 Comments