What Are Tomahawk Missiles, Which Trump May Supply To Ukraine For Russia War

NDTV | October 13, 2025 | 02:15 PM IST | Breaking News, Russia-Ukraine Conflict, World | Follow on Google News

What Are Tomahawk Missiles, Which Trump May Supply To Ukraine For Russia War

President Donald Trump has threatened to supply long-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Russia does not end the three-year-long war soon. Trump’s remark came as he spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who requested weaponry from the US, including the Tomahawks.

“The United States would not sell missiles directly to Ukraine, but provide them to NATO, which can then offer them to the Ukrainians. Yeah, I might tell him (Russian President Vladimir Putin), if the war is not settled, we may very well do it. We may not, but we may do it. Do they want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so,” Trump said.

Trump, last week had said that before agreeing to provide the Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, he wants to know how Kyiv would use them, as he did not want to escalate the war. Later, Zelensky said that they would use the Tomahawks only for military purposes and “not attack civilians in Russia”. “We never attacked their civilians. This is the big difference between Ukraine and Russia. That’s why, if we speak about long-range missiles, we speak only about military goals,” he said.

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What are the Tomahawk missiles?

The Tomahawk missile is a long-range cruise missile typically launched from the sea to attack targets in deep-strike missions. They have a range of 2,500 km (1,550 miles), measure 20 feet (6.1 meters) long with an 8.5-foot wingspan, and weigh about 1,510 kg.

Tomahawks, which have an average cost of $1.3 million, are launched vertically from ships, but they can be launched horizontally from torpedo tubes on attack submarines or from external launchers attached to a submarine’s hull. The missile is powered by a solid propellant during its launch phase.

Supplying Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine could significantly expand its strike capabilities, enabling it to hit targets deep inside Russian territory, including military bases, logistics hubs, airfields, and command centers that are currently beyond reach.

The missiles were first used in 1991 during the Persian Gulf War as part of ‘Operation Desert Storm’ – an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the US. During the conflict, the US destroyed hardened targets such as surface-to-air missile sites, command-and-control centers, the Iraqi presidential palace in Baghdad, and electrical power plants using the Tomahawks.

The US and allied militaries have flight-tested the GPS-enabled Tomahawk and used it on Houthi rebel sites in Yemen. NDTV

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