Trump weighs sales to Ukraine of Raytheon's Tomahawk missiles: what to know

President Donald Trump is considering selling long-range, precision-guided Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine to help the country's ability to strike back amid its ongoing effort to repel Russia's invasion.
"They need Patriots very badly. They'd like to have Tomahawks - that's a step up," Trump said on Sunday after a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who he will meet with in Washington on Friday to discuss ways to improve Ukraine's air defenses and ramp up pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"They'd like to have Tomahawks. We talked about that and so we'll see. I don't know, I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks," Trump added. "Do they want to have the Tomahawks going in their direction? I don't think so."
Trump's consideration of selling Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine comes as he continues his push to end Russia's war against Ukraine through negotiations, as the sophisticated cruise missiles would potentially bring more targets within Russia into range of Ukrainian strikes. Russia has said Ukraine acquiring Tomahawks would be a "serious escalation."
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Made by Raytheon, a business unit of RTX Corporation, Tomahawk cruise missiles are precision-guided, long-range cruise missiles that have been in use by the U.S. military since 1983 and have been used to conduct numerous strikes since the Gulf War.
Over the last year, Tomahawks have been used to strike Houthi targets in Yemen as well as in the U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear sites. The U.S. said it used 30 Tomahawks launched from submarines during the Iran strikes, in addition to other munitions like the bunker buster bombs dropped by B-2 stealth bombers.
The missiles have a range of nearly 1,000 miles and, as maneuverable cruise missiles, can navigate heavily defended airspace, according to Raytheon. Updated variants can loiter over targets and can be reprogrammed mid-flight to hit alternate targets.
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Tomahawk missiles have variants that can be launched from surface ships, submarines and from land-based launchers.
Within the U.S. military, the Navy has been the primary user of the Tomahawk over the years, although both the Army and Marine Corps have moved to acquire ground-based launchers. 
The Air Force previously used a variant that was discontinued at the end of the Cold War pursuant to an arms control treaty.
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Ukraine wouldn't be the first foreign country to acquire and use Tomahawk missiles if a deal moves forward. 
The United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands currently have Tomahawks in service with their navies, while Japan ordered 400 Tomahawks for its navy and is expected to have them in service in the next few years.
It's unclear at this time which specific variant Ukraine would acquire if the U.S. approves a purchase, though a report by The War Zone noted that Ukraine doesn't currently have ships, submarines or ground-based launchers capable of firing Tomahawks.
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As a result, Ukraine would likely be using the ground-based variation of the Tomahawk missile if it were to ultimately acquire them from the U.S., and it would also need to acquire a suitable launching platform.
Fox News Digital's Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.


via: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/trump-weighs-sales-ukraine-raytheons-tomahawk-missiles-what-know