NewsMine — war-on-terror — iraq — 2003-invasion — warplan — Viewing Item

Tomahawk cruise missiles supply { April 1 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Apr/04012003/iraq/43812.asp http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Apr/04012003/iraq/43812.asp TUESDAY April 01, 2003 War Is Draining Supply of Tomahawk Missiles By Tom Infield Knight Ridder News Service WASHINGTON -- In the first 12 days of the war in Iraq, the United States shot off nearly one-quarter of all the Tomahawk missiles ever built, a pace that clearly cannot continue, especially if a large stock of missiles is to be held in reserve for potential conflicts in other parts of the world. Stocks of precision-guided weapons, including the cheap but effective Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), remain plentiful, U.S. officials say. But the military is also expending them at a rapid rate. Army Maj. Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Monday said about 700 Tomahawks were among about 8,000 precision-guided weapons that the U.S. military had used since the start of the war. The Tomahawk is a satellite-guided cruise missile fired at long range from ships and submarines. It is most effective in the opening stages of warfare when an enemy has strong air defenses. It has been widely employed by the Navy to strike precise targets in Baghdad, such as those on the opening night strikes against Saddam Hussein and other leaders. The Raytheon Corp., which manufactured about 3,000 Tomahawks in Tucson, Ariz., quit building new ones in 1999. The production line is set up to refit some older models with up-to-date hardware. A more advanced model is to be built starting next year. After firing "several hundred" Tomahawks in the first few nights of the war, the Navy is now using 15 to 30 a day, said Rear Adm. Stephen Pietropaoli, the chief Navy spokesman at the Pentagon. "We're at a phase of the war where massive waves are unlikely -- but still possible," he said. Military analysts at GlobalSecurity.org, a Washington research group, estimate the Pentagon had about 2,000 Tomahawks before the war. The Pentagon spent the past decade planning, if the need arose, to fight nearly simultaneous wars in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula. "You would have to assume that half of the valuable Tomahawks had 'North Korea' written on them, and half had 'Iraq' written on them, with a few left over for somewhere else," said John Pike, the GlobalSecurity.org president. © Copyright 2003, The Salt Lake Tribune. All material found on Utah OnLine is copyrighted The Salt Lake Tribune and associated news services. No material may be reproduced or reused without explicit permission from The Salt Lake Tribune. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Asking israel for advice Aziz war going well Blair delayed 911 iraq attack { April 3 2003 } Bush blair admit war months Dangerous advise gop split { March 31 2003 } General denies asking more troops { March 30 2003 } Iraqi militia backed by special forces { April 8 2003 } Lessons of lebanon { March 30 2003 } Longer harder than predicted { March 23 2003 } Moab bomb to iraq { April 10 2003 } No coalition control of cities Peter arnett warplan failed { March 30 2003 } Planning more invasions { March 26 2003 } Possible use moab { April 10 2003 } Rolling start Saving civilians lengthens war { March 27 2003 } Tomahawk cruise missiles supply { April 1 2003 } Upbeat forecast questioned { March 29 2003 } War conduct is defended { March 26 2003 } War far from over { March 26 2003 } War gets ugly { March 24 2003 } War plan failed arnett { March 31 2003 } Will become quagmire { March 24 2003 } Files Listed: 23

Correction/submissions

CIA FOIA Archive

National Security Archives

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purpose of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.