National Defense

US Navy Moves To Build New Tomahawk Missile That Comes With Unknown Price Tag

Image not from story. (U.S. Navy Photo)

The U.S. Navy is preparing to manufacture a new bunker-busting version of its Tomahawk cruise missile, but the military has yet to disclose how much the upgraded weapon will cost.

The Navy intends to award defense contractor Raytheon a contract to produce the Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System (JMEWS) for the Tomahawk Block Vb, without disclosing the contract’s value, production quantity or delivery schedule, according to an Oct. 7 notice published by Naval Air Systems Command. The new warhead is designed to penetrate underground bunkers and other fortified military targets, while a standard Block V Tomahawk already costs approximately $3.64 million per missile, according to the Navy.

The planned contract would move JMEWS from engineering and manufacturing development into low-rate initial production. The Navy has not disclosed the proposed contract’s production quantity or delivery schedule, according to the contracting notice.

Raytheon did not respond to a request for comment.

The new warhead combines explosive fragmentation with improved penetration capabilities, allowing the missile to attack a wider variety of military targets. The Navy has identified hardened structures, such as bunkers, as a principal target category for the upgraded weapon, according to its fiscal 2027 budget documents.

Traditional Tomahawks are primarily designed to strike distant land targets using conventional explosives.

Tomahawks can be launched from naval surface vessels and submarines, allowing American forces to strike targets without placing aircraft directly over enemy territory. The missiles fly at low altitudes and high subsonic speeds, according to the Navy.

American warships have repeatedly fired Tomahawk missiles at Iran during Operation Epic Fury, including a June 10 strike in which the USS Michael Murphy launched cruise missiles against Iranian targets, according to U.S. Central Command. The USS Spruance also fired Tomahawks on February 28, the opening day of the war, according to CENTCOM.

American strikes have targeted Iranian ballistic missile sites, air defenses and weapons storage bunkers, demonstrating the strategic importance of destroying fortified military infrastructure, according to CENTCOM.

The Navy has not disclosed the cost of its new bunker-busting variant, but a standard Block V Tomahawk already carries a price tag of approximately $3.64 million per missile, according to Naval Air Systems Command.

The Navy’s investment arrives as modern warfare increasingly shifts toward cheaper, mass-produced drones, with Iranian-designed Shaheds costing an estimated $20,000 to $50,000 per unit, a fraction of the price of a multimillion-dollar Tomahawk missile, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

President Donald Trump has proposed spending approximately $1.5 trillion on national defense in fiscal year 2027, a roughly 42% increase over the previous year, according to the White House.

Development of the new bunker-busting warhead, known as the Joint Multiple Effects Warhead System (JMEWS), stretches back more than a decade. During an August 2010 test, JMEWS successfully breached a concrete target and allowed a secondary penetrating element to pass through, according to Raytheon.

Raytheon subsequently received a $90.4 million contract in February 2020 to develop, integrate and test the system. The work was primarily conducted in Tucson, Arizona, according to the Department of Defense.

The program has nevertheless encountered testing difficulties.

The Navy postponed a planned fiscal 2025 test because of hardware availability problems. The Pentagon’s weapons testing office reported that additional testing was necessary to assess the new warhead’s performance, according to its fiscal 2025 annual report.

The report scheduled a major production decision for the second quarter of fiscal 2027 and operational testing for fiscal 2028.

The Block Vb is part of a broader Navy modernization effort that includes another variant designed to attack moving enemy warships. That version, known as the Block Va Maritime Strike Tomahawk, incorporates a targeting seeker rather than the bunker-busting warhead, according to Naval Air Systems Command.

The Navy began receiving modernized Block V Tomahawks in March 2021. The modernization program upgrades older missiles with improved navigation and communications systems while extending their service lives, according to the Navy.

The Navy estimates the cost of a standard Block V Tomahawk at approximately $3.64 million in fiscal 2026 dollars, although the additional cost of the bunker-busting configuration has not been disclosed, according to Naval Air Systems Command.