During the tour of Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake on Feb. 2, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter revealed that the Tomahawk cruise missile will evolve from being a land attack weapon to an anti-ship missile.
U.S. Navy photo
The military will request adding $2 billion to the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) in order to buy 4,000 Tomahawks “and pay for advanced capability development to extend the cruise missile’s life.”
And on Feb. 3, Carter announced the inclusion of $2.9 billion in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) to pay for 650 SM-6 missiles. These anti-air missiles will be modified with an anti-ship capability.
A Pentagon official told Defense News that the department has successfully modified the SM-6 to be an anti-ship missile.