What to know about the Tomahawk cruise missiles Trump says he might give Ukraine

• Trump said he has reached a decision on whether to send Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine.
• The long-range missiles would offer Ukraine a critical capability boost.
• However, it’s unclear how Ukraine would launch them.

The US is signaling it may send Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine, which would hand Kyiv a powerful American long-range strike weapon with significant reach.

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he had “sort of made a decision, pretty much,” when asked by a reporter whether the US would supply Ukraine with Tomahawks or sell them to NATO for the alliance to then transfer to Kyiv.

“I think I want to find out what they’re doing with them, where they’re sending them, I guess, I’d have to ask that question,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s query on whether Trump has made a final decision.

Tomahawk missiles have become the latest high-profile weapon sought by Ukraine from Western partners. It promises a major boost to its deep-strike capabilities at a time when Kyiv is stepping up attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure.

But the US-made missiles are typically launched from warships, submarines, or special ground systems Ukraine does not have, raising questions about how it could actually use them in combat.

What is the Tomahawk?

The BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, manufactured by RTX Corporation, is a precision-guided, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that has been in service since the early 1980s. The estimated per-missile price tag is $1.3 million.

The Tomahawk’s reach depends on the variant, but some can strike targets up to about 1,550 miles away, far beyond the reach of the Western missiles that Ukraine has already received. The country has developed long-range drones and missiles with ranges that rival, and in some cases reportedly exceed, those of the Tomahawk.

Even with Ukrainian innovations, the Tomahawks would still offer distinct advantages in combat capability, proven reliability, and political signaling.

Conflict analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, have determined that there are at least 1,900 Russian military targets within range of the 1,550-mile Tomahawk variant, and more than 1,600 targets within range of the 1,000-mile variant of the missile.

Targets include air bases, weapons production sites, and other high-profile military assets that Ukraine has long attacked with its domestically produced missiles and drones.

“Ukraine likely can significantly degrade Russia’s frontline battlefield performance by targeting a vulnerable subset of rear support areas that sustain and support Russia’s frontline operations,” ISW analysts wrote in a Sunday battlefield assessment.

Tomahawk missiles can be launched in all weather conditions and fly at speeds of around 550 miles per hour, roughly the same as a commercial aircraft. It is equipped with precision guidance and can carry a conventional warhead weighing 1,000 pounds. They fly low to the ground and fast, making them harder to detect and engage.

Tomahawks are combat-proven systems with employment running back to the Gulf War. They’ve been used in various conflicts and military operations in the years since, primarily in the Middle East. Most recently, the US launched the missiles at Iran’s nuclear sites, though they have also been employed in strikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen.

The US Navy is the primary operator of the Tomahawk, but it is also in service with the UK, Australia, and the Netherlands. Japan has purchased 400 of the missiles, and a Japanese destroyer is in the US receiving modifications for launch.

It’s unclear how Ukraine would launch the Tomahawks if it received them. The missiles are fired from vertical launch system cells on warships, torpedo tubes on submarines, and ground launchers like the Army’s new Typhon system. Kyiv lacks all of these, and any transfer would likely require the US to send additional equipment to support the strikes or modify some other launcher.

Like other cases where Ukraine has received high-profile weapons from the West, Moscow has tried to dissuade the US from sending the Tomahawks. Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin said doing so would lead to the “destruction” of relations with Washington, which have thawed during the Trump administration.

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