Last week on April 7, there was a US-led attack on Syria because of the Assad regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons. Friday night, American, British and French forces struck three sites in Syria. The US launched 66 Tomahawk cruise missiles on three Syrian targets. These three missiles alone cost us $92.5 million, with an estimated $1.4 million per missile.
Missiles are known to be extremely dangerous, but what makes these Tomahawk missiles exceptionally lethal is its capacity to carry a 1,000-pound conventional warhead, which is an explosive used to completely disintegrate its target. Such a warhead can be reprogrammed mid flight, making it a particularly powerful weapon.
The Syrian air defense launched only two missiles during the strikes of the United States, the United Kingdom and France in an effort to destroy their missiles. Both missiles missed the incoming cruise missiles. Syrian forces fired several dozen other missiles after the strikes were over, when there was nothing left to hit. Syria’s air defenses are relatively old, dating to the late 1980s, and apparently were unable to detect the majority of the low-flying, stealthy cruise missiles.
China and Russia also developed their own defense mechanism for these missiles, supposedly capable of downing American and allied aircrafts. But the missiles that the US used are difficult for radar to pick up even though they’re guided by satellite.
Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart stated that the missiles “performed exactly as advertised, striking its programmed targets with devastating precision.” President Trump had hinted that these missiles would be used before the attack, tweeting last week about “nice and new and ‘smart’” missiles headed to Syria. Hours after the attack, Trump said that it “could not have had a better result.”
US officials are still unclear if Syria will continue testing chemical weapons, but the missile strike will surely have a great impact on international relations and policy.
