U.S. President Donald Trump should already know which targets in Russia could be struck by Tomahawk missiles, a military analyst said. Ukraine handed over a list of potential targets a year ago, in the fall of 2024, shortly before the U.S. presidential election. The list includes Russian military sites within Tomahawk range.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered the desired target set to the White House during a U.S. trip in fall 2024, according to military analyst and Ukrainian Armed Forces veteran (reserve major) Oleksiy Hetman, who spoke on NV media. He said the list contains about 200 targets whose destruction would degrade Russian combat capability.
Hetman was asked whether Trump would provide Tomahawks after studying Ukraine’s proposed strike options. He said Ukraine has already shown how it selects targets for long-range strikes with its own missiles, such as Neptune and Flamingo. According to Hetman, Ukraine’s Defense Forces do not target civilian sites, unlike Russian strikes, focusing instead on facilities critical to Ukraine’s support, command, or front-line supply. He added that Trump should already be aware of planned targets because Kyiv provided Washington with a 200-item list in advance.
“Almost a year ago, our delegation went to the United States and brought a list of 200 targets we must destroy to weaken Russia’s capabilities, at least along the front line. So this is more of a populist statement. He knows very well what and where we intend to destroy,” Hetman said.
He also noted that the Tomahawk is a missile developed in the 1970s–80s and is somewhat similar to Ukraine’s Neptune cruise missile in its low flight profile. Though older, the system has been modernized, and low-altitude flight remains one of its key advantages.
The Tomahawk is a U.S. subsonic cruise missile first developed in the 1970s and fielded in 1983. Its current manufacturer is Raytheon. Over nearly five decades, the weapon has been upgraded with multiple warhead options (blast-fragmentation, penetrating/HEAT, and formerly nuclear), several missile variants, and improved guidance (four core guidance systems, plus an additional mode for anti-ship versions).
Key technical specifications:
- Physical dimensions: length up to 6.25 m; diameter 0.52 m; wingspan 2.67 m
- Weight: total 1,450 kg; warhead about 450 kg
- Range: roughly 900–2,500 km (depending on variant)
- Speed: 880–900 km/h
- Warhead types: blast-fragmentation; cumulative/penetrating (for bunkers and fortifications); nuclear (retired since 2013)
- Launch platforms: surface ships, submarines, and Typhon mobile land-based launchers
- Approximate unit cost: $1.3 million (based on a U.S. government order for 56 missiles for 2026, Reuters reported)
How Tomahawks are launched
Land-based launch — via the SMRF Typhon mobile system.
Defense News reported in spring 2025 that the U.S. has two Typhon batteries. Both are already in use: one with a task force in the Philippines in the Indo-Pacific region, and the second with a command in Hawaii in the Pacific. A single battery consists of four launchers (approximate dimensions: length 7.6 m, width 2.4 m, height 3 m), a command post, and support vehicles.
In September 2025, Defense Express reported the U.S. Army likely has surplus Tomahawk-capable launchers (4–8 produced out of a planned 56). Analysts said U.S. infantry is retiring Long Range Fires (LRF) launchers due to poor performance on sand. The vehicles will still be needed by the Pentagon, the report noted, adding Tomahawks can be integrated onto other wheeled chassis.
The CSIS Missile Threat portal details Tomahawk launches from surface and subsurface platforms, including Ticonderoga-class cruisers and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, attack submarines (SSNs), and four Ohio-class guided-missile submarines (SSGNs).
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed on October 5 how far Tomahawks could reach inside Russia. At 1,600 km, 1,665 targets are within range; at 2,500 km, 1,945 targets are in range. At the higher range, missiles could reach military plants, airfields, and refineries in the Ural Mountains, ISW’s map shows.
In spring 2025, Pentagon military consultant Ruben Johnson wrote that the U.S. faces a Tomahawk shortage, possibly due to frequent operational use and regular but unpredictable funding cuts.
