THE first of the Navy’s next-generation cruise missiles successfully smashed into a test target during trials.

From the tubes of hunter-killer submarine HMS Trenchant, the new ‘smart’ version of Tomahawk hurtled over the Gulf of Mexico at heights up to 10,000ft and speeds of up to 500mph for 60 minutes before crashing down on its objective hundreds of miles away with pinpoint accuracy.

Tomahawk IV is the latest variant of the missile which has been in service with the American military since the late 1970s and with the RN Silent Service for the past decade.

Previous Tomahawks have been fired by S and T boats against enemy targets in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Mark IV has a longer range than its predecessors (in excess of 1,000 miles), can be directed to a fresh target in mid-flight, and can also beam back images of the battlefield to its mother submarine.

The RN ordered 64 of the improved missiles from the US Government four years ago for £70m. The missiles will be used by Trafalgar-class and new Astute-class submarines and will become operational next year.

Trenchant conducted the test firing at the end of trials for her weaponry and sonar at the AUTEC range in the Bahamas.

The Tongue of the Ocean, a deep tongue-shaped oceanic trench off Andros Island, is littered with sensors which pick up reams of data from submarines, torpedoes, sonar buoys, ships and anything else moving through the water.

Trenchant’s time at AUTEC allowed software experts to test the latest programmes which drive the boat’s potent sonar suite.

And as it’s in the Bahamas, AUTEC does offer some excellent downtime – for some of Trenchant’s crew the first R&R since the Devonport boat sailed for Operational Sea Training in February – with its groves and deep water diving and swimming holes.