Germany has a huge gap in long-range strike capabilities, limited to Taurus cruise missiles with a 500 km range, and has long eyed Tomahawk. Berlin has little faith in a quick arrival of the European LCM cruise missile. The new 3SM Tyrfing being developed with Norway's Kongsberg will not appear before 2035.
Now information has emerged about the Bundeswehr's plans to buy U.S. long-range missiles reportedly 400 Tomahawk Block Vb. Berlin plans to allocate €1.15 billion for this. Another €220 million is planned for the purchase of three Typhon launchers, Politico reports.
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Thus, in Berlin's calculations one Tomahawk Block Vb would cost about €2.875 million, and a mobile ground launcher Typhon about €73.3 million apiece. But Defense Express notes that the budgeted sums in Berlin may bear little relation to real costs, and timelines for delivering the armament program may be far from short-term.
The specification of the Tomahawk Block Vb matters for understanding likely delivery times. This is the newest U.S. Tomahawk variant (introduced in 2021), intended for striking fixed land targets using the Joint Multi-Effects Warhead System, which enables defeating hardened targets.
Australia and Japan each ordered 200 of this variant (Japan ordered 200 more in Block IV), and Raytheon received contracts for initial deliveries for those countries at the end of 2024 with completion dates in 2028.
But Raytheon will produce only 11 missiles for Australia and 78 for Japan in those initial deliveries. So realistic start dates even for deliveries to Germany will be later.
Berlin's plan to buy 400 Tomahawks for only €1.15 billion also looks optimistic. Japan paid $1.7 billion for 400 Tomahawks in 2023 (half Block IV). The Netherlands paid a ceiling price of $2.19 billion for 175 missiles (163 Block V, 12 Block IV). Thus, if the Netherlands' unit price was about $12.5 million and Japan's about $4.25 million per missile, it is highly doubtful Germany will obtain them at €2.875 million each. Note also that the U.S. DoD paid Raytheon $401.2 million for 131 Tomahawk Block V about $3.06 million per missile for the U.S. military.
If the leak about the Bundeswehr's plans is real, it shows extraordinary optimism in Berlin about Tomahawk unit pricing. Deliveries are expected closer to the end of this decade.
Moreover, Germanys real costs could be higher still. Carriers for these missiles would likely include not only the Typhon ground launchers but also F123 and F124 frigates, which have 16 and 32 Mk41 cells respectively. Shipboard fire-control systems may need upgrades to integrate the new long-range weapons, which would add further expense.
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