Defense Express chief editor Oleh Katkov reported the information.What can be used to launch Tomahawk missiles“There are three means, three serially produced systems for launching Tomahawks. The first is the vertical launch cell for surface ships. We can disregard that. The second option is submarines, both torpedo and vertical launch—also not applicable. The only remaining option is Typhon, a ground-based launch system that uses the MK-70 launcher. It’s the same vertical launcher as on ships, but in the form of a ground-based system. It’s installed in a container, and the system looks quite similar to regular trucks. If you were to paint them white, they’d look just like a trailer. So, it’s very well designed in terms of camouflage. And you can launch Tomahawk missiles from it, as well as SM-6 anti-air missiles, which can also strike ground targets at a range of about 400-plus kilometers,” he said.Oleh Katkov noted that this is the only currently existing, hypothetically possible option if we’re talking about Ukraine potentially receiving Tomahawk missiles. “Although Trump has said directly that we won’t be getting even shorter-range missiles, that the U.S. won’t transfer them. For example, when asked directly whether the U.S. would transfer JASSM, at his last press approach, Trump said no, JASSM will not be transferred. JASSM has a minimum range of 370 kilometers. And it’s for the F-16, meaning the carriers already exist, and it might just require a software update, maybe just a code update, not the aircraft itself. But for Tomahawk, which has a range of 1,600 km, and in the absence of JASSM, it’s really only a theoretical possibility. But yes, it would require Ukraine to receive the appropriate launcher, which is produced serially but in small quantities,” the expert noted.He also pointed out that currently, only two units in the U.S. Army have Typhon launch systems in service.“But Germany has already announced—more precisely, German Defense Minister Pistorius officially stated—that the Bundeswehr will be strengthened with Typhon and will be purchasing it. In addition, Lockheed Martin, as of April, said it was ready to cooperate with European companies to supply these launchers to Europe, not just the full Typhon system, but also the MK-70 launchers, and to integrate them with European missiles, including the Aster 30 from SAMP/T, IRIS-T (as anti-air SLM), and they are ready to work on this. So, when Germany starts purchasing, a cooperative option is also possible.”Tomahawk missile ability to penetrate air defensesAt the same time, Oleh Katkov noted that Tomahawk missiles do not have advanced stealth technology, unlike modern American missiles, so they are quite visible in the air.“In terms of the ability to penetrate Russian air defenses, I would actually rate the Tomahawk a bit lower than the Storm Shadow/SCALP. Because the Tomahawk, as a missile, just to be clear, is not a new missile—the Tomahawk was designed back in 1972. In 1982, after some very heated debates, they were finally adopted for service. There were very strong disputes in the Pentagon about them. And this missile is not low-observable. If you compare it to Storm Shadow/SCALP, JASSM, or LRASM—modern American cruise missiles—they have stealth technology, that’s clear. Tomahawk, let’s say, is a missile from the 1980s, it hasn't developed stealth technology,” he said.At the same time, the military expert noted that if Tomahawk missiles manage to break through enemy air defenses, they could be more effective than Ukrainian long-range drones due to their larger warhead.“It’s important that if it manages to get through, past the first stage of air defense, then, as practice shows, the deeper into Russia, the less air defense there is. And in this situation, if Ukrainian long-range drones are striking defense enterprises in Dubna, in the north of Moscow region, in Izhevsk, where the Kalashnikov and Kupol plants are (the latter also produces Shahed drones, like in Elabuga), and our drones are successfully reaching those targets, then the Tomahawk, if it gets there, will definitely hit something and will do so much more effectively than any Ukrainian drone, at least due to its much more powerful warhead. But when it comes to overcoming air defenses, the Tomahawk is still much older and technologically behind other models in the U.S. and even NATO arsenals. It’s just that the Tomahawk is the longest-range cruise missile currently existing in the Western world,” Oleh Katkov added.