Tomahawk cruise missiles: Unmanned 5.6 metre-long missiles weigh 1,193 kg each and can be fired from both surface waships and submarines against targets up to 1,104 km away.
A total of 13 of the accurate Tomahawks, which cost $1.2 million each, were fired on Tuesday. They contain computer map brains that allow them to follow pre-set course at earth-hugging altitude in any weather to target.
B-52 bombers: Eight engine, Vietnam-era jets originally designed to drop nuclear bombs on former Soviet Union in world war that never came.
They now carry advanced conventional air-to-ground (AGM) cruise missiles and bombs and can fly more than 12,000 km without refueling or around the globe with help of refueling aircraft.
Bombers used in raid were sent from Guam in western Pacific and refueled at British base on Diego Garcia Island in Indian Ocean.
AGM-86 cruise miss-iles: Unmanned little winged missiles are launched from B-52s and powered by turbofan jet engine that propels them at sub-sonic speeds of about 880 km per hour like the sea-launched
Tomahawks. C model of missile became operational in 1991 and was fired from B-52s at high-priority targets in Iraq early in 1991 Gulf War.
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