Armored Box Launcher

The Armored Box Launcher (ABL) is a four-round protected launch container for the BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile. Fitted to the Iowa-class battleships following their 1980s recommissioning upgrade, each ABL contains four ready-to-fire Tomahawks. The use of ABL's on these vessels rather than a non-armored solution was necessitated to enable the battleships to continue to exploit the capability provided by their heavy armor and reduce the vulnerability of the delicate missiles within. Eight ABL's were fitted to each of the four recommissioned battleships, providing 32 weapons to each ship. Some of the original dual 5 inch (127 mm) gun mounts were removed to fit the ABL's and the launchers are visible at right.
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