The Libya invasion has been named Operation Odyssey Dawn. Western coalition forces have launched a devastating attack on Libyan defence sites in and around the country, letting of at least 112 Tomahawk missiles from two submarines, one a US and the other a British which have been lurking on the shores of this North African country. The attack was announced by the Pentagon. It said more than 20 Libyan air defense systems on or near the coast had been struck. The 112 Tomahawk missiles were used in the attack on air-defense systems, which is the first stage of the allied operation, designed to suppress and degrade radar systems and surface-to-air missile sites in order to secure control of the airspace and reduce the threat to planes.

Tomahawk is an all-weather submarine or ship-launched land-attack cruise missile. After launch, a solid propellant propels the missile until a small turbofan engine takes over for the cruise portion of flight. Tomahawk is a highly survivable weapon. Radar detection is difficult because of the missile's small cross-section, low altitude flight. Similarly, infrared detection is difficult because the turbofan engine emits little heat. Systems include Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver; an upgrade of the optical Digital Scene Matching Area Correlation (DSMAC) system; Time of Arrival (TOA) control, and improved 402 turbo engines. The hallmark of a cruise missile is its incredible accuracy. It can fly 1,000 miles and hit a target the size of a single-car garage.