ELI5: How do Tomahawk missiles work?

A Tomahawk missile is like a really smart paper airplane that can fly very far and find a specific house.

Imagine you want to send a special message to your friend who lives far away, but you don't want to just mail it. You want to make sure it goes directly to their house, even if there are lots of other houses around.

Here's how a Tomahawk does it, just like a fancy paper airplane:

• Planning the route: Before the missile is launched, people draw a map for it, like planning the best route to your friend's house. This map is stored in the missile's brain (computer). It includes landmarks like big buildings, rivers, and mountains.
• Getting started: The missile has a rocket engine that blasts it into the air, just like throwing a paper airplane really hard.
• Flying itself: Once in the air, the missile uses its GPS (like the one in your parent's car) to know where it is. It also uses a special camera that looks at the ground and compares what it sees to the map in its brain.
• Following the map: If the missile starts to go off course, it adjusts its wings (like a paper airplane) to get back on track. It keeps looking for landmarks on the ground to make sure it's going the right way.
• Finding the target: When the missile gets close to its target (your friend's house), it uses its special camera to find the exact spot.
• Delivering the message: Finally, the missile hits the target, delivering its "message" (which is usually an explosive).