Tomahawks have been the US weapon of choice for years

Late last week, two U.S. warships fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase in response to a suspected chemical weapon attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun.The Tomahawk cruise missile has been at the very tip of America's spear in every major military intervention since 1991. In the Gulf War, 288 of the missiles were fired at targets in Iraq and this increased to 415 when Operation Desert Fox took place in the country seven years later. During Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya in 2011, at least 112 Tomahawks were fired over the course of the conflict. Read more about the history of the weapons system in the Independent where the following infographic was featured.