North Pacific Ocean. (May 7, 2025): When U.S. Sailors are looking for something to shoot at, they choose the “Killer Tomato”. In this photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jamaal Liddell, Sailors aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Preble deploy a floating target used for live fire exercises. The Killer Tomato provides a flexible, realistic target to simulate small crafts and their electronic systems. The target allows Sailors to ascertain range and distance measurements to simulate realistic combat situations including interdiction and rescue missions.

Manufactured by American Pacific Plastic Fabricators, Inc., the Killer Tomato is easy to unpack, set up, inflate, launch, and recover. These surface targets are made from vinyl fabric, are relatively light weight, and can be inflated using a power air blower. Weighing just forty-eight pounds deflated, it can be manhandled overboard by a handful of Sailors and is likewise easily retrieved.

The balloon has a drogue chute that automatically self-deploys on launch to fill the target with sea water until it is upright. The target has a ring-shaped flat bottom and a flooded skirt for stabilization. This skirt is split into three sections to minimize the effects of wind and waves in moderate seas. The inflated target/buoy can be towed short distances at low speeds under five knots.

Most versions of the Killer Tomato contain reflective material that is used to create a strong radar signature and may include lights or strobes. The material makes the Killer Tomato visible for up to ten miles in calm sea conditions. The target is recovered using a floating trip line attached to the bottom of the drogue chute that dumps water making recovery possible.

The Killer Tomato is just one of many surface targets used by the Navy to practice gunnery and tactical maneuvers on targets that are close to the real thing.