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TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly improved semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) that could also be equipped with infrared cameras for night time use.
- Tow 2 Missile System Development
- Vehicle and air-mounted Missile Systems
- Tow Anti-Armour Missile
- Tow 2A Anti-Tank Missile
- Tow 2A Bunker Buster Missile
- Tow 2B Anti-Tank Missile
- Tow 2B Aero Anti-Tank Missile
- Tow 2B RF Anti-Tank Missile
- Itas Improved Target Acquisition System
- Tow FF Fire-And-Forget Missile
The TOW missile system has been in service since 1970 and more than 700,000 TOW weapon systems were delivered to the US Army and allied military forces to date. Its production versions include TOW 2A (BGM-71E), which entered production in 1987 with over 118,000 missiles delivered. TOW 2B (BGM-71F) entered production in 1991 with more than 40,000 mi...
The missiles can be fired from the ground using a tripod-mounted launch tube or installed on vehicles. The TOW missile system can be fitted as a single-tube pedestal mount on military vehicles or as two-tube or four-tube under-armour systems on vehicles such as the improved TOW vehicle M901, Desert Warrior, Piranha, US Marine Corps LAV, Dardo Hitfi...
The missile has command to line-of-sight guidance. The weapons operator uses a telescopic sight to view a point on the target and then fires the missile. The missile has a two-stage ATK (Alliant Techsystems) solid propellant rocket motor. The operator continues to view and track the target through the sight. Guidance signals from the guidance compu...
For penetration of tanks protected with explosive reactive armour (ERA), TOW 2A is equipped with a tandem warhead. A small disrupter charge detonates the reactive armour and allows the main shaped charge to penetrate the main armour.
A ‘bunker buster’ variant of the TOW 2A, to defeat field fortifications, bunkers and urban structures, has been developed and fielded by the US Army. The TOW 2A bunker buster has a range of 3,750m. It is scheduled to arm the US Army’s anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) variant of the Stryker combat vehicle family.
TOW 2B operates in a ‘flyover shoot down’ top attack mode, unlike other versions which are direct attack. It features a dual-mode target sensor designed by Thales (formerly Thomson-Thorn) Missile Electronics, which includes laser profilometer and magnetic sensor, and a new warhead section, produced by Aerojet. It resembles the TOW 2A but without th...
An extended range TOW 2B missile, TOW 2B Aero, has a range of 4.5km, which is achieved in only a few seconds longer than the flight time of TOW 2B to 3.75km. Two modifications are made to the TOW 2B. A longer wire is required for the longer range and a new aerodynamic nose has been fitted to allow stable, controllable flight to the extended range, ...
Another development of the TOW 2B Aero, the wireless TOW 2B RF is in production. TOW 2B RF is modified with a one-way, stealthy radio-frequency command link, which dispenses with the wire link and gives a range of 4.5km. The system is compatible with current launchers.
In 1999, Raytheon Company was awarded a US Army full-rate production contract for the TOW improved target acquisition system (ITAS) for the HMMWV launcher and the ground mounted TOW. ITAS uses a thermal imager based on a standard advanced dewar assembly (SADA II) focal plane array, eye-safe laser rangefinder, and a gunner-aided target tracker. ITAS...
In September 2000, the US Army awarded an EMD (engineering and manufacturing development) contract for a wireless TOW fire-and-forget missile to Raytheon Systems Company. However, the US Army cancelled the project in 2002. TOW FF was to have an advanced imaging infrared staring focal plane array seeker.
Aug 1, 2020 · How tow anti-tank missiles work | how anti-armor missile work | wire guided missile how it works | First produced in 1970, TOW is one of the most widely used anti-tank guided...
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A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behind it (command guidance).
How the TOW missile works. The TOW has a permanent launch assembly/tube to which the optics and electronics are attached and a separate disposable tube that contains the ready missile. The portion of the launch tube that is narrower at the front, and extends into a half-open pipe (much like a rain water gutter) is permanent and reused.
The TOW is a crew portable, vehicle-mounted, heavy anti-armour weapon system consisting of a launcher and one of five versions of the TOW missile. It is designed to defeat armoured vehicles and other targets such as field fortifications from ranges up to 3,750 meters.
The TOW missile is a wire guided missile that is launched from a tube. The missile has a conventional layout with the warhead at the front, cruciform wings in the middle, four control vanes and single-stage solid propellant rocket motor at the rear.
