BGM-71 TOW

BGM-71 TOW mounted on M220 tripod with daysight tracker - 152mm

BGM-71 TOW mounted in M65 launcher on AH-1W - 152mm

BGM-71 TOW mounted on Humvee with daysight tracker - 152mm

The BGM-71 TOW is a SACLOS (semi-active command line of sight) missile, and the US military's principle ground-based heavy antitank missile system. It was first produced by Hughes Aircraft in 1970 to replace the US' inventory of increasingly obsolete French-designed MGM-21A and MGM-32A MCLOS missiles, and is currently manufactured by Raytheon. TOW stands for for "Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided" (or "Wireless" for the RF variant), making it perhaps the most contrived acronym in history.

The ground version is an extremely large and heavy crew-served weapon, weighing about 200 pounds fully assembled, and incorporates a series of components, breaking down into a sighting unit, launch tube into which encased missiles are inserted, a traversing unit (which includes the bridging clamp with the umbilical data connector for the launcher to communicate with the missile), a tripod for ground use, and separate fire control system and battery modules which are linked to the launcher via cables. For ground vehicle use, the battery unit can also function as a power conditioner to accept voltage from the vehicle's own battery, and instead of a tripod mount, the traversing unit is mated with a base on the vehicle's hatch or a telescopic base for APCs. The Bradley IFV has a twin TOW box launcher that cannot be used dismounted from the vehicle and has all the control systems integrated into it, and there are also integrated launcher systems for attack helicopters.

The missiles are typically wire-guided, though an RF-guided wireless TOW does exist: this can be fired from any launcher, since the equipment for communicating with the missile in flight is encased in the launch tube. The guidance system uses one or more beacons on the missile's tail to track it, with the operator designating the target for the entire flight time and the fire control system calculating flight corrections to steer the missile to the designated point.

Since the missile uses a thermal battery that has to warm up and requires time for its internal gyroscope to spin up, there is a 1.5 second delay between pulling the trigger and the missile actually launching, a behavior that is very seldom replicated in media. TOW uses a soft-launch system where a smaller launch motor fires for 0.05 seconds to get the missile clear of the launcher, followed by the main engine igniting when the wings fully extend about 7 meters from the launcher. The missile travels for 0.53 seconds, covering around 65 meters, before the warhead is armed by G forces from acceleration by the flight motor, a safety feature intended to protect the operator in the event of a flight motor failure (with the exception of the top-attacking TOW-2B, which has a minimum range of 150 to 300 meters). The flight motor burns out 1.6 seconds after launch, with the missile gliding for the remainder of its flight time. The wire spools connecting the tube to the missile are 3,000 meters long on Basic TOW and 3,750 meters long on all other wire-guided variants, making this the maximum range of the weapon: at this range the wires are automatically cut.

The original production TOW used an M151 launcher, which was later upgraded to the M220 launcher for the TOW-2 in the 80s. Later M151 models and the M220 used a dual sighting system with a mandatory daysight tracker and optional gas-cooled night sight which clamped onto the top, the AN/TAS-4, which was later updated to the AN/TAS-4A. The new ITAS (improved target acquisition system, referred to as SABER by the US Marine Corps) version, designed in the late 90s, has a redesigned launcher unit, the M41, which features a single combined sighting unit with a combined eyepiece (older TOWs having a separate eyepiece for the night sight) with a built-in laser rangefinder, an electronic cooling unit for the night sight that does not require gas cartridges, and automatic boresighting, along with a new traversing unit with improved controls (replacing the scattered controls and traversing knobs with controls mounted on a pair of grips), an improved fire control system, and longer-lasting lithium-ion battery pack and charger. The newest version, ITAS-FTL (Far Target Location) mounts a GPS-based PADS (position attitude determination subsystem) unit on top of the sighting unit for receiving precise coordinate data and using the TOW launcher as a designator for other weapons.

Specifications

(1970 - present)

• Type: Guided missile launcher

• Caliber: 152mm

• Weight: 204 lbs (92.5 kg) (empty M220 launcher with TOW 2 mods and AN/TAS-4A fitted) + 52.8 lbs (23.9 kg) for fire control system and ~ 60 lbs (27.2 kg) for missile

• Length: 42.5 in (108 cm) (launcher), ~ 50 in (127 cm) (encased missile)

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The BGM-71 TOW and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Iron Eagle		Enemy soldiers	Mounted on AH-1F Cobra helicopters	1986
Fire Birds		U.S. Army soldiers	Mounted on AH-1S Cobra helicopters and M2 Bradley	1990
Hulk		U.S. Army soldier	Mounted on Humvee	2003
War of the Worlds		U.S. Army Soldiers	Mounted on Humvees	2005
War of the Worlds		U.S. Marines	Mounted on Humvees	2005
Superman Returns		Henchman	Mounted on ship, modified to fire kryptonite missile	2006
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen		U.S. Army soldiers	Mounted on M2 Bradley	2009
The Pentagon Wars		U.S. Army soldiers	Tripod-mounted on truck and M2 Bradley	1998
Battle: Los Angeles		U.S. Marines	Mounted on AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters	2011
Man of Steel		U.S. Army soldiers	Mounted on M2 Bradleys	2013

Television

Show Title	Actor	Character	Note / Episode	Air Date
The Sentinel		Sunrise Patriots terrorists	Tripod-mounted, "Siege" (S01E02)	1996
Over There			Mounted on M2 Bradley, "Embedded"	2005

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Mods	Notation	Release Date
Half-Life			Mounted on M2 Bradley, non-playable	1998
Conflict: Desert Storm				2002
Battlefield 2			Tripod and vehicle-mounted	2005
Project Reality		With thermal imaging	Tripod and vehicle-mounted	2005
Steel Beasts		With thermal imaging	Mounted on various military vehicles	2000
ArmA II			Tripod and vehicle-mounted	2009
America's Army		Appears to be a TGT (TOW Gunnery Trainer)	Tripod mounted, non-playable	2002
Battlefield: Vietnam			Mounted on M151 MUTT	2004
Joint Task Force			Mounted on Humvee	2006
World in Conflict			Mounted on M2 Bradley	2007
ArmA: Armed Assault				2007
Call of Duty: Black Ops			Anachronistic M41 ITAS	2010
Battlefield 3			Tripod mounted	2011
Battlefield Play4Free			Tripod and vehicle-mounted	2011
Battlefield 4			Tripod mounted	2013
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance			Mounted on World Marshal Gekko unmanned vehicles	2013

Anime

Title	Character	Note	Date
Digimon Tamers	JGSDF soldiers	Mounted on AH-1 Cobra helicopters	2001 - 2002
Black Lagoon	Neo-Nazis	Tripod-mounted	2006