BGM - 71 TOW The BGM - 71 TOW ( " Tube - launched , Optically - tracked , Wire - guided " ) is an anti - tank missile . First produced in 1970 , the TOW is one of the most widely used anti - tank guided missiles . Design and development . Initially developed by Hughes Aircraft between 1963 and 1968 , the XBGM - 71A was designed for both ground and heli - borne applications . In 1997 , Raytheon Co . purchased Hughes Electronics from General Motors Corporation , so development and production of TOW systems now comes under the Raytheon brand . The BGM - 71 TOW wire - guided heavy anti - tank missile is produced by Raytheon Systems Company . The weapon is used in anti - armor , anti - bunker , anti - fortification and anti - amphibious landing roles . The TOW is in service with over 45 militaries and is integrated on over 15 , 000 ground , vehicle and helicopter platforms worldwide . In its basic infantry form , the system comprises a missile in a sealed tube which is clipped to a launch tube prior to use . When required , the missile tube is attached to the rear of the launch tube , the target sighted and the missile fired . The launch motor ( booster ) fires through lateral nozzles amidships and propels the missile from the tube , at which point four wings indexed at 45 degrees just forward of the booster nozzles spring open forwards , four tail control surfaces flip open rearwards , and sustained propulsion is subsequently provided by the flight motor . An optical sensor on the sight continuously monitors the position of a light source on the missile relative to the line - of - sight , and then corrects the trajectory of the missile by generating electrical signals that are passed down two wires to command the control surface actuators . The TOW missile was continually upgraded , with an improved TOW missile ( ITOW ) appearing in 1978 that had a new warhead triggered by a long probe , which was extended after launch , that gave a stand - off distance of for improved armor penetration . The 1983 TOW 2 featured a larger warhead with a extensible probe , improved guidance and a motor that provided around 30 % more thrust . This was followed by the TOW 2A / B which appeared in 1987 . Hughes developed a TOW missile with a wireless data link in 1989 , referred to as TOW - 2N , but this weapon was not adopted for use by the U . S . military . [ Raytheon ] continued to develop improvements to the TOW line , but its FOTT ( Follow - On To TOW ) program was canceled in 1998 , and its TOW - FF ( TOW - Fire and Forget ) program was cut short on 30 November 2001 because of funding limitations . In 2001 and 2002 , Raytheon and the U . S . Army worked together on an extended range TOW 2B variant , initially referred to as TOW - 2B ( ER ) , but now called TOW - 2B Aero which has a special nose cap that increases range to 4500 meters . Although this missile has been in production since 2004 , no U . S . Army designation has yet been assigned . Also , a wireless version of the TOW - 2B Aero was developed that uses stealth one way radio link , called TOW - 2B Aero RF . The TOW missile in its current variations is not a fire - and - forget weapon , and like most second generation wire - guided missiles has Semi - Automatic Command Line of Sight guidance . This means that the guidance system is directly linked to the platform , and requires that the target be kept in the shooter ' s line of sight until the missile impacts . This has been the major impetus to develop either a fire - and - forget version of the system or to develop a successor with this ability . In October 2012 , Raytheon received a contract to produce 6 , 676 TOW ( wireless - guided ) missiles for the U . S . military . Missiles that will be produced include the BGM - 71E TOW 2A , the BGM - 71F TOW 2B , the TOW 2B Aero , and the BGM - 71H TOW Bunker Buster . By 2013 , the U . S . Marine Corps had retired the air - launched TOW missile . Launch platforms . The TOW is designated as a BGM by the U . S . military : a multiple launch environment ( B ) surface attack ( G ) guided missile ( M ) . The B launch environment prefix is used only when the system can be used essentially unmodified when launched from a variety of launch platforms . The M151 and M220 launchers are used by infantry , but can also be mounted on a number of vehicles , including the M151 jeep , the M113 APC , the M966 HMMWV and the M1045 HMMWV ( which replaced the M966 ) . These launchers are theoretically man - portable , but are quite bulky . The updated M151 launcher was upgraded to include thermal optics to allow night time usage , and had been simplified to reduce weight . The M220 was specifically developed to handle the TOW - 2 series . TOW systems have also been developed for vehicle specific applications on the M2 / M3 Bradley IFV / CFV , the LAV - AT , the M1134 Stryker ATGM carrier , and the now obsolete M901 ITV ( Improved TOW Vehicle ) ; they are generally referred to as TOW Under Armor ( TUA ) . In helicopter applications , the M65 system used by the AH - 1 series is the primary system deployed , but the XM26 system was developed for the UH - 1 , and a system was put into development for the later canceled AH - 56 helicopter . The M41 TOW improved target acquisition system ( ITAS ) is a block upgrade to the M220 ground / high - mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle ( HMMWV ) - mounted TOW 2 missile system . The TOW ITAS is currently being fielded to airborne , air assault , and light infantry forces throughout the active and reserve components of the U . S . Army and U . S . Marine Corps where it is called the SABER . The ITAS , in addition to providing better anti - armor capabilities to antitank units , also has capabilities that make it an integral part of the combined arms team . Even when organized in heavy — light task forces , where the preponderance of antiarmor capabilities traditionally has resided in the heavy elements , TOW ITAS - equipped antitank units can not only destroy threat targets but also provide superior reconnaissance , surveillance , and target acquisition ( RSTA ) , rear area protection , and urban operations capabilities . The TOW ITAS consists of three new line replaceable units : the target acquisition subsystem ( TAS ) , the fire control subsystem ( FCS ) , and the lithium battery box ( LBB ) ; a modified TOW 2 traversing unit ; the existing TOW launch tube and tripod ; and a TOW Humvee modification kit . The TAS integrates into a single housing the direct view optics , a second - generation forward looking infrared ( FLIR ) night vision sight ( NVS ) , missile trackers , and a laser range finder . TAS electronics provide automatic boresighting for these components , eliminating both tactical collimation and 180 - day verification requirements . Service history . In 1968 , a contract for full scale production was awarded to Hughes , and by 1970 the system was being fielded by the U . S . Army . When adopted , the BGM - 71 series replaced the M40 106mm recoilless rifle and the MGM - 32 ENTAC missile system then in service . The missile also replaced the AGM - 22B then in service as a heli - borne anti - tank weapon . Vietnam : first combat use of TOW anti - armor missile . On 24 April 1972 , the U . S . " 1st Combat Aerial TOW Team " arrived in South Vietnam ; the team ' s mission was to test the new anti - armor missile under combat conditions . The team consisted of three crews , technical representatives from Bell Helicopter and Hughes Aircraft , members of the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command , and two UH - 1B helicopters ; each mounting the XM26 TOW weapons system , which had been taken from storage . After displacing to the Central Highlands for aerial gunnery , the unit commenced daily searches for enemy armor . On 2 May 1972 , U . S . Army UH - 1 Huey helicopters firing TOWs destroyed North Vietnamese tanks near An Loc . This was heralded as the first time a U . S . unit neutralized enemy armor using American - designed and built guided missiles ( in this case against an American - made M - 41 ) . On 9 May , elements of the North Vietnamese Army ' s 203rd Armored Regiment assaulted a camp at Ben Het held by Army of the Republic of Vietnam Rangers . The Rangers destroyed the first three PT - 76 amphibious light tanks of the 203rd , thereby breaking up the attack . During the battle for the city of Kontum , the TOW missile had proven to be a significant weapon in disrupting enemy tank attacks within the region . By the end of May , BGM - 71 TOW missiles had accumulated 24 confirmed kills of both PT - 76 light and T - 54 main battle tanks . 1976 saw the introduction of AH - 1 Attack Helicopters equipped with TOW guided missiles . On 19 August , the South Vietnamese 5th Infantry Regiment abandoned Base Camp Ross in the Que Son Valley , 30 miles southwest of Da Nang , to the North Vietnamese 711th Division . A dozen TOW missiles were left with abandoned equipment and fell into Communist hands . 1982 Lebanon War . The Israel Defense Forces have used TOW missiles during the 1982 Lebanon War . On 11 July an Israeli anti - tank squad armed with the TOW ambushed Syrian armored forces and destroyed 11 Syrian Soviet - made T - 72 tank s . This was probably the first encounter of the American anti - tank missile with the newest Soviet tank . Other service . The TOW was used effectively during multiple engagements during Operation Desert Storm . Several TOW missiles were used by U . S . forces in Iraq in the 22 July 2003 assault that killed Uday Hussein and Qusay Hussein . Variants . Raytheon has taken over for Hughes in recent years , and now handles production of all current variants , as well as TOW development . Original armor penetration estimates were 600 mm for BGM - 71A / B and 700 – 800 mm for BGM - 71C . However , according to a now declassified CIA study " U . S . INTELLIGENCE AND SOVIET ARMOR " written by Paul F . Gorman ( Major General , USA ) , the true penetration values against a vertical target are much lower — just 430 mm for basic TOW and 630 mm for Improved TOW ( see graph " US ATGMs vs . Soviet Tank " on page 18 of mentioned document , available through Freedom of Information Act ) . Time to target at maximum range is 20 seconds therefore giving an average speed of 187 . 5 m / s .