BGM-71 TOW

The BGM-71 TOW series are SACLOS (semi-active command line of sight) missiles, and the US military's principle ground-based heavy antitank missile system. TOW 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 the M40 Recoilless Rifle, and the TOW series are 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. BGM (multiple launch environment ground-attack guided missile) is the code used for all TOW missile variants other than training rounds with dummy warheads but live motors: these are BTM-71 (multiple launch environment training guided missile).
While much lighter than the M40 recoilless rifle it replaced, the infantry TOW launcher is still an extremely large and heavy crew-served weapon, weighing about 270 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 a separate fire control subsystem (FCS) module with either an inserted battery unit (except the latest FCS module for the M41 launcher, which does not have a socket for a battery) or a larger and longer-lasting silver-zinc battery power source (BPS) module. The BPS and FCS modules link to each other, with the FCS linked to the launcher via the coil cable that comes from its underside. For ground vehicle use, the BPS 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 an IR beacon on the missile's tail to track it, while a visible light beacon assists the operator in keeping track of the missile's location while using the day sight. The operator designates the target using the crosshairs in the scope for the entire flight time of the missile, with the fire control system calculating flight corrections to steer the missile to the designated point. See this link for some notes on the firing procedure.
The original production BGM-71A Basic TOW, BGM-71B and BGM-71C Improved TOW (ITOW) used an M151 launcher, which was later upgraded to the M220 launcher for the BGM-71D 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) system, designed in the late 90s, has a redesigned launcher unit, the M41, which features a single combined sighting unit with a combined eyepiece (older TOW launchers 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 handgrips), an improved fire control system, and longer-lasting lithium-ion power source (LPS) and charger. The companion upgrade for the Bradley is the Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem (IBAS). The newest version, M41 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. 
TOW is the world's most widely exported ATGM system, being found in the arsenals of 36 countries by the 1980s. An Iranian copy, Toophan, is also widely exported and often misidentified as an authentic TOW system.
==Specifications==
(1970 - present)
* Type: Guided missile launcher
* Caliber: 152mm (5.98 in)
* Weight: (empty M220 launcher with TOW 2 mods and AN/TAS-4A fitted) + for TOW-2 FCS module with inserted battery pack ( for separate BPS with power conditioner) and ~ for missile
* Length: (empty launcher), ~ (encased missile)
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=== Film ===
Title 	Actor	Character 	Note 	Date
Iron Eagle 	 	Enemy soldiers 	Mounted on AH-1F Cobra helicopters 	1986
The Delta Force 	 	Delta Force Operators	Launch tube only, without missile casing or sight 	1986
Fire Birds 	 	US Army soldiers 	Mounted on AH-1S Cobra helicopters and M2 Bradley 	1990
The Pentagon Wars 	 	US Army soldiers 	Tripod-mounted on truck and M2 Bradley 	1998
Hulk 	 	US Army soldier 	Mounted on Humvee 	2003
War of the Worlds 	 	US Army soldiers 	Mounted on Humvees 	2005
War of the Worlds 	 	US Marines 	Mounted on Humvees 	2005
The Tiger and the Snow 	 	US Army soldier 	Mounted on Humvees 	2005
Superman Returns 	 	Henchman 	Mounted on ship, modified to fire kryptonite missile	2006
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	 	US Army soldiers 	Mounted on M2 Bradley 	2009
Battle: Los Angeles 	 	US Marines 	Mounted on AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters 	2011
Man of Steel 	 	US 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
Hawaii Five-0	 	 	arms dealers 	2019-2020
=== Video Games ===
Game Title 	Appears as 	Mods 	Notation 	Release Date
Time Crisis II 	 	 	Mounted on VAB armoured personnel carrier, unusable 	1997
Half-Life 	 	 	Mounted on M2 Bradley, unusable 	1998
Crisis Zone 	 	 	Mounted on M2 Bradley, unusable 	1997
Steel Beasts 	 	With thermal imaging 	Mounted on various military vehicles 	2000
Time Crisis II 	 	 	Mounted on VAB armoured personnel carrier, unusable 	2001
Conflict: Desert Storm 	 	 	 	2002
Time Crisis: Crisis Zone 	 	 	Mounted on M2 Bradley, unusable 	2004
Battlefield 2 	 	 	Tripod and vehicle-mounted 	2005
Project Reality 	 	With thermal imaging 	Tripod and vehicle-mounted 	2005
Conflict: Global Terror 	 	 	 	2005
ArmA II 	 	 	Tripod and vehicle-mounted 	2009
America's Army 	 	Appears to be a TGT (TOW Gunnery Trainer)	Tripod mounted, unusable 	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 mounted on even more anachronistic 2011 Jeep Wrangler, shown firing MCLOS TV-guided missiles	2010
Battlefield 3 	 	 	M220 tripod mount with AN/TAS-4A 	2011
Battlefield Play4Free 	 	 	Tripod and vehicle-mounted 	2011
Battlefield 4 	 	 	M220 tripod mount with AN/TAS-4A 	2013
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance	 	 	Mounted on World Marshal Gekko unmanned vehicles 	2013
Black Mesa 	"TOW Launcher"	Missing bridging clamp 	Ground mounting 	2012
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly	 	 	Mounted on Humvee 	2014
Call to Arms 	 	 	 	2018
Squad 	 	 	added in Alpha 11 update; emplaced and vehicle mounted 	2020
Gunner, HEAT, PC! 	 	 	M220 emplacement and vehicle mounted 	2022
=== Anime ===
Title 	Character 	Note 	Date
Digimon Tamers	JGSDF soldiers	Mounted on AH-1 Cobra helicopters	2001 - 2002
Black Lagoon 	Neo-Nazis 	Tripod-mounted 	2006
Category:Gun
Category:Missile Launcher