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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 separate fire control system (FCS) and silver-zinc battery power source (BPS) modules which are linked to the launcher via cables. 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.
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: during this time a loud pop can be heard from the encased missile (an explosive bolt detonating to open the compressed nitrogen bottle that spins up the gyroscope), along with a series of clicking or pinging sounds (the thermal batteries warming up). 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 (23 feet) from the launcher. The missile travels for 0.53 seconds, covering around 65 meters (213 feet), 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 BGM-71F TOW-2B, which has a minimum range of 150 to 300 meters (492-656 feet)). The flight motor burns out 1.6 seconds after launch, with the missile gliding for the remainder of its flight time. The twin wire spools connecting the missile to its casing are 3,000 meters (1.86 miles) long on the BGM-71A Basic TOW and 3,750 meters (2.33 miles) long on most other wire-guided variants, making this the maximum range of the weapon: at this range the wires are automatically cut. There is no tension on the wires and they simply unspool and trail along the ground behind the missile as it flies: this does make wired TOW variants dangerous to operate near power lines and can reduce their effective range if they are flown over water.
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.
Specifications
(1970 - present)
- Type: Guided missile launcher
- Caliber: 152mm (5.98 in)
- 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 TOW-2 FCS module with inserted battery pack (21 lbs (9.5 kg) for separate BPS with power conditioner) and ~ 60 lbs (27.2 kg) for missile
- Length: 42.5 in (108 cm) (empty launcher), ~ 50 in (127 cm) (encased missile)
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 mounted on even more anachronistic 2011 Jeep Wrangler | 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 | ||
| Black Mesa | "TOW Launcher" | Missing bridging clamp, incorrectly shown as laser guided | Ground mounting | 2012 / 2015 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digimon Tamers | JGSDF soldiers | Mounted on AH-1 Cobra helicopters | 2001 - 2002 |
| Black Lagoon | Neo-Nazis | Tripod-mounted | 2006 |