BGM-71 TOW

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BGM-71 TOW
An M41 tripod-mounted TOW ITAS-FTL with PADS of the U.S. Army in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, May 2009
Type	Anti-tank missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1970–present
Used by	See Operators
Wars	Vietnam War Third Indochina War 1982 Lebanon War Soviet–Afghan War Iran–Iraq War Persian Gulf War War in Somalia War in Afghanistan[1] Iraq War Syrian civil war[2] War in Iraq (2013–2017)[2] Russo-Ukrainian War Russian invasion of Ukraine[3] Yemeni Civil War Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen 2016 India-Pakistan Border skirmishes[4] Conflict in Najran, Jizan and Asir
Production history
Designer	Hughes Aircraft Company
Designed	1963–1968
Unit cost	$93,640 (2B Aero), $54,956 (Bunker Buster) FY2021[5] £8,500 (1984)[6]
Specifications
Length	1.16–1.17 m with probe folded 1.41–1.51 m with probe extended (some variants have no probe)
Diameter	152 mm
Wingspan	0.46 m
Warhead weight	3.9–6.14 kg (penetration 430–900 mm RHA)[7]
Operational range	Basic TOW 3,000 m, most variants 3,750 m
Maximum speed	278–320 m/s
Guidance system	Optically tracked, wire-guided (wireless radio-guided in RF variants)

The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided", pronounced /ˈtoʊ/)^[8] is an American anti-tank missile. 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.

First produced in 1970, TOW is one of the most widely used anti-tank guided missiles.^[9] It can be found in a wide variety of manually carried and vehicle-mounted forms, as well as widespread use on helicopters. Originally designed by Hughes Aircraft in the 1960s, the weapon is currently produced by RTX.