Raytheon wins US Army TOW contract

Raytheon will provide heavy anti-tank, wireless precision-assault missiles to the US armed forces under a $349 million five-year, multi-year contract announced on 8 October.

The contract will see Raytheon deliver 6,676 of the new wireless TOW missiles to the US Army. TOW missiles are tube-launched, optically tracked, wireless-guided missiles that receive commands from the gunner through a wireless guidance link, eliminating the wire connection in early generations of the missile.

According to the company, with the wireless system built into the missile and the missile case, the next-generation TOW works with existing launch platforms, including the Improved Target Acquisition System, Improved Bradley Acquisition System, TOW2 Subsystem and M220 Ground TOW. The system performs exactly like the wire-guided version, ‘enabling soldiers and marines to continue using the proven weapon without changing tactics or incurring additional training’.

Scott Speet, Raytheon Missile Systems' TOW program director, said: ‘TOW remains the US Army and Marine Corps' primary heavy anti-tank and precision-assault weapon. It is currently deployed on more than 4,000 TOW launch platforms including the army Stryker, Bradley Fighting Vehicle System and High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle.’

TOW is in service in more than 40 international armed forces and integrated on more than 15,000 ground, vehicle and helicopter platforms worldwide, according to Raytheon. The TOW weapon system is expected to be in service with the US military beyond 2025.