REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – RTX Corp. will build radio-controlled anti-tank missile systems for the U.S. Army under terms of a $271.4 million order announced in September.
Officials of the U.S. Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., are asking the RTX Raytheon segment in Tucson, Ariz., to build the Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wireless-Guided (TOW) 2B munition -- better-known as the TOW 2B missile.
This order including the TOW Obsolescence and Safety 2B missile variant involves replacing obsolescent components and updating explosives for safety and producibility. This addresses out-of-production parts for infantry and vehicle-mount roles.
The TOW 2B variant is a top-attack munition designed to defeat modern armored vehicles by flying over the target and striking the relatively thin roof armor with twin explosively formed penetrators.
Anti-armor and bunker-buster
The multimission TOW 2A, TOW 2B, TOW 2B aero, and TOW bunker-buster missiles are a primary precision anti-armor, anti-fortification, and anti-amphibious landing weapons used throughout the world today, RTX officials say.
The missile has an effective range as far as 2.5 miles and is semi-automatically guided by enabling the operator to maintain command-to-line-of-sight guidance without reliance on GPS or satellite systems.
The TOW 2B operator defines the aim point by maintaining the sight cross hairs on the target. The launcher automatically steers the missile along the line-of-sight toward the aim point via a one-way RF and microwave link, which links the launcher and missile for guidance.
The operator uses an optical missile sight attached to the launcher; the sight is data linked to the missile. Wireless TOW missiles include an RF transmitter added to the missile case and an RF receiver located inside the missile.
Tell me more about optically guided missiles ...
- An optically guided missile uses optical sensors (visible-light cameras, near-IR/thermal imagers, laser designators/receivers, or imaging sensors) to detect, track, and home on a target. Unlike purely radar-guided systems, optical seekers rely on photons (light or thermal radiation) and image-processing to locate and follow targets. TOW uses CCD or CMOS visible-light cameras, while some have image correlation to match a stored scene.
When the optically guided missile fires, the RF transmitter in the launcher relays information to the missile while in flight. The operator keeps the sight fixed on the target -- even if the target is moving -- to guide the missile to its target. Original versions of the TOW, which were called the tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missile, trailed a thin wire that relayed information to the missile from the sight.
TOW missiles can be fired from all TOW launchers, including the Improved Target Acquisition Systems (ITAS), Stryker anti-tank guided missile vehicle (modified ITAS), and Bradley Fighting Vehicles (Improved Bradley Acquisition Subsystem).
TOW launchers can be mounted to a wide variety of vehicles, including the Humvee, and also can be placed in improvised ground fortifications for front-line infantry use. Versions of the TOW missile also can be fired from Light Armored Vehicle–Anti-tank and U.S. Marine Corps AH-1W Cobra attack helicopter.
The TOW 2B uses a dual-mode sensor for target detection and detonation: an optical sensor calibrated to detect the shape of a tank, and a magnetic sensor tuned to sense the magnetic signature of armored vehicles.
Optical sensors
The optical sensor helps identify the shape of the target, while the magnetic sensor reduces false positives by confirming the presence of the vehicle's magnetic field. This combination enables the missile to destroy enemy armor at its most vulnerable point without being triggered prematurely.
If the TOW weapon system remains in service with the U.S. military beyond 2050 as military officials plan today, it will have remained in the Pentagon's arsenal for more than 80 years.
TOW is in service in more than 40 international armed forces and integrated on more than 15,000 ground versions, vehicle- and helicopter-mounted versions worldwide, RTX officials say.
On this order RTX will do the work in Tucson, Ariz., and should be finished by February 2028. For more information contact RTX Raytheon online at www.rtx.com/raytheon/what-we-do/land/tow-weapon-system, or the Army Contracting Command-Redstone at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-rsa/.
