the u.s army is preparing to say goodbye to an old friend the tube launched optically tracked
wire-guided tow anti-tank missile has served the army for 50 years
tracking and destroying enemy armor in jungles deserts and even cities the service wants a new
missile that could travel twice as far but also kills tanks closer than ever in the early 1970s
the army fielded what was then the heaviest longest-range anti-tank missile in the world
the army facing down thousands of soviet tanks in europe needed a weapon system that could kill
tanks accurately at long ranges even beyond the range of tank guns that missile was the bgm 71 tow
the bgm 71 tow which was five inches in diameter fit in a large launch tube connected to a command
unit the gunner placed the crosshairs on an enemy tank and fired the missile
the gunner could move the crosshairs to keep them centered on a moving enemy tank and as the missile
sped downrange it trailed a thin wire that allowed it to receive the gunner's course adjustments
the toe was revolutionary it had a hit probability of about 90 out to
its maximum range of 3700 meters or 2.33 miles once the toe reached its target its
shaped charge warhead could penetrate the heaviest of enemy armor the missile was more
accurate and deadlier than a tank gun but it couldn't match a tank gun's rate of fire
an attack helicopter could carry up to eight tow missiles vehicles like the armored personnel
carriers the m2 bradley fighting vehicle dedicated anti-tank vehicles and the humvee could also carry
the weapon the army wants the missile to arm at just 100 meters likely to allow close range
shots during city fights and on small islands the missile must also survive active protection
systems and jammers that would attempt to shoot down or jam them the service would like ccmsh to
have several guidance modes including the tow's command line of sight a fire and forget mode
and a missile capable of being fired first and then accepting target data in flight
the army also wants an autonomous attack capability that would allow the missile
to steer itself to a set of coordinates and then attack any nearby enemy armored vehicles
the army will likely field the toes replacement either a new missile of an existing one
sometime in the early 2030s one missile that fits many of the criteria is the israel-made
spike er-2 which has the range requirement and several of the launch and targeting modes
the close combat missile system heavy ccmsh will have a range of 10 000 meters almost
three times the range of the tow while keeping the same dimensions as the existing missile
this will allow the army to use it from existing launch systems including the m2 bradley and the
new joint tactical light vehicle in addition to range the army wants a faster missile a tow
missile traveling to 10 000 meters or 6.21 miles would take nearly a minute to reach its target
if the gunner comes during that time it could throw off the soldiers aim wasting the missile
more concerning russian tanks and armored vehicles including the t-90m main battle
tank can now fire missiles of their own ranges of up to 5000 meters decisively out ranging the toe
the army has gradually updated the tow over the years the missile warhead is now capable of
penetrating reactive armor using a tandem charge that first explodes the protective armor tile
and then a second that penetrates the tank's main armor belt the army also replaced the trailing
control wire with a wireless connection the missile still has the original mode
shortcoming including a relatively low speed 21 seconds to reach its maximum range of 2.2 miles
while the army has tried to swap out the tow before the end of the cold war and the collapse
of the mighty soviet army made the replacement a low priority although built for the battlefields
of western europe the toe's baptism of fire took place in the skies over vietnam
with the helicopter-mounted toes killing north vietnamese tanks in the 1972 easter offensive the
u.s then supplied the missiles to israel during the 1973 yom kippur war the israelis discovered
toe couldn't fly over salt water in this case the swiss canal which affected the control wires
and caused the missiles to veer off course u.s forces later used tow missiles in the gulf war
afghanistan and the 2003 invasion of iraq the army fielded the first tow missile systems in 1970
it was initially wire guided so soldiers had to remain stationary and vulnerable to the enemy as
the missile tracked to the target the current tow which has a range of about 3750 meters has a fire
and forget operation the service wants the future closed combat missile system heavy or cc msh to
retain many of the tow's advantages but have the capability to kill the most advanced enemy battle
tanks out to ten thousand meters mark andrews chief of the combat capabilities branch at the
maneuver requirements division told an audience wednesday during the maneuver capabilities
development and integration directorates industry army maneuver officials used the industry day to
give the defense firm an idea of the advanced capabilities the service hopes to see over the
next decade the army wants to feel the ccmsh sometime between 2028 and 2032. we want to be
able to shoot on the move and we want the missile to get there quicker than it currently takes our
tow missiles to travel max distances said andrews who did not provide the tow's maximum flight time
the army also wants troops to be able to lock the new missiles on target before and if necessary
after launching he said it should also be maneuverable so we could go after enemy vehicles
hiding behind cover the new missile however should retain some characteristics of the toe
andrew said we want to retain our current tow form factor we have thousands of launchers out
there that we just don't want to have to replace he explained adding that the new missile should
have the tow's current 40 meter minimum arming distance we want to be able to arm early we want
to retain the current arming distance that the tow missile has if possible the ccmsh should be able
to share targeting information with other combat vehicles in an infantry company or cavalry trip
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