Raytheon is continuing with planned range and warhead improvements to the BGM-71 TOW 2A/B anti-tank missile despite the US Department of Defense's decision to terminate funding next year for the fire-and-forget version. The company at the same time is pursuing new international orders to keep the TOW production line open after September.
Although the Pentagon has opted to discontinue work on the TOW Fire-and-Forget in favour of the new Common Missile, Raytheon notes there are 100,000 rounds in the US Army inventory that are expected to remain in service until 2020. Raytheon is looking at a life extension programme for existing missiles and adding capability as a retrofit and/or for new build weapons.
Development of TOW 2B Aero has been under way since last November, with an armed demonstration in March. The system is now available, says Steve Ignat, Raytheon land warfare director business development. The range of the wire-guided missile has been extended from 3.7km (2nm) to 4.5km, with an aerodynamically refined nose, additional wire and a radio-frequency link providing greater stand-off capability.
A fire-and-forget seeker remains in development but there is no money for integration. The US Army, however, continues to invest in a bunker buster version, which would retrofit current TOW 2A missiles with a fragmenting high explosive warhead.
Production of the TOW 2A/B missile is due to end in September and the company says it needs a minimum of 1,500 missiles to restart the line with a 17-month lead time. Raytheon is waiting for foreign military sales contracts for 420 TOW 2A/B missiles, plus 262 practice rounds and has supplied price and availability data for potentially a further 1,845 missiles.
Source: Flight International