Raytheon, an RTX business, has been awarded a $676 million contract to continue manufacturing the Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wireless-guided (TOW) missile system for the U.S. Army, according to an announcement from the company.
The contract includes $430 million for production in fiscal year 2023 and an additional $246 million in 2024.
Tom Laliberty, President of Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon, highlighted the production scale, stating, “Our TOW production line is active, and we can manufacture up to 10,000 missiles annually. This combat-proven effector is ready to meet current and future anti-tank guided missile requirements for the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, and land forces across the globe.”
The TOW system, used globally by the U.S. and allied forces, has undergone recent design updates aimed at enhancing its fuzing and target detection. The improvements were successfully demonstrated in the latest acceptance tests of the TOW 2B variant, designed to engage and defeat armored threats efficiently.
Laliberty noted that these updates improve the system’s capabilities in complex environments, such as urban terrain, by enabling faster target acquisition and engagement.
The TOW missile system, compatible with various manned and unmanned platforms like the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and Stryker, continues to be a key anti-armor tool in military operations. Since 2003, the TOW system has been employed in combat over 11,000 times, and the U.S. Department of Defense has provided Ukraine with approximately 13,000 TOW missiles.
The latest contract ensures Raytheon’s commitment to refining and delivering this combat-proven technology to meet modern defense challenges, as the U.S. military and allied forces continue to adapt to evolving threats. Production under these contracts will take place at Raytheon’s facilities in Tucson, Arizona.