TOW Missile: Captured on Camera Targeting Enemy Forces In Ukraine

by Maya Carlin, Warrior Contributor, Weapons

Meet the TOW Missile: Earlier in March, CNN reported that Russia has begun sending Iran some of the American-made weaponry captured in Ukraine to undergo reverse engineering. Iran has a solid track record of deconstructing foreign weapons and equipment and rebranding it as its own domestic product.

Perhaps one of Tehran’s first reverse-engineered products was the Toophon anti-tank guided missile, which is largely accepted to be a makeshift version of the U.S. BGM-71 TOW missile.

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The Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided anti-tank missile system has remained in service with the U.S. armed forces since 1970. The powerful system has even made its way to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The Origin Story of the BGM-71 TOW

Western armies began conceptualizing advanced variants of wire-guided missiles during World War II. The German Army conceptualized a modified version of the Ruhrstahl X-4 missile around this time, resulting in the creation of the X-7 model.

While the X-7 did not come to fruition until the post-WWII era, foreign militaries immediately became interested in cutting-edge design.