Ukrainians Attack Russian Tanks With Upgraded Vietnam-Era TOW Missiles

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) 

Ukraine’s successful anti-armor campaign has been decimating Russian tanks for months with highly effective weapons such as the Javelin, Carl Gustaf and the Next-Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapon (NLAW), each able to exact a particular and uniquely destructive impact upon Russian armored vehicles.  Many have heard countless anecdotal accounts and open-source documentation of top-down fired Javelins destroying Russian T-90s and T-72 tanks.  The Carl Gustaf, a recoilless shoulder-fired anti-armor weapon has also been extremely damaging to Russian armored forces and Swedish NLAWs have proven particularly effective at close ranges from inside buildings. 

What about the classic TOW missile? 

The TOW missile is a lesser recognized but still quite significant element of Ukraine’s ongoing and successful anti-armor arsenal, despite the fact that the weapon was fired used in combat during the Vietnam War decades ago.  The weapon seems almost timeless when it comes to its continued effectiveness and relevance throughout the passage of time, yet upgrades to the weapon have overall been pretty marginal.  

TOW Missiles Attack Russian Tanks

Firing from Bradley Fighting Vehicles, HMMWVs, helicopters and dismounted tripods, Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided TOW anti-tank missiles have been destroying armor for decades.

Beginning with its first combat use in Vietnam, the TOW missile has appeared in virtually every major conflict up until the war in Ukraine, including the Persian Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and many others throughout the years. The TOW missile is now the most widely used anti-tank missile in the world and is currently in use with more than 45 countries. There are many variants and, according to Military Today, as many as 650,000 have been made. The weapon began production in the 1950s with Hughes Aircraft Company, a firm which went on to be acquired by Raytheon.