The Army Wants to Replace Its Legendary Tank Killer

[Peter1469]

The Army will replace its TOW missile with a new missile that will have a range of 10,000 meters- three times that of the TOW missile. And it will be the same dimensions so it can use the existing launch systems.


The Army Wants to Replace Its Legendary Tank Killer

The Close Combat Missile System-Heavy (CCMS-H) 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 (6.21 miles) would take nearly a minute to reach its target. If the gunner comes during that time, it could throw off the soldier’s 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 to ranges of up to 5,000 meters, decisively out-ranging the TOW.

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 CCMS-H 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 targeting 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 vehicle.


The Army will likely field the TOW’s replacement—either a new missile of an existing one—sometime in the early 2030s. One missile that fits many of the criteria is the Israeli-made Spike ER II, which has the range requirement and several of the launch and targeting modes.

[DGUtley]

Did the wires ever get tangled throwing the thing off course?

[Peter1469]

Did the wires ever get tangled throwing the thing off course?

I imagine sometimes if something goes wrong. In the Army TOW gunner is a separate subset MOS in the 11 series- 11H. I was 11B- light infantry. Although I think that other infantry MOSes also use the TOW, like the Striker brigades.

[DGUtley]

I imagine sometimes if something goes wrong. In the Army TOW gunner is a separate subset MOS in the 11 series- 11H. I was 11B- light infantry. Although I think that other infantry MOSes also use the TOW, like the Striker brigades.

Auf English bitte.

[Peter1469]

Auf English bitte.

TOW gunners are a subset of the infantry series of jobs in the Army. I was in another infantry job so I never used one.

[Cletus]

Did the wires ever get tangled throwing the thing off course?

If the TOW's command link wires break, the missile would the missile will become erratic. They also don't do well shooting over a body of water over 1,100 meters wide. If it is less that that, it should be okay as long as the operator keeps the missile elevated as high as possible over the surface.