TOW (Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided) Missile

The TOW (Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided) Missile program is a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) managed under the Major Capability Acquisition (MCA) pathway with an Acquisition Category IC designation. This program encompasses the development, production, and sustainment of the TOW missile system, which includes the missiles themselves, associated launchers, and target acquisition systems. The program has been active since at least 1995, with ongoing modernization and support activities continuing through present day.

Contract awards under this program have ranged from small purchases of cable assemblies and spare parts valued at under $20,000 to large-scale production and engineering services contracts worth over $100 million. Raytheon Company, particularly through its Missile Systems division, is the predominant prime contractor, receiving multiple firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts for TOW engineering services, missile production, and the Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS). The U.S. Army's Program Executive Office (PEO) Missiles and Space and the Aviation and Missile Command are the primary contracting agencies. While most large contracts have no set-aside designation, smaller component and spare parts acquisitions frequently utilize Total Small Business and other small business set-asides. Primary places of performance include Raytheon facilities in Tucson, Arizona and Andover, Massachusetts. Notable contracts include a $3.1 billion firm-fixed-price award in 2007 for TOW and ITAS Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) and spares.