TOW Missile Dos and Don’ts

Overview

User tips for the most powerful Anti-Tank weapon.

Basic Knowledge

Tube-launched, Optically-tracked and Wire-guided. TOW Anti-Tank Missile has been added to gameplay after Alpha V11. Currently, it’s used by United States Army, British Ground Forces and Russian Ground Forces, since Russian Kornet Missile is still working in progress. According to labels on launcher, it’s TOW2A ( BGM-71E), which has tandem HEAT warhead, and it’s capable of one shot killing any vehicles.

There are two types of TOW launchers, tripod version and vehicle mounted one on Bradley. TOW missile tripod could be placed by squad leaders within FOB’s radius, one for each FOB. It costs 600 construction points, also 500 ammo points per shot. It also takes quite a long time to build up. Currently in V11, the launcher itself could be destroyed and it’s not fixable, must place a fresh one instead.

Picture above is the daytime sight, press “Q” to zoom in further. Below aiming crosshair is the rangefinder, ranging from 0 to 1500 meters, invalid range reading will be displayed in “- -” mark. This also indicates the maximum engagement range of TOW, it’s 1.5 km.

Do This With TOW Missile (For Squad Leaders)

1.Make a good field of view for your launcher
As squad leader, placing the TOW on high grounds is encouraged. It has ridiculous range of 1.5 kilometer, take the picture above for example, we can cover the whole river valley with long range accurate fire support.

2.Fortify your TOW FOB
Once your enemy located your TOW launcher, it’s not rare to see people trying to sneak behind. So, it’s necessary to set up some HESCO walls and heavy machine gun bunkers to cover your flank. A 4-men TOW squad is ideal, including 1 TOW operator, 1~2 HMG gunners and 1 logistics truck driver.

What’s more, if decided to play hit and run, it’s also good to shift firing locations after scoring few vehicle kills. A sneaky TOW turret will be your enemy’s ultimate nightmare.

3.Keep the supply truck running
Here’s an important concept. Initially, a fully loaded logistics truck can set up a FOB with a TOW launcher with 2 reserved missiles and some sandbags. Once you begin engaging hostile vehicles, it’s pretty easy to run out of supplies in merely few minutes. Well, here’s another factor to consider, if the TOW FOB is way too far from your main base, it’s more difficult to keep up the supply line.

Do This With TOW Missile (For TOW Gunner)

1.Pick your target carefully
Although all vehicles could be killed with just one shot, it’s better to engage high value targets first, since missiles are not cheap. IFV and APC are your TOP PRIORITY Especially Warrior and Bradley, they cost your opponent 25 tickets and they need another 10 minutes to spawn back in.

2.Wait until your enemy stopped or entered open field
Since turret stabilization hasn’t show up yet, all vehicles need to stop to fire weapons accurately. Whenever your opponent stops, it’s time to blow it up. What’s more, mind those small objects in the map, including trees and bushes. In the picture above, the missile detonated when it flew by treetop, resulting in a missed shot. So, it’s always better to wait until your prey entered open area.

3.Keep the crosshair centered on your target
Since it’s optically tracked, you must keep the crosshair on the target, and correction signals via the signal line will fly the rocket back on track. Remember to re-adjust aiming point in flight, because the shock of missile launch will make your aiming deviate from original one.

Caution : The crosshair will sway away a bit after missile launch

4.Yell “Back blast!” before firing
Yes, it has back blast. Normally, a wise soldier will not stand behind a launch tube, he/she will stay near by the gunner’s side. What’s more, if hear a “pop!” sound when staying near by the TOW launcher, get away from it’s back since it’s a clear indication right before missile launch.

5.Spot hostile forces for your teammates
Your scope is highly magnified, scan the battlefield and call out contacts.

DON’T Do This With TOW Missile

1.Engaging targets further than 1.5km away
Always check the reading on rangefinder first, if it’s displayed in “- -“, it means that target range is greater than 1.5km. You can still engage enemies, but the projectile may disappear after flying beyond its maximum range (around 1.5~1.6 km).

2.Engaging Infantries with TOW
It’s a BIG NO NO ! Missiles are way too expensive to be wasted on infantries, it costs 500 ammo points for each shot. Leave them for your team’s vehicles and infantries to deal with, wasting precious supply on low value targets will dramatically reduces combat performance of your team.

Conclusion

Be wise and shoot the right targets.
Happy hunting =D

Special Thanks to [BB] Bella’s Battleground

>>Links to other guides<<

Target Acquisition and Survival Guide for Newbies
[link]
Visual Identification Guide for Newbies
[link]
Anti-Vehicle Guide for LATs and HATs
[link]
SPG-9 Recoilless Rifle Guide
[link]
Combat Vehicle Guide (APC/IFV)
[link]
TANKS Guide
[link]
Preparing your first game as squad leader
[link]