TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more powerful warhead, and a greatly improved semi-automatic command to line of sight (SACLOS) that could also be equipped with infrared cameras for night time use.

This would greatly improve the effectiveness of infantry anti-tank operations, which at that time were generally based on smaller weapons like the Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck, limited in the best case to ranges on the order of 150 metres (490 ft).

In France, Nord Aviation's Jean Bastien-Thiry developed an updated version of the X-7 using a solid fuel rocket as the very small and highly portable SS.10.

The Army then instructed the Redstone Arsenal to develop its own version of the basic concept, which emerged as the SSM-A-23 Dart, a larger design with roughly twice the range of the SS.10.

The goal was to allow the launcher to remain completely undercover while a gunner took a portable sight forward to aim at the targets from a concealed location.

The group almost immediately decided not to attempt to define a weapon concept, and instead spend the next two years studying the problem while researching the possibility of using alternative guidance systems and continually watching foreign developments where the US was lagging.

Meetings between Solly Zuckerman and John H. Rubel led to the July 1961 Rubel-Zuckerman agreement, wherein the UK would continue development of the long-range Swingfire while the US concentrated on shorter-range missiles, up to 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), with new guidance systems.

The US agreed to not introduce a system that competed directly with Swingfire or Vigilant without prior consultation but was free to develop new unguided "assault weapons" to replace the LAW.

[13] Despite the efforts to reach an agreement over anti-tank missiles, in the early summer of 1961, the Chief of Ordnance asked BRL to deliver a formal definition for what was then known as the "Heavy Assault Weapon for the Long Range period", or HAW for short.

David Hardison, the Branch Chief, reconvened the Ad Hoc panel to review a long list of twenty-seven design proposals, all of which were found lacking.

[11] Finally, Shillelagh sent guidance commands to the missile using an infrared link, but as the British had discovered, this proved relatively unreliable in the field and was subject to countermeasures like random flashing IR lamps.

Reed gathered submissions from the industry and quickly selected three contractors for further details, Hughes Aircraft, Martin Marietta, and McDonnell Douglas.

[11] On 12 January 1962, the BRL officially assigned the development of the TOW concept to the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM), who in turn formed the Antitank/Aircraft Weapons Commodity Office on 19 November 1962.

In May, the US suggested they abandon Swingfire in favor of TOW, pointing out that the French were also introducing a long-range missile, and with three similar weapons in the marketplace, the British would find foreign sales difficult.

However, the British Army was convinced that the launch vehicle would only survive if it was completely undercover, and TOW required the launcher to remain in sight of the target through the entire flight of the missile.

[11] Many problems emerged with the initial design, notably the early versions of the rocket motors which sometimes ejected burning bits of fuel, presenting a hazard to the gunners.

MICOM sent contracts to both Hughes and Philco Ford, makers of the Shillelagh, to develop stabilized launch sights for their respective missile designs.

Objectives are for a weapon with increased range out to 10,000 m (6.2 mi) or more, as well as greater speed, the ability to fire on the move, and lock on before and after launch capability while retaining similar launcher size and arming distance.

When the target is sighted and the trigger is pulled, there is a 1.5-second firing delay while the missile spins up its internal gyroscope and the thermal battery reaches operating temperature.

The TOW ITAS is currently being fielded to airborne, air assault, and light infantry forces throughout the active and reserve components of the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps (where it is called the SABER).

The TAS integrates into a single housing the direct view optics and missile tracker, a second-generation forward looking infrared (FLIR) night vision sight (NVS), and a laser rangefinder.

The integral cooling system for the IR optics is a modern SADA-II electrically powered cryocooler, removing the need to carry a supply of high-pressure coolant gas cartridges as was necessary for the previous AN/TAS-4 and AN/TAS-4A night sights.

This was heralded as the first time a U.S. unit neutralized enemy armor using American-designed and built guided missiles (in this case, against a captured American-made M41 operated by the PAVN).

[28] On 9 May, elements of the PAVN's 203rd Armored Regiment assaulted Ben Het Camp held by Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Rangers.

The Washington Post described the event as a "slaughter" in which a "half-dozen" AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters fired 16 TOW missiles and 2,000 rounds from their 20 mm cannons into the meeting of the elders and senior combat commanders.

[46][47][48] Russia attempted a rescue operation after a Su-24M was shot down at the Syria–Turkey border on 24 November 2015, a video of Free Syrian Army 1st Coastal Division using a TOW missile to destroy a disabled Russian helicopter on the ground after its crew had retreated was posted on YouTube.

[52][53] In August 2016 footage of the Syrian military inspecting a captured BGM-71E missile system in Bani Zeit district, Aleppo, was leaked online.

[54] On 2 September 2016, rebels released a video of a BGM-71 TOW destroying a French-manufactured Syrian Arab Air Force Aérospatiale Gazelle as it was landing on an airstrip near Khattab in Northern Hama.

In April 2023, videos posted to Twitter showed Ukrainian forces using TOW missiles to destroy Russian tanks in the Bakhmut area, including their loading, use and mounting on a vehicle.

"[59] On 19 July Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defense minister, claimed on Telegram that an M2 Bradley had killed Russian infantry during fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region.