what are the us military's anti-tank weapons systems

Soldiers from 2 CMBG conduct TOW launch training in Gagetown, N.B., in 2017. “When you are facing modern armor with enhanced detection capabilities and long-range guns in that kind of scenario, it becomes a very dicey proposition to go after a main battle tank in this way,” Gendron noted. The TOW requires a shooter to continuously track a target with its optic sensor until the missile strikes, exposing soldiers for the duration, especially when two rounds might be required to defeat an active defensive system. But the semi-automatic guided TOW is a less than ideal weapon against modern main battle tanks with sensors able to detect optics in the battlefield. Variants of the BGM-71 are still in wide use by almost 50 countries. The Army’s sole tank destroying capability at present is the BGM-71 TOW (Tube-launched, Optically-tracked, Wire-guided) heavy anti-tank missile, developed by the Hughes Aircraft Company (since acquired by Raytheon Missiles & Defense in 1997) and first fielded in the 1970s. Among a lengthy list that includes everything from pistols to sniper rifles is the Anti-Tank Guided Missile Replacement (ATGMR), a relatively modest project valued under $1 billion for a multi-purpose, anti-armour and anti-structure, portable and mounted weapon. “We are overdue for a new anti-tank capability,” acknowledged Major Carl Gendron, who leads the Directorate of Land Requirements (DLR 5-1) dealing with small arms acquisition projects. Since the early 2000s, as priorities shifted from the Cold War to combat in Afghanistan, to potential conflict with peer adversaries, the Canadian Army has divested aging mounted and portable anti-tank systems and has yet to replace them with a more modern means of destroying tanks and fortified structures. The steady build-up of Russian tanks and armoured vehicles along Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders was a stark reminder of the relevance of anti-armour capability.

What are the us military's anti-tank weapons systems