Aerojet awarded $19 million TOW contract

recently signed a multi-year agreement with

to fabricate warheads for the TOW-2A and TOW-2B missile systems. Aerojet's initial one-year contract is valued at $19.4 million and the company has negotiated options through to 2009.

The Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided (TOW) Weapon system is intended to destroy armoured vehicles and urban threats. Aerojet's current year contract includes fabrication, loading, and assembly of more than 4,000 TOW-2A and TOW-2B warheads.

Aerojet previously filled contracts for TOW warheads, delivering more than 60,000 TOW-2A and TOW-2B warheads to Raytheon in multiple contractual agreements.

The TOW weapon system can be mounted on a variety of platforms, including the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle, and the AH-1F Cobra helicopter. It can also be operated from an unmounted ground position.

The TOW-2A missile is fired by a TOW launcher directly at armoured vehicles, while the TOW-2B flies overhead and destroys the target by firing two Aerojet-built explosively formed penetrator warheads at the target.

Aerojet will fabricate hardware at its Sacramento, California facility and construct all components of the TOW warhead production process at its Socorro, New Mexico facility.