The M901 ITV (Improved TOW vehicle) is an American armored vehicle introduced into service in 1979, and designed to carry a dual M220 TOW launcher. The US used the M901 in Operation Desert Storm, where it is credited with 14 kills. The M901 is not so different from the playstyle of those familiar with ATGM carriers. With its dual TOW launcher, and the iconic BGM-71 TOW missile in its arsenal, this lightly armored vehicle packs a heavy punch against tanks that pose a threat to it.
| Pros: | Cons: |
| Access to ATGMs to take out any target with ease | No MG to clear obstacles that may otherwise prematurely detonate the ATGM while it’s in flight |
| Decent mobility | Paper thin armor, making it vulnerable to overpressure |
| Missile launcher is positioned above chassis, allowing the player to fire over hills without revealing the hull | Missile launcher disengages when it reaches a speed above 12km |
| Gun depression of -30° allows to fire over hills of slightly high degree | Limited ammo count (10 missiles in total; 2 in the launcher, 4 in the hull) |
| Access to thermals, impressive zoom magnification of 13.0x | Commander sight does not have dual-control, as well as a poor zoom magnification of 4.0x |
| Access to smoke grenades |
Survivability:
Survivability with this vehicle shouldn’t be heavily relied on, as the ammunition encountered in your BR (APDS, HEATFS, early APFSDS, ATGMs) is more than capable of taking you out in one hit. The M901 is based on the M113, featuring 44 mm of aluminum alloy 7039 on the sides and 38 mm on the front. The front is angled to make frontal armor effective thickness to match the flat sides. Overall, this counts as about 21 mm of RHA, which isn’t a lot of armor in terms of survivability.
Two crew members, the loader and the commander, are located in the back part of the hull and there are no other critical components located there, so there is little reason to target them first. In the middle of the tank is the gunner operating the tower. Since the I-TOW missile is launched from a launcher mounted on top of a tower, it is next to impossible to hit the tower base when hull-down and so the gunner is not exposed to direct fire. The driver is located at the front of the vehicle and is next to the engine block, which might block the shot.
The M901 has access to smoke grenades, which allows the player to pop smoke and drive away from danger if the area they’re in is too hot (or too dangerous to be in).
Mobility:
The mobility of the M901 is okay. The top speed for the M901 is 64 km/h, though there are not many circumstances you will reach these speeds. Offroad, the M901 will reach 20 km/h quite fast due to its high power-to-weight ratio and will reach its top speed of 38 km/h. In reverse it will easily reach -14 km/h, allowing you to escape a bad situation.
This vehicle does not have a neutral traverse but still turns quite fast. However, the M901 struggles to traverse hills at high angles, which limits its ability to reach good positions without being spotted and fired upon.
The vehicle puts the launcher on the pad whenever it is moving, but it is still possible to keep it unfolded by driving short distances at a time and stopping between them or driving in reverse, both of which will keep the launcher deployed. Keep in mind that the vehicle will attempt to stow the launcher even when pushed by the enemy (in rare cases), making it impossible to shoot back.
Firepower and Ammunition:
The main weapon on the M901 is the BGM-71C I-TOW ATGM. It has up to 630 mm of penetration at 0 degrees at any distance since it carries a HEAT warhead. The post-penetration of this missile is enough to finish the job, but in some circumstances, a follow-up missile may be needed. The I-TOW is a second-generation ATGM so it is mouse-controlled (SACLOS, or Semi-Auto Command Line of Sight). It travels at a speed of 296 m/s, faster than the MILAN ATGM used by the Marder IFVs and the 3M7 Drakon ATGM used by the IT-1. Due to the fuse sensitivity of 0.01 mm, like any chemical-based rounds, any bush, fence, or object in the way will trigger the missile into detonation and the lack of a machine gun on the M901 means that these obstacles will become quite a nuisance.
The turret can depress down 30 degrees, which means it can fire down from almost any mountain or fire horizontally even when standing on a cliff. The I-TOW also does not have an arming distance, therefore it can fire at tanks even if they are in your immediate surroundings.
The ammo rack is located behind the engine block and is reloaded two by two. Thus, every time the missile launcher starts to reload, each rack is used to fill the launcher, which has a capacity of two missiles.
Reload, at 13 seconds (10 aced), is a negligible aspect unless your loader is dead. If this happens, it takes serious patience if you’re fighting from either close or long range.
One notable aspect of this vehicle is access to Gen 1 thermals, which is a rarity at its BR, since not many tanks have it, allowing you to effectively locate targets from a distance with ease. The thermals, paired with the impressive zoom magnification of 13.0x in the gunner sight, makes long-distance engagements smooth. Keep in mind that it will not be able to see through enemy or ally smoke (unless it’s ESS, or External Smoke System, which thermals can see through), and make note to not confuse dead tanks with the living.
Playstyle:
Since this tank has virtually no armor and its elevated ATGM Launcher, the only true playstyle that fits this tank is a position-based play, as being hull down will completely hide the hull, protecting it from armor-piercing rounds or chemical rounds that might want to penetrate the tank. If you’re in hull-down position, your launcher will be the only visible thing; kinetic rounds will only damage it, allowing you to reverse and repair it without the risk of being killed by a shot to the hull.
Keep in mind that chemical rounds may still cause overpressure, making the launcher and hull vulnerable to any tank that has chemical rounds in store (HE, HEAT, HEATFS, ATGMs), and a kinetic round hitting a TOW missile in your launcher can also take your vehicle out.
In urban environments, where there aren’t any spots to hide your hull effectively, distance is key, as being close to an enemy vehicle is too much heat to handle with this vehicle, so remember to peek around corners so you can be more aware of your surroundings more, and utilize your smoke grenades effectively in urban environments since the corners won’t reveal your general position.
Enemies worth Noting:
Some of the tanks that you may encounter can and will destroy your M901 with ease:
- M113A1 (TOW): This is virtually the same tank as the M901, with the only difference being that instead of a missile launcher, it is controlled by an exposed crew next to it instead of being in the hull controlling it. The TOW launcher of the M113A1 (TOW) being closer to the hull compared to the missile launcher of the M901 makes it harder to spot this tank, so be mindful of your surroundings when this tank is around. On top of that, they have a .50 cal MG to help them clear obstacles where you do not. Unlike the M901, however, they have slightly less zoom magnification and no access to thermals, so you have a small advantage over them.
- Marder 1A3, Marder A1-: These IFVs pose a threat to your armor thanks to their autocannon fire rate and their APDS ammo belt. On top of that, they also have access to the MILAN, an ATGM that is slightly faster and more responsive compared to your ITOW ATGM. Thankfully, these two IFVs have light armor, so it should be no problem to take them out with your ATGM. Just make sure you get the jump on them first before they do.
- Heavy Tanks: These progressively become less common on the battlefield, as you begin to see more MBTs over them, but they can still appear regardless. Like any heavy, these lumbering beasts such as the M103, T-10M, and Maus possess the familiar heavy firepower, big and heavy armor, and a long reload time, so make sure to take note of these when engaging heavy tanks.
- MBTs (Main Battle Tanks): Some of the tanks that you will face will be MBTs. While these tanks have impressive firepower, it should be noted that most the tanks in the BR you’ll fight them at will not have any ERA, or Explosive Reactive Armor, to counteract this like the AMX-30B2 BRENUS, or utilize Composite Armor to negate it entirely like the T-55AMD-1 and T-55AM-1, so fighting the exposed MBTs without either of these will be easy for your M901. Regardless, the MBTs you’ll likely face like the M60A1 (AOS) and others possess the firepower and ammo type to flush your tank out of the game.
- SPAA: Due to the light armor of your ATGM Carrier, these are equally a threat, as they can easily rip and tear through your tank without a problem thanks to their autocannons (20mm, 30mm, and 40mm). The only downside of these vehicles is that they also have weak armor, so make sure that when you spot these in the field, you have a proper lock on them, and fire at them so that you take them out and allow any friendly air support, or CAS (Close Air Support), to attack the enemy without a hitch.
- Helicopters and Aircraft: Some of the helicopters at your BR may have ATGMs or heavy autocannons that can eliminate your vehicle with ease, so make sure to have cover nearby, or use your ATGMs to shoot them down. Keep in mind that the reactivity of your ATGM isn’t exactly the best at distances compared to other ATGMS, so try to aim ahead of the helicopter. Aircraft, on the other hand, must be avoided at all cost, with either their autocannons and their munitions being able to destroy your vehicle immediately.
