(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The U.S. government delivered a shipment of anti-tank missiles and launch pads to the Lebanese Army on Sunday, in the latest demonstration of support to fight what the U.S. calls a “common enemy.”
The Lebanese Army command announced they received the shipment on Sunday evening, which included an undisclosed number of BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles and their launch pads.
First produced in 1970, the TOW is one of the most widely used anti-tank guided missiles. The weapon was spotted as early as April 2014 in at least two videos that surfaced showing Syrian opposition forces in the Syrian Civil War using BGM-71 TOWs.
The Israel Defense Forces also used TOW missiles during the 1982 Lebanon War, when they ambushed Syrian armored forces and destroyed 11 Syrian Soviet-made T-72 tanks.
The Lebanese Army added in its statement that it received an improved version known as BGM-71C, or TOW II, created in 1983 with a range of up to 3.75 kilometers.
The U.S. has donated over $1 billion in aid to the Army over the last decade, but most previous donations had been non-lethal equipment, including armored personnel carriers, light aircraft and communication systems.
In February, a U.S. weapons shipment included over 70 M198 Howitzers as well as 26 million rounds of ammunition including small, medium and heavy artillery rounds.
In January, the U.S. delivered dozens of armored Humvees.