The M901 ITV "Hammer Head" was a United States tank destroyer in service from 1969 to 1996. Introduced into service in 1979 as the Improved TOW vehicle, it was built on the aluminum-hulled M113 Armored Personnel Carrier chassis, which lowered operational cost but provided little protection for the crew. Armed with an M243 four-tube grenade launcher, an M220 twin TOW launcher, and an M60 machine gun, it was deployed to Germany in large numbers to counter an anticipated Soviet armored invasion through the Fulda Gap. Its career was shortened by the fall of the Soviet Union and by the rise of the Bradley fighting vehicle, which also carried the TOW missile system and added a more robust 25 mm Bushmaster gun. The M901 ITV later served in a limited reconnaissance role during Operation Desert Storm.