A wire-guided missile is a missile guided by signals sent to it via thin wires reeled out during flight. This guidance system is most common for anti-tank missiles, where its ability to be used in areas of limited line-of-sight make it useful, while its limited maximum range, that of the wires, is not a serious concern.

Wire guidance is obviously limited by the length of the wire; the longest-ranged wire-guided missile in current use are limited to about 2.5 miles; the Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided Missile System (TOW), with a range of 3750 m [1]and the British Swingfire missile, when vehicle launched, with a range of 4000m [2] but it would be unlikely to be used at extreme range.

History

Wire guidance was first employed by the Germans during World War II. Most of their developments used radio control, but as the British proved to be able to jam anything they used, rushed projects were started in 1944 in order to develop alternatives. The first system to be modified in this fashion was the Henschel Hs 293B anti-shipping missile, but by the time it was ready it was too late to be useful as the Allies had already landed strong forces in France. Other examples included the X-4 anti-aircraft missile, and the X-7 anti-tank version of the X-4.

In the post-war era it was the X-7 that had the most effect on other military thinkers. By the early 1950s a number of experimental systems had been developed (see, e.g. Malkara missile), leading to their widespread deployment in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Large numbers of Israeli tanks were destroyed using wire guided missiles during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Wire guidance has remained the main system for most smaller weapons, although newer systems such as laser beam riding have come into use in anti-aircraft and some anti-tank use roles, e.g. the US Hellfire missile).

Note: Torpedoes can also be wire guided.

See also

• guided missile
• missile guidance