A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its guidance mechanism, which is located somewhere near the launch site. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behind it (command guidance). This guidance system is most commonly used in anti-tank missiles, where its ability to be used in areas of limited line-of-sight make it useful, while the range limit imposed by the length of the wire is not a serious concern.
The longest range wire-guided missiles in current use are limited to about 8 km (5.0 mi). [1]
History
Electrical wire guidance dates back to the early 20th century with an early example being the Lay Torpedo. A prototype ground-based electrical wire-guided torpedo was built by the Germans during World War II.
The X-7 influenced other military thinkers after the war.[citation needed] By the early 1950s a number of experimental systems had been developed (for example, Malkara missile), leading to their widespread deployment in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Large numbers of Israeli tanks were destroyed using wire-guided AT-3 Sagger missiles during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Wire guidance has remained the main system for most smaller weapons although newer systems such as laserbeam riding have come into use in anti-aircraft and some anti-tank use roles (such as the US Hellfire missile and the Russian 9M133 Kornet).
