SACLOS - Wire and Radio-guided SACLOS

Wire and Radio-guided SACLOS

With wire and radio-guided SACLOS, the sighting device can calculate the angular difference in direction from the missile position to the target location. It can then give electronic instructions to the missile that correct its flight path so it is flying along a straight line from the sighting device to the target. Most of antitank SACLOS systems such as Milan and TOW use a strobe or flare (visible, infrared (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) light) in the tail of the missile with an appropriate sensor on the firing post, to track the missile's flight path.

These instructions are delivered either by a radio link or a wire. Radio links have the disadvantage of being jammable, whereas wire links have the disadvantage of being limited to the length of the wire and being breakable (e.g. not very good for penetrating/attacking targets in vegetated areas such as forests).

Examples:

• Wire-guided: MILAN, Swingfire, AT-4 Spigot, AT-5 Spandrel, AT-7 Saxhorn, BGM-71 TOW
• Radio-guided: ASM-N-2 Bat, 9K33 'Osa' (SA-8 'Gecko'), Javelin (surface-to-air missile)