Wire-guided missile

A wire-guided missile is a missile that is guided by signals sent to it via thin wires connected between the missile and its launch platform using command guidance. As the missile flies, the wires are reeled out behind it. 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). 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 pair of deployed German guided air-delivered ordnance designs, the Fritz X and Henschel Hs 293, both used the Kehl-Strassburg radio guidance system for control. However, because the British proved to be able to develop countermeasures to interfere with the Germans' use of the Kehl-Strassburg ordnance guidance system, rushed projects were started in 1944 in order to develop alternatives. The first system to be modified in this fashion was the Henschel Hs 293 anti-ship missile. Other examples included the X-4 missile.