Quote:
Originally Posted by WallShadow
Just thinking aloud--what if the firer sent the TOW in a high ballistic arc, then lowered the sights to the target? Would the wires still be in the air when the missile struck?
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If I'm understanding your intention correct -- you unfortunately cannot do that with a TOW (except the later FF missile versions). The reason the TOW has flares at the rear is to help it show up in the gunner's sight picture -- if the TOW goes more than (IIRC) 27 degrees outside of the sight picture, the missile will self destruct. (This was done to help insure that you don't have a ton of unguided missiles flying all over the battlefield, possibly endangering friendly units). There is also an amount (don't remember what it is) that the TOW can go above or below the initial sight level, or it self destructs. Again to stop rogue missiles.