u/tux7350

Lol naw TOW missile just looks like a gray puff when it blows up. Not as exciting unless the thing you're hitting is full of fuel and ammo. Then the boom is what you think it would look like (fire ball and all that).

Pink mist is for snipers. You're so zoomed in from the scope you can actually see the splat and it looks like a pink mist. You can also achieve the same effect with large caliber weapons like a 25mm cannon. Interestingly enough, the Barrett .50 cal sniper that everyone knows is classified as a SASR, Special Application Scoped Rifle. Its not meant for people, its an "anti-material" weapon. You're only supposed to use it to shoot out engine blocks.

Its not copper either. The meth heads outside the military bases knew to leave TOW wire as recycling places wont take it. I was a TOW gunner and had to reel in miles of that shit when we finished a training range.

Its absolutely a metal of some sort, but it's super strong. If it wrapped around your boot and you yanked to it to get it off, it would cut straight through your boot. Insanely strong but you could still snip it with scissors. Wild shit.

Hurting people is wrong and should be avoided at all costs. Nothing cool about that.

But when a tank is also full of fuel and ammo, the boom is much bigger lol

I got lucky and shot around 15 to 20 for training. I lost track after 10. Some missilemen never get the chance to shoot one.

Interestingly, I had that kill zone question asked to me by another higher up (different job) and it took me a long time to come to a conclusion. The kill radius is actually not defined in the manuals. There are zones for the shooter to ensure you don't get hit with back blast, but usually it's assumed that the vehicle you hit will be destroyed.

Edit:

To explain further, the missile doesn't hit the target. It flys above it and uses the munroe effect to cause an implosion (not an explosion) that makes the vehicle explode from the inside out. First munroe charge punches a hole into the vehicle, second charge gets sucked in and blow it up from inside. YouTube munroe effect to see how that shape charge works.

Oh oh oh! I've actually done this! I was a TOW gunner that had to try and find 3000 meters of wire from a training range after I was done shooting. It fucking sucked and took hours lmao ain't no fucking way you're doing that AND getting shot at.

Ooo minimum? Dont recall that exactly but I do remember the mechanism that arms the missile is activated by G force. Missile has to fly for a bit before it arms.

Second part of your question is pretty loaded. Theres tons of unguided systems that have wildly different arming mechanisms.

Really what you care about is stand off distance. Can I hit my enemy with my missile before they can get into range to shoot me?

People who play War Thunder want to know lol you can actually find cut outs that show the internals online. The TOW has been around for awhile.

But the wires were for X and Y navigation. Theres an IR beacon that flashes out the back of the missile. The camera sees the beacon and when you move the controls the missile will follow. Theres a Russian T90 tank that has a defense system that spoofs the beacon. Looks like headlights, called the Shtora-1 check it out.

Wire was made out of the thinnest, strongest metal I've ever seen. It would cut your boot if you snagged it and pulled, but it could be cut with scissors.

If you lost a wire the missile would go erratic and would lose control depending on which wire was lost. Really depened on what youre trying to shoot over if you broke a wire. Can't shoot over buildings.

My favorite fact though, it flys above the tank! Search YouTube for a slow mo and you'll see what i mean. Explodes from above.

Naw, that shit was super strong. If you caught your boot and pulled it would slice clean into your boot. But it was fragile enough to be cut with scissors. A little thicker than a strand of hair.

Already had the back replacement thank you very much lol

Edit: sorry to answer your question. Nope, ill take the missile. A drone coming at you is slow (in relation to a missile) and doesnt have a lot of explosives, other enemies will think they have a chance. You see a missile take someone out, I promise you, that you wont stick around to see it again.

This is not new tech. We have been using wires like this in the battlefield since the 70's. I was a TOW gunner and shot plenty of missiles that have a wire like this drone. Except, ya know it's a missile and it moves significantly faster. TOW stands for Tube launched Opitically Wire guided missile.

Ask away if you wanna know anything about em.