MCLOS (short for Manual Command to Line of Sight) is a first-generation method for guiding guided missiles.
With an MCLOS missile, the operator must track the missile and the target simultaneously and guide the missile to the target. Typically the missile is steered with a joystick. MCLOS requires considerable training and practice to master, and today has mostly been replaced by the easier-to-use SACLOS.
Accuracy
The accuracy achieved by MCLOS missiles is hard to put a firm figure on, since it is highly dependant on the skill of the operator. Actual figures from combat operations suggest that it is much lower than SACLOS guided missiles.
- Six-Day War 1967 - AT-1 Snapper - Limited usage, only one tank kill is attributed with a hit probability of less than 25%.
- Vietnam War 1972 - fired by American troops, the French SS.11 - about 10% compared with over 50% for the SACLOS BGM-71 TOW.
- Yom Kippur War 1973 - AT-3 Sagger - between 25% at the start in well trained Egyptian hands and 2% at the end in less well trained Syrian hands once the threat was understood by tank crews.