The TOW missile can be fired from tube launchers installed on vehicles, helicopters, or on a tripod on the ground. The BGM-71 is loaded into the launcher from behind, the missile container acting as a launch tube extension. As soon as the operator has identified a target using the launcher's telescopic sight, he can fire the missile. A very-short duration (0.05 s) rocket motor ejects the missile from the tube, and the mid-body stabilization fins and the control fins on the tail flip out. After a safe distance is reached, the solid-fuel main boost motor is ignited, and accelerates the missile to a speed of about Mach 0.9. The motor exhausts are on the side, because the tail is used to spool out the guidance wire. After launch, the operator simply has to keep the cross-hairs of his sight pointing at the target, and the guidance system will automatically transmit corrective commands to the system through the wire. The TOW is controlled in flight by its four gas-operated movable tail fins. The high-explosive shaped-charge warhead of the BGM-71A detonates on impact, and can penetrate armour with a thickness of about 600 mm. Minimum range for the TOW is about 65 m (70 yds), and maximum range is limited by the length of the guidance wire, which is 3000 m (3280 yds) for the BGM-71A.