The Stugna differs, however from many ATGMs in its control system, which allows the three-person crew to set up the launcher on its tripod from an ideal firing position, and remotely control it from cover, or even from an underground bunker, using a laptop-like control system connected to the launcher by a 50-meter-long cable…

That’s especially useful, as attacking the operator, either with preemptive artillery barrages or even with tank gun while the missile is midflight (a Stugna could take up to 25 seconds traversing its maximum range of 3.1-3.4 miles) is a classic counter-tactic…

The Stugna’s remote set-up isn’t entirely unprecedented. It’s reminiscent of the first successful Soviet ATGM, the 9M14 Malyutka (NATO codename AT-3 Sagger), which was manually steered using a joystick-like device tethered to the launcher by a 15-meter wire. Some variants of Israeli Spike ATGM have remote firing capability too. But U.S. troops operating TOW ATGMs still must situate themselves in line-of-sight of retaliatory fire to engage targets.