Mech Mortar
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Description
Based on the weapon used by infantry for centuries, the Mech Mortar fires a small shell in a high arc that falls onto the target. Though the Mech Mortar was created by the Terran Hegemony, by 2835 the Succession Wars had relegated it to history.[1] Like Long Range Missile launchers, the Mech Mortar could fire on a target directly[2] or indirectly[3], but LRMs proved to be more reliable, easier to aim, and could fire more projectiles at once.
With the reintroduction of the Anti-Missile System, engineers revived the Mech Mortar concept. The munitions used by the mortars, though often possessing limited guidance packages, weren't destroyed by AMS systems in tests. Mortar shells also proved very adaptable, accepting several types of payloads including Anti-Personnel, Armor-Piercing, Flare, Smoke, and Semi-Guided. In addition, the sheer number of mortars in use made them very cheap to produce and resupply.[4] These benefits do not overcome the fact that the largest Mech Mortar weighs as much as an LRM-20 and takes up the same amount of space while offering less than half the salvo size and only two-thirds of the ammunition capability.[5]
Availability
Both the Clans and Inner Sphere armies have produced Mech Mortars in several sizes:
Manufacturers
- Capellan Confederation
- ComGuards:
- ComStar manufacturing bases - Terra
- Draconis Combine:
- Federated Suns
- Lyran Alliance
- Free Worlds League
- Irian BattleMechs Unlimited - Irian
- Irian BattleMechs Unlimited - Shiro III
References
- ↑ Second Succession War, p. 102, "Weapons and Equipment Extinction Table"
- ↑ Tactical Operations, p. 324: The Mech Mortar gets a +3 to hit modifier when fired directly.
- ↑ Tactical Operations, p. 324: Fired indirectly without a spotter, it gets a +2 modifier.
- ↑ See individual weapon for costs.
- ↑ Tactical Operations, pp. 408-409