Streak Missile Launcher

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The Streak Missile Launcher is a specialized version of the standard Short Range Missile launcher which withholds fire until it receives a solid lock ensuring all missiles will hit.

Overview

Originally developed in 2647, the Streak SRM Launcher is relatively similar to the standard SRM launcher but linked to a unique Targa-7 fire control system. This system is designed to guarantee a hit against any target onto which the pilot can get a lock, a special feature of this system preventing the weapon from firing at a target when there is no lock-on, saving ammunition by preventing shots that would miss anyway.

Unlike a standard SRM whose shotgun effect may result in some misses and some hits, Streak guidance gives the lighter launchers the effective average firepower of the heavier and more wasteful SRM systems, but with considerably less variation in damage effects. The only disadvantages are that Streak launchers are incompatible with other missile target acquisition technologies such as the Artemis IV FCS and Narc Missile Beacon, their specialized ammunition is much more expensive, and some users are willing to accept partial hits rather than not be able to fire on demand.

Like many pieces of advanced Star League technology, the Streak system disappeared during the technological decline of the Succession Wars. The Clans retained and championed the technology, and as an example of their drive towards avoiding waste, expanded it to all three SRM launcher types. Thanks to the Helm Memory Core the Free Worlds League rediscovered the ability to produce the Streak SRM-2 again in 3035,[1] and using this and Clan-tech salvage the Draconis Combine was able to produce Inner Sphere versions of the larger launchers in 3058.[2] While the Inner Sphere powers finally cracked how to create all types of Streak SRMs, Clan scientists have been experimenting with applying the Streak system to LRMs, trading any indirect capacity for less wasteful ammunition usage.[3]

For specifics about a particular Streak SRM type, click on one of the links below:

For specifics about a particular Streak LRM type, click on one of the links below:

References

  1. TechManual, p. 230
  2. TechManual, p. 230
  3. Tactical Operations, p. 327

Bibliography