Tandem-Charge Warhead

Description

First prototyped by the Terran Hegemony in 2757, Tandem-Charge (or TC) missiles did not enter service until after the Clan Invasion when the Federated Commonwealth via Dr. James Long of the New Avalon Institute of Science resumed work on their development in the early 3050s. Tandem-Charge Missiles use a paired set of warheads to inflict damage: the first warhead is a shaped charge that penetrates the unit's outer armor, allowing the second warhead to exploit the breach and damage internal components. As a result, they can potentially deliver a critical effect for every missile that hits.

There are some drawbacks to TC missiles, however. First, they are incompatible with LRMs. Second, their cost is five times that of standard SRMs, and the number of missiles in a full ton load is reduced by half. Third, there are specific armor types which partially or completely negate their advantages: Reactive Armor, Hardened Armor, Clan Ferro-Lamellor Armor, and later, the Dark Age-era Anti-Penetrative Ablation Armor. There are, however, some armor types which are vulnerable to Tandem-Charge Missiles: Laser Reflective Armor and the Dark Age-era Impact-Resistant Armor. Finally, Ballistic-Reinforced Armor, though it is a combination of Hardened and Reactive armors, provides no special protection from TC missiles' critical effects.

Rules

Tandem-Charge Missiles:

• Inflict 2 points of damage as a standard SRM against armored units, but for each missile that hits, roll once on the Determining Critical Hits Table. If an armored location is hit, apply a -2 modifier; if the armor struck has a BAR of <10, apply an additional +2 modifier; but if internal structure is hit instead, apply neither modifier.
• Inflict half the damage of standard SRMs against conventional infantry. Against Battle Armor, roll 2D6 for each trooper hit, and eliminate them on a roll of 10 or higher.
• Function as standard SRMs against aerospace units.
• Explode for 3 points of damage each in an ammunition explosion.
• Are incompatible with Streak, Artemis, or Narc missile systems.

Game Notes

• Tandem-Charge Missiles first appeared in the Adventure book Unbound, in which, on a successful missile strike, they would inflict one point of damage to the armor and one point of damage to the target's internal structure.
• TC missiles can be used with standard SRMs or MMLs as long as they follow the above rules.

Bibliography

• Tactical Operations
• Unbound