Ordnance Types

Overview

Prior to the formation of the Star League, a Universal Ordnance Rating Standard was achieved as a means of broadly comparing all military conventional explosives of the same general size using a single letter code. Those letters on the lower end of the scale represent minor explosives such as micro-grenades, while those on the higher end represent large artillery rounds such as mortars and missiles. While larger sizes do exist, they represent vehicular-scale weapons, and besides high-explosives each category includes diverse alternate payloads.

Types and Classes

Type	Class A	Class B	Class C	Class D	Class E
Anti-Personnel	X	X	X	X	X
Air-Burst				X	X
Anti-Vehicle			X	X	X
FASCAM				X	X
Flare	X	X	X	X	X
Flash	X	X	X	X	X
Gas	X	X	X	X	X
Guided				X	X
High-Explosive	X	X	X	X	X
Inferno		X	X	X	X
NARC			X	X	X
Smoke	X	X	X	X	X
Stun	X	X	X	X	X

Class

Ordnance Class	Typical Weapon
A	Very small and weak ordnance, such as "button-bombs" favored by spies and saboteurs. The Microgrenade falls under this category as well.
B	Small explosive charges, such as light-weight grenades and those used in Compact Grenade Launchers.
C	Standard grenade-sized charges, small enough to be carried by hand and thrown.
D	Large charges too heavy to be thrown by hand, including mortar and recoilless rifle rounds.
E	The largest class size, represents most mines and heavy support weapons with a wide area of effect.

Types

Ordnance Type	Description
Anti-Personnel	Favored against conventional infantry forces, AP rounds cause damage through concussion and shrapnel, and are useful in house-clearing operations since they wont penetrate through walls.
Air-Burst	These mortar rounds explode anywhere from two to five meters above the ground, showering the area below with deadly shrapnel. This ability to ignore certain protective cover like foxholes and sandbag barriers comes at the cost of armor penetration and explosive potential.
Anti-Vehicle	A concentrated shaped charge is used to penetrate the armor on combat vehicles and other hard targets, but it has a reduced blast radius compared to other explosives and must strike the target at a particular angle to be effective.
FASCAM	FASCAM (Field Artillery Scatterable Mines) ordnance scatters submunitions over the target area by exploding thanks to a timed fuse. Size of resulting minefield depends on the size of the munition.
Flare	Flare ordnance is launched into the air to illuminate the target area, while a small parachute keeps it airborne for several minutes.
Flash	Flash rounds produce brilliant light which can blind anyone within the target area; however protective visors and Battle Armor provide full immunity against this effect.
Gas	This ordnance releases a toxic and incapacitating gas which causes choking, sneezing and eye irritation. Those with protective filter equipment are immune to the effect, although other types of toxic chemicals can be loaded into these rounds.
Guided	These mortar rounds were developed by the Free Worlds League using technology from the Semi-Guided LRM project, homing in on any target marked with a TAG or Light TAG. These rounds function as normal in the absence of any TAG designation or targeting spotter and can be combined with air-bursting capability.
High-Explosive	The most common type of ordnance. Delivers a potent explosive blast useful as anti-vehicle and anti-emplacement weapon.
Infero	Inferno rounds explode in mid-air above a target area, dispersing a highly flammable liquid such as napalm. Setting fire to anything within the area, they are especially designed to raise the heat levels of BattleMechs.
Narc Beacon	Narc Beacons attach themselves to the target and emit a guidance signal for friendly missiles.
Smoke	This ordnance releases a dense white smoke cloud which limits the ability to see and fire upon anything protected by its concealment.
Stun	These rounds produce a blinding flash and deafening sound used to disorient anyone within a target area. Those with proper protective gear or in Battle Armor are better protected against this effect.

Anti-Personnel Universal Ordinance Rating Table

This table applies to Anti-Personnel grenades and infantry scale artillery. Note that the armor piercing and damage values value of these types of weapons diminish by 1 for every meter away the target is from the center of the explosion down to 0, where the target is not in range of the explosion. Note that 0 Armor Piercing can still deal damage however, if the target is unarmored, or the target is wearing armor of a BAR insufficient to negate the explosion at 0 AP. The AP factor by design is lower to prevent unnecessary, or unwanted collateral damage, as these ordinances are usually intended for in house fighting.

Class	Damage	Mass
A	2X/8A	200 g
B	3X/10A	400 g
C	4X/12A	600 g
D	4X/13A	2 kg
E	4X/14A	4 kg

Air Burst Universal Ordinance Rating Table

Air burst ordinances aren't feasible to use in a standard grenade sized package. As a result they are generally only fired by mortars and artillery type weaponry, and only have two classes.

Class	Damage	Mass
D	5X/10A	2 kg
E	5X/11A	4 kg

Bibliography

• A Time of War
• Combat Equipment
• Lostech: The MechWarrior Equipment Guide