MBS

The MBS was designed to fire large volleys of relatively small missiles. This is a saturation attack system, intended to inflict a moderate amount of damage across the largest area possible. Unlike large anti-armor and anti-ship missiles, MBS missiles are for wiping out soft targets, destroying buildings, and killing large numbers of lightly armored targets.

Appearance

A MBS pack is a large blocky unit that fits to a mech, ship, or vehicle hard point. It has a small integrating link that allows it to mesh with the targeting system and command systems of the host vehicle.

'Trash Can'

The Trash Can MBS is a large cylinder and is designed for single mount systems and carries a large number of missiles, enough for a sustained barrage. The Trash Can mount has the ability to link to a vehicle mounted magazine and can be fitted with an autoloader. While not incredibly fast, this system can move the Trash Can style launcher from a support weapon or a one shot weapon to a sustained combat system.

The Federation's Thunderbolt main battle mech has a fifteen tube MBS on it's shoulder mount.

'Cigarette Pack'

The Cigarette Pack is a small launcher, only holding 2-5 missiles per salvo. The weapon doesn't pack a lot of firepower, but it is light, and easily mounted on most any vehicle. The most common use of this style of MBS is for anti-vehicle operations, or to give recon vehicles an unexpected punch.

The Locust Recon mech can load out a pair of Cigarette Pack MBS, above the hip joints. The mech can load incendiary, beacons, and anti-infantry special munitions.

'Boombox or 12pax Pack'

The most common form of MBS, the Boombox or 12pax systems are large blocky launchers that sit on the shoulders of mecha or are mounted to the tops of vehicles. These unsubtle launchers fire massive volleys of missiles, with the smallest firing just 10, while the largest fire up to 50. A large mecha with twin Boomboxes can level multiple city blocks, turn square miles of forest into a raging inferno, or turn a lunar regolith into a square miles of craters.

The Archer has a pair of MBSs integrated into it's chassis.

'Sixer'

The Sixer is a larger version of a cigarette pack and holds between 4 and 10 missiles, and is generally used for short range heavy warhead missiles. Like the cigpack, the Sixer is used for anti-vehicle and anti-power armor warfare.

The Warhammer is traditionally equipped with a Sixer.

Usage

The MBS is used to execute the 'Macross Missile Massacre' filling an area with a large number of small warheads. These are not massively dangerous to heavily armored vehicles or ships, but the sheer number of missiles fired can interfere with targeting and tracking systems. These are also useful for counter-battery and anti-missile warfare, where a large number of small missiles can be used to intercept and destroy incoming larger missiles. While ineffective against a warship or main battlemech, a single small missile can strike an anti-ship missile and destroy it.

The MBS is also effective against light and unarmored targets. A single missile from a MBS can wound many infantrymen, or severely damage light and medium power armor. Against helocraft, aerospace craft, and other vehicles that rely on speed and agility, a wall of these small missiles can inflict damage across a large portion of the craft, filling a cockpit with a Christmas display of red and orange lights.

Special munitions can be used for various effect.

Proximity Warhead - explodes in front of a target, showering it with hot supersonic metal debris. Devastating to infantry, aersospace craft, and space vehicles, puncturing pressure hulls. Useless against heavy armor.

Incendiary Warhead - An effective firestarter, incendiary barrages can light up forests, huge swaths of urban buildup, or turning a battlefield into a burning hell full of soldiers choking on smoke and flame. Effective against unsealed vehicles, and can damage even large vehicles if they are not equipped with hi-temp or thermal shielding.

Minefield - Each missile drops a burrowing mine that has a proximity sensor, and can wait for a long time for a foe to approach before exploding. While small, these warheads can damage the vulnerable underside of a vehicle, damage the foot actuator of mecha, or take the leg off a power armor trooper.

Gas, Smoke, and Chemical - More often smoke, these gaseous dispersal warheads can create massive walls of smoke or employ chemical warfare. This includes static smoke.