Bomb

Bombs are a specialty weapon found only on certain subtypes of aerospace fighters (ASFs), namely the Attacker and Bomber variants. These weapons were first introduced in the 0.8.3 patch as a part of a general ASF update and replace the old Fire Bombs found in previous versions of the game. Bombs come in three different categories: high explosive, laser-guided and cluster.

High Explosive

High Explosive (HE) bombs are dumb-fire area-of-effect weapons that bear the most resemblance to the old Fire Bomb. They deal heavy damage to units caught within its blast radius, which is usually only wide enough to hit a single asset at a time. Of all the bombs, HE are the easiest to avoid and thus require some skill to score consistent hits, especially against a moving target.

Max Range	Min Range	Ammo/ton	Heat	Damage	Damage Type	Secondary Damage	Secondary Damage Type	Splash Radius	Shots/min	Mech Damage/sec	Heat/sec	Ammo Cost/ton	Max Damage/ton Ammo	Notes
N/A (collision-based rather than distance)	---	1	0	400	Kinetic	400	Missile	15m / 25m	12	160	0	2000	800	Drops a single, unguided bomb

Laser-Guided

Laser-guided (LG) bombs deal similar amounts of damage as HE bombs, but are capable of tracking a target that is painted with a TAG laser. When fired without TAG, LG bombs will instead free-fall, functioning like an HE bomb. As a result, these bombs are best used in conjunction with a teammate to take down priority targets and take some pressure off the bomber pilot by removing the need to precisely line up a strafing run.

Max Range	Min Range	Ammo/ton	Heat	Damage	Damage Type	Secondary Damage	Secondary Damage Type	Splash Radius	Shots/min	Mech Damage/sec	Heat/sec	Ammo Cost/ton	Max Damage/ton Ammo	Notes
1000m	100m	1	100	400	Kinetic	400	Missile	5m / 10m	5	66.67	8.33	3000	800	Fires a single, TAG-guided bomb

Cluster

Cluster bombs (CL) are dumb-fired like their HE siblings, except have a far greater area-of-effect radius at the cost of direct damage. Instead of dropping a single bomb, cluster bombs are dropped as five bomblets at a time; spare clusters are then reloaded as separate payloads, if spares are available.

Cluster bombs are ideal for saturating a number of opponents in a confined space and performing area suppression/denial. With some skill, they can even be quite dangerous to single enemies as well. Cluster bombs are also highly potent against Battle Armor owing to their large splash radius, as their submunitions are strong enough to one-shot any BA caught outside of cover.

Max Range	Min Range	Ammo/ton	Heat	Damage	Damage Type	Secondary Damage	Secondary Damage Type	Splash Radius	Shots/min	Mech Damage/sec	Heat/sec	Ammo Cost/ton	Max Damage/ton Ammo	Notes
N/A (collision-based rather than distance)	---	25	0	500	Kinetic	750	Missile	15m / 30m	23.5	489.58	0	2500	1250	Drops 5 unguided bomblets

Canon

High-Explosive Bombs are one of several common bomb types that can be carried by aerospace and conventional fighters. They are typically carried on external hardpoints common to military aircraft.

BattleTech reference

Laser-Guided Bombs are a special type of High-Explosive Bomb which can be directed against a specific target through special equipment such as Target Acquisition Gear. They are typically carried on external hardpoints common to military aircraft.

BattleTech reference

Cluster Bombs are a special type of High-Explosive Bomb which can cause damage over a wide area. They are typically carried on external hardpoints common to military aircraft.

BattleTech reference

Usage

The following aerospace fighters equip these weapons.

High Explosive (HE)	Laser-Guided (LG)	Cluster (CL)
Avar Sulla Visigoth Xerxes Corsair Rusalka Shiva Sparrowhawk	Avar Sulla Visigoth Xerxes Corsair Rusalka Shiva Sparrowhawk	Avar Sulla Visigoth Xerxes Corsair Rusalka Shiva Sparrowhawk