NARC
The Narc Missile Beacon is a missile homing utility that can be planted on enemy targets, causing friendly SRMs and LRM missiles (even those that do not traditionally have homing capabilities) to lock on to them. They are particularly useful when used in tandem with LRMs and ArrowIVs.
Weapon Stats
All stats are current as of release 0.9.3.
| Weapon | Lock Range | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA NARC Grenade | --- | 50-100m | --- | 1 (max 3) | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 60 | --- | --- | 500 | --- | Attracts friendly missiles for 60s |
| NARC | 500m | 460m | --- | 6 (Max 120) | 20 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 60 | --- | 20 | 1500 | --- | Attracts friendly missiles for 25s |
| CNARC | 700m | 632m | --- | 6 (Max 120) | 20 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 60 | --- | 20 | 1500 | --- | Attracts friendly missiles for 25s |
| iNARC | 900m | 792m | --- | 6 (Max 120) | 20 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | 60 | --- | 20 | 2000 | --- | Attracts friendly missiles for 25s |
NARC, or Narc Missile Beacon, is a missile capable of lock out to 900m (though with limited maneuverability) but effective out to 1200 meters, upon striking a hostile vehicle, acts as a missile guidance beacon for 25 seconds. While the NARC itself does no damage, when successfully "stuck" to a target, the NARC will begin broadcasting; in-range friendly vehicles will receive a notification that a NARC is active, and any friendly dumbfired missiles will automatically home in on the beacon once they close to within 1000m, provided they were launched with active radar. NARC missiles are very bulky, sharply limiting the number of extra NARC missiles a vehicle can carry. NARC beacons will also override a TAG laser if both are active at once; dumbfired missiles will seek the NARC. Missiles also will fly towards the beacon if passing over the NARC attraction area when fired from afar. This allows ArrowIV missiles to be fired from the other edge of the map, and hit the target when NARC is attached on their flight path.
Battle Armor can purchase throwable NARC beacons that operates as a normal NARC after attaching to a target, except that it lasts twice as long: 60 seconds. Up to 3 can be carried by a BA.
Preventing/Fighting NARCs
The NARC is a very powerful tool, but there are 2 major ways to fight them.
1. NARC beacons can not be attached to units under the protection of an AECM field, and every beacon fired at such a unit will simply not activate. Already active beacons that come under the influence of a hostile AECM will deactivate and stop broadcasting until they leave the field again or their timer runs out.
2. The EMP effect applied by PPCs of all sizes will remove NARCs, no matter where the PPC actually hits. With this it is possible to remove a NARC from a friendly unit by firing a PPC at the nearby ground, just touching their foot with a few points of negletable splash damage.
Canon
Causing quite a stir when it was introduced in 2587, the Narc system offered a radically different way of improve missile target acquisition. The culmination of project TATTLETALE by the Terran Hegemony, the Narc launcher fires a short-range missile whose explosive warhead was replaced with a special Homing Pod mounted behind a magnetic head. These pods broadcast a wide-range electromagnetic beacon, one which can be tracked by SRMs and LRMs whose guidance systems have been modified to home in on the signal. The end result is vastly improved accuracy against targets marked with a Narc beacon.
Usage
The following vehicles equip this weapon:
| NARC | CNARC | iNARC |
|---|---|---|
|
Inner Sphere |
Clan |
Inner Sphere |
