Heat Seeking Warhead

Though based on technology used from the Pre-Spaceflight era, Heat Seeking Warheads didn't enter service in the Terran Hegemony until 2340. Though very effective against very hot targets (overheated 'Mechs or units hit by Inferno weapons), the sensors used by Heat Seeking Warheads were so large that the traditional guidance systems had to be removed. This rendered units that didn't give off significant heat effectively immune to Heat Seeking missiles. Coupled with their tendency to lock onto open fires (such as those caused by Flamers and Infernos) the Heat Seeking Warhead is far less common today than its standard cousin.

Heat Seeking warheads are available for LRM, SRM, and MML launchers; They are incompatible with Artemis, Narc, and Streak guidance systems.

Gameplay Rules and Notes
The warheads described in Tactical Operations are based on the ones found in Unbound.
 * If a unit is overheating, then a Heat-Seeking Missile will receive a bonus to hit based on their current heat level.
 * Additionally, if the missile's flight path passes by flight exhaust from its target, it will receive an additional bonus.
 * If a unit is not overheating however, or doesn't track heat in the first place, then a Heat-Seeking Missile will instead receive a +1 penalty to hit.
 * Heat Seeking Missiles that pass through an open flame will receive an additional +2 penalty to hit.