Zoids: Chaotic Age Zero

Name: Surface-to-Air Missile Pod (aka "SAM Pod", note that the abbreviation "AAM" or "Anti-Air Missile" is never used here, because it can be confused with "Air-to-Air Missile")
Cost: $3,600
Weight: 5 Tons
Function: Heavy Ground-to-Air Support
Mounts On: All Level 1 and Level 2 Zoids(*2), and Heldigunner(*2), Shield Liger(*2)King Liger(*2), Gul Tiger(*2), Gorhecks(*2) [Number of mountable pods expected to be revised.]
Mount Location:
--On all bipedal and quadrupedal Zoids, the SAM Pod(s) mount(s) to the side of either front leg, and faces upwards. The SAM Pod cannot be mounted with AGM Pods or Mini Rocket Packs.
--On all other Zoid designs (such as Molgas, Guysacks, and Garagantulas) the SAM Pod(s) mount(s) to either side of the main body of the Zoid, facing upwards. The SAM Pod cannot be mounted with AGM Pods or Mini Rocket Packs.
In Brief: The Surface-to-Air Missile Pod is a small missile pack, carrying four SAMs. Most Zoids that can mount this modification can mount multiple Pods, but each must be purchased separately.

Weapon Type: Radar-Guided Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Launcher
Ammunition: 4 Missile/Pod
Rate of Fire: Pilot's Discretion

Description: The standard Surface-to-Air Missile, much like the AGM, actually predates the colonization of Zi and the discovery of Zoids by humans. Though such weapons were more effective against conventional armor, as opposed to nano-augmented, living Zoid armor, humankind has proven time and time again that it is remarkably good at destroying things. Though aerial Zoids didn't make their debut for years after the colonization of Zi, the old Earth SAM was quickly resurrected when they did. Over the ages, as humanity has made war upon itself infinitely, the SAM's explosive power and damaging potential has only seen slight changes and upgrades over the years. Guidance systems, however, have evolved far more rapidly than warheads, as well as miniaturization and cost-effectiveness of the production of missiles themselves.

As with the AGM, the missiles themselves, not the pod, warrant discussion. The standard SAM missile pod contains four Radar-Guided SAMs, and the tracking system that the missiles utilize can make or break a battle. Radar guidance and tracking allows the missiles to lock onto large radar signatures, commonly only generated by passing aircraft in the open skies. Though radar guidance of missiles can be dubious or ineffective at ground level (thanks to obstacles such as rocks and trees), the wild blue yonder has no such inference. In standard conditions, this takes 3 seconds -- usually no fewer than 2 seconds in optimal conditions or 4 seconds in terrible conditions. More good news about the missile pod is that its design allows it to lock onto any target within a 180 degree hemisphere, centered around the front of the terrestrial, launching Zoid. However, despite impressive coverage, this still means that an aircraft coming from behind the launching Zoid can do so unthreatened.

Common tactics among aerial Zoids is to carry something called chaff: a substance with a high radar reflectivity (aluminum foil, in some cases), that distacts the missile from its target. Also, some Zoids, such as the famed and vaunted Raynos, possess a potent ECM system and Anti-Missile Defense (AMD) machineguns specifically designed to stop missiles from ever reaching the aircraft. The Storm Sworder Stealth Type, the Triple S, has a special paintjob that simply absorbs radar waves, making it completely impossible to lock onto. Also, be it noted that SAMs simply track radar signatures, and cannot lock onto a specific part of a Zoid. Lastly, maximum-lock range is many kilometers -- more than enough to seek most targets.

Once fired, a missile that has locked onto a target will pursue it relentlessly, using in-flight trajectory corrections to hunt down the target. Either the missile hits the target, misses it and explodes, or is shot down. (Missiles generally do not run out of fuel before one of those three occurs.) However, a pilot need not use a missile as a guided weapon. Dumbfiring is a possible and commonly used tactic. (Often, oddly, not against aerial Zoids, but actually against enemy ground targets.) Either way, a missile is armed the moment the pilot presses the trigger, but not necessarily before it leaves the pack. An armed missile tends to have slightly more explosive power than a rocket, which can do severe damage to any of the lightly armored aerial Zoid order. An unarmed missile, such as that found before the pilot presses the trigger, has considerably less explosive force, but the volatile fuel mixture the weapon uses may detonate. (Not petroleum, for the record, and the explosion from a SAM tends be greater than that from an AGM, because SAMs require more fuel to track aerial targets.) The number of missiles that fire at a single given time is completely up to the pilot, and can be changed by means of a dial next to the pack trigger. As a side note, if you're in a Hybrid Zoid, you can't obtain a lock with these missiles anywhere but on the ground.

In both ancient and more modern times, the AGM Missile Pack has been a favored supplement to the Flak Cannons, because they give the smaller and usually less-well armed Zoids more of a chance to damage aerial Zoids early on. Surface-to-Aerial missiles possess the explosive force necessary to even the playing field, even when fighting a Zoid several levels higher the pilot's own. SAM Missile Packs, like their AGM counterparts, are a common modification both among private, licensed pilots and military organizations, plain and simply packing the specialized punch to get the job done.