M12R Rocket Warthog

Rocket hog redirects here. For the Halo: Combat Evolved Rocket Warthog, see M12A1 Light Anti-Armor Vehicle.

"It's a Warthog with rockets and it is awesome."

— Bungie.net^[1]

The M12R Light Anti-Aircraft Vehicle^[2], abbreviated as M12R LAAV and commonly referred to as the Missile Warthog or Rocket Warthog, is a UNSC ground vehicle. It is a variant of the M12 Force Application Vehicle that features a mounted M79 Multiple Launch Rocket System.^[2]^[3]

Design details

The M12R LAAV is designed to quickly and efficiently defeat lightly armored vehicles such as the Type-48 "Revenant" and the Type-32 "Ghost". The M12R LAAV differs from the basic M12 Force Application Vehicle only in its armament, a single M79 Multiple Launch Rocket System which fires six 65mm rockets per volley every two to three seconds. The M79 MLRS' rockets are capable of achieving target lock on aircraft, though they can not lock onto ground vehicles.

Operational history

During the UNSC's counterattack against the Covenant at Szurdok Ridge during the Fall of Reach in August 12, 2552, an M12R was deployed with a single soldier mounted on the rocket launcher for use by NOBLE Team's Catherine-B320 and SPARTAN-B312 after their M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle had been destroyed and they had to fend off Covenant infantry and turrets.^[4]

During the Second Human-Covenant War, many of these vehicles participated in the Requiem Campaign.

Trivia

Breakpoint was the first map map to feature this vehicle in matchmaking.
An NPC manning the turret is capable of firing 1 to 5 rockets individually if it chooses, where as the player is committed to firing all 6 rockets once the trigger is pulled.^{[verification needed]}