Plasma Beam

The Plasma Beam is available after research is completed on either the Heavy Plasma squad weapon and the Heavy Plasma Clip, or on the standard Plasma Rifle and Plasma Rifle Clip.

This weapon is widely regarded as the best craft weapon available to Commanders. With a fantastic range that allows interception craft to engage all UFOs (with the exception of Battleships) without fear of being fired upon, a huge number of shots per charge and a superb reload time, the Plasma Beam should be fitted to all interception craft as soon as possible.

It is worth noting however that an interception craft armed with dual Plasma Beams is capable of completely destroying the smaller UFOs. If you wish to salvage artefacts and resources from these smaller UFOs it may be worthwhile keeping at least one Interceptor available with weaker weaponry such as Stingray missiles.

Note that unlike the Fusion Ball Launcher, using Plasma Beams does not require your engineers to manufacture ammunition - the Plasma units recharge automatically upon return to base.

Manufacturing Requirements

Engineer Hours:	500
Cost per Unit:	226,000
Workshop Space required:	8
Raw Materials:	15x Elerium-115

Vital Statistics

Damage:	140
Range:	52 km
Accuracy:	50%
Reload Time:	6 seconds
Shots:	100
Ammunition Used:	Not Applicable

Note that the Accuracy given in the in-game UFOPaedia is incorrect; two independent code digs have confirmed these are the correct accuracies for the craft weaponry.