SAM Turret

For a general overview on SAM Turrets, see SAM.

The SAM Turret (Surface-to-Air Missile) is a killstreak reward item featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Heroes an scorestreak in Call of Duty: Mobile and a Support Strike Chain that appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. It was cut from Call of Duty: Ghosts.

Overview

The SAM Turret is an unmanned weapon which automatically locks onto any aircraft killstreaks and fires missiles to destroy them. The turret is capable of taking out nearly any airborne killstreak (exceptions include the Stealth Bomber and Blackbird). However, the SAM Turret has a limited amount of missiles and is completely defenseless against ground targets. The SAM Turret will fire at aircraft from any location it's placed, even if it means firing at a wall.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

SAM Turret
Killstreak Reward
Kills	4
Price	1600

The SAM turret can shoot down all enemy airborne killstreaks, including Valkyrie Rockets, but not the Blackbird. Airstrike-class killstreaks such as Napalm Strike and Rolling Thunder can't be shot down. Like the Sentry Gun, this killstreak must be called in by airdrop before placing it. The SAM turret only fires a limited number of missiles, and then self-destructs. The player can only place two SAM turrets at once. Placing a third turret will destroy the first one. Like the Sentry Gun, the SAM turret can be destroyed by the enemy team. The SAM turret picks its targets based on how long they've been active, not by how dangerous they are. For instance, a SAM Turret would first destroy a Spy Plane that's been active for 20 seconds then attack a Gunship that has been up for 10 seconds. The rocket from it travels fast, even faster than the Valkyrie Rocket. One knife slash will destroy it. SAM turrets last 1 minute and 30 seconds - three times the time of Counter Spy Planes. The SAM Turret will wait until the Spy Plane scans the map one time before firing a missile at it.

SAM turret on the killstreak selection menu in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Sam Turret seen on Call of Duty Elite website.

SAM Turret as seen in actual gameplay

SAM Turret within a Supply Drop.

SAM Turret being deployed.

SAM Turret rocket being fired at killstreak.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Killstreak Reward
Points	8

The SAM Turret returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as an 8-point Support Strike package pointstreak. It takes a few seconds to automatically lock on to enemy air support and fires a salvo of four surface-to-air missiles at it. The missiles can trigger flares and be diverted. The missiles launched by the turret are significantly weaker than those fired by the turret in Black Ops, requiring all four to hit a simple UAV or counter UAV to destroy it; other pointstreaks, such as helicopters, will require over four missile hits to be destroyed. This is somewhat balanced by the turret's ability to fire a seemingly unlimited amount of missile salvos at air support.

Unlike in Black Ops, it does not need to be airdropped in and can be deployed as soon as the player earns it. Destroying an enemy SAM Turret also adds a point to a player's pointstreak.

Placing it in an open area is recommended, as many buildings and/or structures have a tendency to block the SAM Turret's missiles, though this could lead to it being destroyed by enemies more quickly.

The SAM Turret as it appears in MW3.

The SAM Turret in Modern Warfare 3. Note the faction icon.

The SAM Turret firing on an enemy Hind.

A SAM turret in MW3

A destroyed SAM turret.

An unused killstreak icon for the SAM turret in MW3.

Call of Duty: Online

The SAM Turret returns for Call of Duty: Online. It behaves like the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 SAM which does not need to be airdropped, but reuses the Call of Duty: Black Ops model.

A deployed SAM Turret

A SAM Turret engaging a UAV

Call of Duty: Ghosts

"SAM Turret ready for deployment."

— Cut audio files.

The SAM Turret was cut from Call of Duty: Ghosts, but audio files remain for it.

Call of Duty: Heroes

SAM Turret
Appears in	Call of Duty: Heroes
Health	616
Target Type	Air
Attack Damage	18
Attack Range	11 Tiles
Cost	0 20,000

The SAM Turret reappears in Call of Duty: Heroes. It can be built at a Level 1 Command Center.

The SAM Turret as it appears in game.

Call of Duty: Mobile

SAM Turret
Killstreak Reward
Scores	850
Unlocked at	Level 38

"The SAM Turret is an unmanned weapon which automaticaly locks onto any aircraft scorestreaks and fires missiles to destroy them."

— Description

The SAM Turret returns in Call of Duty: Mobile as a scorestreak.

Trivia

Call of Duty: Black Ops

• The turret can kill its owner if its owner is standing near the rocket explosion. The rocket will pass through friendly players without detonating, but if it impacts a wall or its target and its owner is too close, it will kill them.
• SAM Turrets can destroy enemy Valkyrie Rockets.
• The killstreak selection menu background is Nuketown.
• A notable feature about this turret is that the launcher portion is made out of 2 minor retextures of the beta version of the Strela-3.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

• Unlike in Black Ops, a red laser will appear to indicate which aircraft it is targeting.
• The SAM Turret at CoD XP could take down an Attack Helicopter in one missile but in the final version it can't.
• It is possible to kill another player with a SAM Turret if they stand in front of the missiles when the turret is locking on. At close range the SAM turret will be destroyed as well.

Video

^{A SAM Turret killing a player.}