342646092-Battletech-10992-Technical-Readout-3026-Revised-OEF-pdf

’MECHBUSTER VEHICLES 51

Type: ’MechBuster
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage: 50 tons
Battle Value: 434

Equipment 250 Turbine Mass Nose Armor Tonnage Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV
Engine: 5 25 Wings Value 14 7 20 — — —
8 Aft 1
Safe Thrust: 5 0 18
Max Thrust: 0 2 Weapons and Ammo 10/10
Structural Integrity: 5 1 Autocannon/20
Heat Sinks: 320 3 Ammo (AC) 5 10
Fuel:
Cockpit: 48 Location
Armor Factor: Nose
—

CONDOR HEAVY HOVER TANK 52

VEHICLES weaponry, the Condor usually moves while firing rather The Marik forces were dug in behind the Duren River
than standing and fighting like tracked or wheeled and had just completed destroying its only bridge. Not
Mass: 50 tons tanks of similar size. fordable by ’Mechs, the Duren was to serve as the
Movement Type: Hover Marik forces’ final line of defense. After speeding
Power Plant: 165 Jones I.C.E. Red Devil Industries acquired the Defiance B3M across the surface of the swiftly flowing river, the Con-
Cruising Speed: 86.4 kph medium lasers for the Condor in a unique manner. Defi- dors engaged and destroyed the still-unorganized
Flank Speed: 129.6 kph ance initially refused Red Devil’s request for a license to Marik forces but found themselves cut off from the rest
Armor: StarSlab/9.5 Mk II Standard manufacture the B3M, offering instead to supply them of the Steiner army by the river. Instead of withdraw-
Armament: with B3Ms at the going market rate. To avoid paying full ing back to Steiner lines, the commander of the Third
price for the weapons or engaging in a costly R&D effort decided to establish a bridgehead on his side of the
1 GM Whirlwind Autocannon/5 to design a new laser, Red Devil decided to offer a boun- river while the Steiner engineers constructed a new
2 Defiance B3M Medium Lasers ty for used or slightly damaged lasers, which they then bridge.
1 SureFire MiniGun Machine Gun overhauled and mounted in their Condors.
Manufacturer: Red Devil Industries The Marik forces counter-attacked continuously,
Primary Factory: Pandora The bounty program was a surprising success, putting the engineers under the constant strain of air
Communications System: TharHes KR-A P/Comm but it had an unexpected side effect. ’Mechs and vehi- and artillery bombardment. In the end, however, the
Targeting and Tracking System: TharHes Mars 1 cles known to be armed with the B3M (such as the Third Battalion used the Condor’s high speed to con-
Zeus) began to draw more than their fair share of centrate attacks and crush any movement against the
OVERVIEW attacks during battles and consequently suffered more bridgehead. Three days later, the Steiner engineers
The Condor is one of the few heavy hover tanks damage. Among troopers, the machines soon acquired had succeeded in putting up a bridge heavy enough
the reputation of being death traps. Alarmed that this that the ’Mechs of the Twelfth Star Guards could
available. Although expensive to buy and to maintain, would reflect on their good name, Defiance finally advance across to relieve the Eridani Light Horse.
this immense hovercraft is capable of moving as fast relented and allowed Red Devil to manufacture the
as the speediest ’Mech. Despite the cost, the Condor B3M under license. VARIANTS
is used by armies throughout the Inner Sphere. Many Many variants of the Condor are available. The
standing armies use the Condor as a main attack vehi- The procurement of the Condor’s secondary
cle for reserve and garrison units. Amazing speed and weaponry proceeded along more traditional lines. The main reason for modifying the vehicle is because so
formidable weaponry make this heavy hover tank an Whirlwind Autocannon was added as a long-range many commanders find the tank too lightly armed and
excellent combat machine. weapon system . The SureFire MiniGun is mounted as armored for its size. House Davion troops usually strip
an anti-personnel weapon. Both weapon systems have out the lasers, heat sinks and power amplifiers in order
CAPABILITIES proven to be effective and reliable. to add another autocannon and more ammo and
With a flank speed of 129 kph and a cruising armor. This modification gives the Condor a better
DEPLOYMENT chance of surviving a direct hit by a heavy weapon as
speed of 86 kph, the Condor is fast even for a hover One of the most impressive uses of Condors well as better overall firepower.
tank. Most commanders exploit its speed in combat
situations. Although equipped with fairly heavy occurred in 2978, during the Steiner counteroffensive House Liao variants replace the machine gun and
on Loric. The Third Battalion of the Thirty-fourth Provi- autocannon with additional lasers, heat sinks and
sional Dixie Armored Regiment was assigned to sup- power amplifiers. The Liao commanders prefer to arm
port the advance of the Twelfth Star Guards. The Star the vehicle with a large number of similar weapons
Guards’ mission was to break through the Marik forces because it simplifies fighting techniques.
guarding Digger’s Pass and relieve elements of the
Eridani Light Horse who had dropped into the Marik
rear areas. For four months, the Marik forces held the
pass, repulsing all assaults. When the Steiner forces
finally managed to achieve a narrow breakthrough, the
Third Battalion sped forward in their Condors.

The Third Battalion advanced ten kilometers
before meeting resistance from Marik reserve units.

CONDOR HEAVY HOVER TANK VEHICLES 53

Type: Condor Heavy Hover Tank Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Hover Rear
Tonnage: 50 tons Turret 30
Battle Value: 425 15/15
Weapons and Ammo
Equipment 165 Mass 1 Autocannon/5 14 Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 5 2 Medium Lasers 33 8
Engine: 12 1 Machine Gun 2
8 Ammo (AC) 20 Location .5
Type: 12 6 Ammo (MG) 100 Turret 1
Cruising MP: 6 2.5 Turret .5
Flank MP: 5 Front
Heat Sinks: 96 .2 Body
Control Equipment: 1 Body
Lift Equipment: 6
Power Amplifier:
Turret:
Armor Factor:

DRILLSON HEAVY HOVER TANK 54

VEHICLES The first Drillson was manufactured in 3025 by swamp by two platoons of Davion hover tanks. The
Cyclops Incorporated, a newcomer to the field of mili- swamp slowed down the ’Mechs so much that they
Mass: 50 tons tary hardware. Its targeting control system has caused could not disengage from the enemy forces.
Movement Type: Hover quite a stir in the normally placid and unimaginative
Power Plant: 215 MaxLift Hover Engine Fusion military design community. With its wraparound video The Liao commander may have been unlucky, but
Cruising Speed: 97.2 kph monitors and helmeted sight reticule, the Cyclops Evil he was not stupid. He immediately ordered all his
Flank Speed: 151.2 kph Eye system is expected to set a new military standard. units to fire on the swamp and anything else that was
Armor: ArcShield Heavy Standard flammable. Knowing many Davion tanks used sighting
Armament: CAPABILITIES systems that only functioned in the visual-light spec-
The Drillson’s main weapon is the turret-mounted trum, he hoped to create a screen of smoke and
1 Cyclops Eye Large Laser steam that would totally blind the Davion tanks, allow-
2 Hovertec SRM 2s Cyclops Eye Laser, unique among heavy lasers for hav- ing his force a chance to withdraw. The plan worked,
1 Light Crossbow LRM 10 ing a small emission blister instead of the typical long except that the smoke blinded the sensors of both
2 Kicker Machine Guns barrel. This gun uses both laser technology and particle- sides. This, in turn, made all fire control and tracking
Manufacturer: Cyclops Incorporated beam technology. Instead of firing a beam of coherent systems next to useless.
Primary Factory: New Earth light or a stream of electrons, the Cyclops Eye fires a
Communications System: Cyclops 1 combination of both. The excited photons release elec- Fortunately for the pursuing Davion forces, they
Targeting and Tracking System: Evil Eye trons, which in turn release more excited photons creat- were equipped with Drillson hover tanks, whose radar
ing a beam of tremendous power. Though not any more capability functioned even though the normal IR and
OVERVIEW effective in combat than the other lasers, the Cyclops visual systems were out. Using their radar systems,
The Drillson Heavy Hover Tank is the newest addi- Eye Laser is much easier to maintain and manufacture. the Drillsons were able to engage the Liao ’Mechs at
close range. As they moved into the darkened swamp,
tion to the Steiner military, in keeping with the Lyran Another interesting feature of the Drillson is the the Drillsons went hunting for Liao ’Mechs.
predisposition toward heavy combat vehicles. Unlike Evil Eye Tracking & Targeting System. Though it does
most Steiner designs, however, the Drillson has not not use any new components, the interface between As the hours passed, the Liao BattleMechs occa-
sacrificed speed for heavier armor. Indeed, the tank the gunner and the turret is unique. The gunner sits sionally fired into the swamp to create more smoke.
can hold its own against some of the fastest ’Mechs inside the lower turret ring in front of a wraparound Responding immediately, the Davion Drillsons would
and vehicles around. video monitor that provides him with a 360-degree view. visually estimate the enemy’s location and open fire.
The gunner has the choice of operating the video mon- This see-and-shoot tactic was only marginally effective
The Drillson is normally assigned as a supple- itors in IR, visual light or radar spectrums—or switching for either side, but the Liao forces still could not break
ment to regular ’Mech forces. Its armor is heavy between them at will. The gunner’s helmet projects a out of the swamp.
enough to withstand the severe punishment typical of sight reticule onto the screen, which lines up the turret
a ’Mech battlefield, and its speed allows it to keep up with whatever target the gunner is viewing. The various Finally, sensing that his men were becoming rest-
with any advance. Though it is as vulnerable to fire as weapons systems then adjust themselves so that the less, the Davion commander ordered his units into a
any other hovercraft, the Drillson’s variety of weapons weapon will hit the target. battle line and moved them forward at high speed. Min-
and heavy firepower make it a formidable vehicle. utes later, one of Drillsons ran into a Liao ’Mech and
The other weapon systems on the Drillson are destroyed its legs. The other tanks immediately con-
fairly standard. The Hover Tech Short-Range Missile verged, opening fire on the crippled ’Mech and
Racks and the Light CrossBow Long-Range Missile destroying it. After using the ramming tactic several
Rack have been mounted on ’Mechs for years. The two more times, the Davions finally forced the Liao troops
Kicker Machine Guns are also a fairly standard design, to surrender.
using large-caliber ammunition at the expense of rate
of fire. VARIANTS
The most common variant of the Drillson
DEPLOYMENT
During an unsuccessful raid on Almach, several replaces the LRM 10 rack with more SRM 2 racks.
The laser is never removed because of the useful-
Liao BattleMechs found themselves backed into a ness of the Evil Eye.

DRILLSON HEAVY HOVER TANK VEHICLES 55

Type: Drillson Heavy Hover Tank Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Hover Rear
Tonnage: 50 tons Turret 25
Battle Value: 710 21/21
Weapons and Ammo
Equipment 215 Mass 1 Large Laser 20 Tonnage
Internal Structure: Fusion 5 2 SRM 2 25 5
Engine: 1 LRM 10 2
9 14.25 2 Machine Guns Location 5
Type: 14 Ammo (SRM) 50 Turret 1
Cruising MP: 10 0 Ammo (LRM) 12 Turret 1
Flank MP: 2.5 Ammo (MG) 100 Front 1
Heat Sinks: 112 5 Front .5
Control Equipment: 0 Body
Lift Equipment: .7 Body
Power Amplifier: 7 Body
Turret:
Armor Factor:

MAXIM HEAVY HOVER TRANSPORT 56

VEHICLES CAPABILITIES a continent to stop a ’Mech company from attacking
Unlike other infantry transports, the Maxim is the city of Indruston on the planet Dixie. Dropped off in
Mass: 50 tons a nearby forest, the infantry immediately set up every
Movement Type: Hover large and comfortable. The passengers have room to support weapon they had.
Power Plant: 165 PowerTech Highlift I.C.E move around, check weapons and discuss tactics.
Cruising Speed: 86.4 kph The seats are all padded and face toward the center Three days later, the enemy ’Mechs arrived. Fir-
Flank Speed: 129.6 kph of the vehicle so that the soldiers are relatively com- ing their heavy support weapons at extreme range,
Armor: ArcShield V Standard fortable, enabling them to talk to each other and the Lancers were able to immediately fell several
Armament: boost morale. ’Mechs. Unable to pinpoint the attackers, the ’Mechs
charged the woods to avoid further casualties and to
1 SureShot Mk VI SRM 6 A large number of weapons were mounted on the close with the invisible enemy. The infantry units dam-
3 Heavy Machine Guns Maxim for several reasons. First, infantry feel more aged several more ’Mechs before they reached the
3 LongFire V LRM 5s secure if their transport can defend itself while they woods. The remaining ’Mechs, however, destroyed
2 SureShot II SRM 2s are inside. Second, the Maxim can provide covering most of the infantry support weapons, As the infantry
Manufacturer: Maxim Transport Industries fire for exiting troops. Troops exiting a vehicle are easy pulled back, the ’Mechs came crashing though the
Primary Factory: Al Na’ir, Sian, Skye targets, and a transport that can fight back will dis- woods, firing at anything that moved. Hundreds of
Communications System: Maxim New Standard I/O courage most attackers. Third, once the Maxim has men were slaughtered while retreating from the
Targeting and Tracking System: Maxim New debarked its infantry, it can support other vehicles in marauders.
Standard TargetTrack combat. Although this is not standard procedure, the
Maxim carries enough firepower to make a difference. Just as the ’Mechs broke through the other side of
OVERVIEW the forest, however, they were immediately attacked by
Although there are many different styles of The weapons on the Maxim are arranged to give the 27 Maxim hovercraft that had transported the
a great deal of firepower in all directions. The long- infantry. After sustaining six losses, the ’Mech force
infantry transport available, commanders hate using range missile racks are mounted on the rear of the retreated back to its drop zone.
three or four vehicles to transport an infantry platoon hovercraft so that the back-blast will not affect exiting
during long trips. The Maxim Transport Hovercraft, troops. The four machine guns are fitted on dual VARIANTS
however, is large enough to carry a full platoon of mounts, one on either side of the SureShot VI Short- Most Maxim variants simply use different
infantry and their support weapons. In addition to Range Missile Launcher. This allows the Maxim to con-
infantry transport, the Maxim is also an excellent fire centrate the fire of its heaviest weapons on a single weapons systems. Preferring short-range missiles
platform. The Maxim mounts nine weapons and can target. over long-range missiles, some units replace the
provide indirect long-range, short-range and covering FarFire Racks with more or heavier SRM packs. More
fire for the infantry it transports. The lifting skirts of the hovercraft are specially weapons are occasionally added to the turret.
designed to deflate and lower when infantry are leav-
ing the craft. This means that the Maxim does not have
to shut down its engine in order to lower to ground
level, as most other hovercraft do.

DEPLOYMENT
Maxim hovercraft are a popular method of mass

transportation for troops. Each of the five Houses has
some Maxims, but House Steiner has the largest reg-
istered fleet. More than once, Steiner has used Maxim
hovercraft to transport infantry and support weapons
across long distances on a planet’s surface. On one
occasion, over 27 Maxims were used to transport an
entire infantry regiment of the Arcturan Lancers across

MAXIM HEAVY HOVER TRANSPORT VEHICLES 57

Type: Maxim Heavy Hover Transport Equipment (cont.) 88 Mass Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Lift Equipment: Armor 5 1 SRM 6 Turret 3
Movement Type: Hover Power Amplifier: Value 0 3 Machine Guns Turret 1.5
Tonnage: 50 tons Turret: .5 2 LRM 5 Front 4
Battle Value: 591 Armor Factor: 20 5.5 1 LRM 5 Rear 2
20/20 1 SRM 2 Left 1
Equipment 165 Mass Front 1 SRM 2 Right 1
Internal Structure: ICE 5 R/L Side 12 Ammo (SRM) 15 Body 1
Engine: 12 Rear 16 Ammo (SRM) 50 Body 1
8 Turret Ammo (LRM) 24 Body 1
Type: 12 0 Ammo (MG) 200 Body 1
Cruising MP: 0 2.5 Cargo (Infantry) Body 3
Flank MP:
Heat Sinks:
Control Equipment:

PLANETLIFTER AIR TRANSPORT 58

VEHICLES can also be quickly and safely loaded onto the Plan- reorganize themselves after the drop. The lance would
etlifter because the entire length of the upper fuselage then move to destroy the complexes. Afterward, they
Mass: 50 tons detaches from the lower fuselage. A Planetlifter lowers would rendezvous at a central point for pickup by the
Power Plant: GM 200 Turbine itself to ground level on its variable landing gear, DropShip. This strategy, O’Rielly explained, would not
Armor: Standard detaches the lower fuselage and then rolls away. The allow the Marik commander to concentrate his forces in
Armament: ’Mech to be transported lies down on top of the now- a timely manner and would allow the DropShip to land
exposed cargo bay floor and is secured by the ground and give support to any lance that got into trouble. Cas-
None crew. The aircraft then rolls back over the lower fuse- sion and Reynolds protested this new plan vigorously,
Manufacturer: Imstar Aerospace lage, attaches itself, and is ready to take off. An experi- but O’Rielly was adamant. When he threatened them
enced crew can land, load a Warhammer and take off with summary court-martial, they were forced to relent.
Primary Factory: Various again in under 15 minutes.
Communications System: IrianUHF Colonel Joseph Yetti was the commander of the
Targeting and Tracking System: None DEPLOYMENT 751st Jump Regiment and was assigned temporary con-
The most famous battle involving Planetlifters trol of the military defenses of Autumn Wind. When
OVERVIEW informed of the Steiner force moving toward the planet,
The Planetlifter is a typical example of a conven- occurred in 3002, when a Steiner raiding force attacked he quickly mustered the 751st, loaded them onto Plan-
the Marik planet of Autumn Wind. The Steiner task force etlifters, and moved the regiment to an assembly area
tional heavy transport aircraft. These craft are assigned consisted of the Union-class DropShip Bolan’s Blood equidistant from the four complexes. When the Steiner
directly to a planetary garrison commander, allowing and the ’Mech company Cassion’s Commandos. The drop began, Yetti loaded the 751st and hit the recon
him to quickly shift his combat assets from one battle- DropShip and Company Commanders, Commander lance just as they started to move from their drop zone.
field to another. This strategic mobility functions effec- Reynolds and Hauptmann Cassion, had been operating The other three lances continued their advance on the
tively as a force-multiplier, allowing a garrison to be together for the previous two years, ranging up and down other complexes, but the local militia slowed them down.
spread out for population control and as a counter to the Marik border and hitting one world after another. The Blood was ordered to land and support the recon
small-unit raids, but still able to concentrate quickly to lance. By the time it made planetfall, the lance had been
blunt major assaults. When they returned from their most recent mission, destroyed and its attackers had vanished. Even as the
the two commanders were met by their new Task Force Blood landed, the 751st was hitting the Commandos’
CAPABILITIES Commander, Leutnant Colonel O’Rielly, who had been Fire Lance. The Blood lifted again to support the stricken
The Marik-produced Planetlifter can carry up to 70 recently reassigned to combat duty from the Adminis- lance, but to no avail. They arrived too late.
trative Section. Leutnant Colonel O'Rielly explained their
tons of cargo. The forward armored section of the air- new mission—a deep penetration raid into Marik space. Two hours later, Cassion’s lance had been able to
craft can take up to 20 tons, while another 50 tons can Marik opposition was expected to be light: a few battal- brush aside the defending militia and move to within
be carried in an unprotected bay. The bulkhead separat- ions of locally raised militia, three Planetlifters and a reg- sight of its assigned complex. At that moment, two Plan-
ing the two areas is removable, to allow the aircraft to iment of jump infantry that was refitting. etlifters flew overhead, and two battalions of the 751st
carry loads that cannot be stored conveniently in one were floating down toward them. Cassion could take no
bay or the other. Cassion and Reynolds’s battle plan was based on more. He ordered his lance to break off and called in the
their two years’ of experience with raiding Marik hold- Blood to pick them up at a clearing ten kilometers to the
The loading procedures for a Planetlifter are ings. Autumn Wind possessed no space defense force north.
unique. Vehicles and infantry can load in the normal or conventional fighters, so the Blood would land direct-
manner, via cargo ramps in the tail or the nose. ’Mechs ly on the planet near the first industrial complex. The Yetti intercepted that signal and sent his final bat-
Commandos would disembark and destroy the complex talion in on the remaining Planetlifter to secure the land-
with fire support from the Blood. The ’Mech company ing zone. As the Blood started its final approach, it was
would then re-embark on the DropShip. A suborbital met by a barrage of missiles. One lucky hit later, the
flight would take the Blood to the next complex, and so Blood was a cripple on the ground. The command lance
on down the line. was able to fight its way clear to the DropShip, but there
was no way off the planet. Late that afternoon, Cassion’s
Much to the Hauptmann’s shock, Leutnant Colonel Commandos and the DropShip Bolan’s Blood surren-
O’Rielly rejected the plan and laid out his own. Each of dered to Colonel Yetti and the battered 751st Jump Reg-
the Commando lances would drop from space to land 20 iment.
kilometers away from their assigned complexes, then

PLANETLIFTER AIR TRANSPORT VEHICLES 59

Type: Planetlifter Air Transport Equipment (cont.) 5 Mass
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Structural Integrity: 0 0
Tonnage: 50 Heat Sinks: 2.5
Battle Value: 189 VSTOL Equipment: 320 2
Fuel: 5
Equipment 200 Turbine Mass Cockpit: 48 3
Engine: 4 17 Armor Factor: Armor
6 Value Tonnage
Safe Thrust: Nose 20
Max Thrust: Wings 22
Aft 7/7
12 Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV
Weapons and Ammo —— —— —
Cargo Location
Body

VEDETTE MEDIUM TANK 60

VEHICLES CAPABILITIES squared off against an equal number of ’Mechs. There
Unlike many modern military vehicles, the were more Vedettes than any other vehicle, and there
Mass: 50 tons were more 50-ton ’Mechs than any other type. Strictly
Movement Type: Tracked Vedette mounts only one main weapon. This does not on a tonnage basis, the battle was even.
Power Plant: 250 Locom-Pack InterComBust I.C.E. make it a less effective vehicle than a newer tank, but
Cruising Speed: 54.0 kph does reduce its ability to deal with a wide variety of The two sides moved into position inside one of
Flank Speed: 86.4 kph targets. The Vedette’s main weapon is the Armstrong Merak's major cities, but fighting did not break out until
Armor: ProtecTech 6 Standard J11 AutoCannon (identical to the one mounted on the both sides had surrounded several units of the other's
Armament: Shadow Hawk). The New Earth Trading Corporation forces. Again, the battle was even. Combat was heavy,
chose this weapon because it is weight-efficient, has and both sides took heavy casualties. With superior
1 Armstrong J11 Autocannon/5 excellent long-range capability and is easy to replace. maneuverability and firepower on the side of the
1 Scatter Gun Light Machine Gun The designers did try other weapons such as lasers ’Mechs, they gradually overtook the vehicle-equipped
Manufacturer: New Earth Trading Company and PPCs, but these did not fit well on the Vedette’s forces despite the rough battle they faced. Once the
Primary Factory: New Earth chassis. They also required heat sinks and power ’Mech forces had numerical superiority over the
Communications System: ComStar Rover amplifiers, neither of which were possible given the ground units, the balance of power quickly shifted. The
Targeting and Tracking System: ComStar Test-2 tank’s size. The ScatterGun is a small-caliber machine ’Mechs destroyed every tank around.
gun mounted in the bow of the tank in a mini-ball tur-
OVERVIEW ret, giving the driver an excellent arc of fire. It fires VARIANTS
The Vedette is one of the only vehicles produced shells at very high velocity, which compensates for its A popular variant of the Vedette mounts an AC/2
small caliber.
by the New Earth Trading Company. During the time in place of the AC/5 and adds a short-range missile
that New Earth was researching robotics, another sec- The Vedette’s main selling point is its speed, rack for short-range firepower. Another variant popular
tion of the company started producing military vehi- which is fast even for a medium tank. Most tank manu- with Liao troops replaces the autocannon with two
cles. The Vedette was the first and most popular of facturers ignore high speed for vehicles over 35 tons, medium lasers and six heat sinks.
these vehicles. The Vedette is a standard unit of mea- because engines rated 150 and higher are very ineffi-
sure among military crews. For example, most vehicle cient. The Vedette can use its speed to great effect by
crewmen will ask of a new tank, “How many Vedettes moving into optimum autocannon range, opening fire
do you figure that thing is equal to?” and then retreating as fast as possible to another fire
position. Most modern medium to heavy tanks do not
The Vedette has become a standard because it is use mobility as their main defense. They rely on heavy
a simple but effective vehicle. Mounting only one main armor and firepower to win the battle.
weapon and one secondary weapon, the Vedette is
considered to be a “typical” tank. The Vedette’s communication and tracking sys-
tems are ComStar originals. These were developed
especially for the New Earth Trading Corporation in
return for certain favors, such as food and supplies.
Unlike normal ComStar equipment, these two systems
have repair and service manuals available.

DEPLOYMENT
One of the battles that earned ’Mechs their repu-

tation as lords of the battlefield occurred at the Battle
of Merak in Marik space. There was a civil war going
on at the time, and several companies of vehicles

VEDETTE MEDIUM TANK VEHICLES 61

Type: Vedette Medium Tank Equipment (cont.) 96 Mass
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Turret: Armor 1
Movement Type: Tracked Armor Factor: Value 6
Tonnage: 50 tons
Battle Value: 229 Front 20 Tonnage
R/L Side 18/18 8
Equipment 250 Mass Rear .5
Internal Structure: ICE 5 Turret 20 1
Engine: 25 20 .5
5 Weapons and Ammo
Type: 8 0 1 Autocannon/5 Location
Cruising MP: 0 2.5 1 Machine Gun Turret
Flank MP: 0 Ammo (AC) 20 Front
Heat Sinks: 0 Ammo (MG) 100 Body
Control Equipment: Body
Lift Equipment:
Power Amplifier:

BULLDOG MEDIUM TANK 62

VEHICLES than a specialist at certain types of missions. Bulldog ever small Liao scout vehicles or medium hovertanks
Enterprises developed this tank’s large laser to lower discovered and overtook the Davion unit. These light
Mass: 60 tons their production costs by not having to purchase units were no match for either the tank’s large laser or
Movement Type: Tracked equipment from other companies. The laser is a fair- its two medium missile racks. The Liao vehicles all
Power Plant: 240 Bulldog I.C.E. ly typical design, using a powerful energy capacitor to managed to send radio messages to their fellow vehi-
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph release the energy held in a krypton gas container. cles before being destroyed, which resulted in the Liao
Flank Speed: 64.8 kph Other systems were tested, but the gas laser was the forces eventually cornering the Davion tank unit in a
Armor: Bulldog Standard most effective. rocky box canyon.
Armament:
Bulldog did not have the time or money to also Although the whole Liao force had not followed the
1 Bulldog Large Laser design the short-range missile racks so they made a Davion unit, there were enough medium and heavy
2 Hovertec Quad SRM 4s deal with Hover Tech, who provided Bulldog with the vehicles to ensure that the Bulldogs would not leave
1 Bulldog Minigun Machine Gun plans to produce the missile system. The Hovertec the box canyon alive. The Bulldog unit pulled back into
Manufacturer: Bulldog Enterprises Quad SRM system is used on many other vehicles, as as many defensive positions as the rocks would allow
Primary Factory: Proserpina, Ares well as on a few ’Mechs. The Bulldog Minigun is a and fired at anything that entered the canyon. Many
Communications System: Xilex-2000 small machine gun mounted on the bow of the tank. vehicles were destroyed in Davion laser and missile
Targeting and Tracking System: Xilex-2000 Like most miniguns, it sacrifices a heavy-caliber round crossfires, but ammunition shortage and attrition even-
for a high rate of fire. The driver controls the minigun. tually caught up with the Davion unit. All thirty-six tanks
OVERVIEW and their crews were destroyed.
Bulldog Enterprises is the manufacturer of this DEPLOYMENT
On a battle for the planet Rio, House Davion sent Davion reinforcements eventually arrived to drive
heavy tank as well as a successful manufacturer of off the Liao forces, but not soon enough to save the
non-military vehicles. In producing the Bulldog, the firm a battalion of Bulldogs to stop an invading Liao force. brave Bulldog crewmen. A marker was erected at the
was attempting to expand into new markets. The Bull- The commanders knew little about the Liao force aside site where the last Bulldog was destroyed, and each
dog did not cause much of a stir when it first became from its position, so when the Bulldog unit arrived, it crewman was posthumously promoted two ranks.
available as there were already so many heavy-class met with a nasty surprise—the unit had stumbled into
vehicles on the market. Although the tank mounts for- an assembly area containing over three battalions of VARIANTS
midable weaponry, it does not necessarily out perform vehicles and infantry. After the Bulldog commander Many Bulldog units need to have different types of
any other tank, and so has been only a marginal com- relayed this information to his superiors, he received a
mercial success. hastily devised plan to delay the Liao army until rein- firepower available to them, especially for long-range
forcements could arrive. fire. In such cases, two AC/2 and 135 rounds of ammu-
CAPABILITIES nition or an LRM 20 with 18 rounds of ammunition are
The Bulldog is considered a standard tank Ordering his unit into a line behind cover, he tar- the usual replacements for the large laser, power
geted what appeared to be the command center of the amplifier and heat sinks.
design. Mounting only one heavy weapon and a few invading horde. All thirty-six large lasers fired at once,
secondary weapons, it is a jack-of-all-trades rather nearly vaporizing the command post. The Davion com-
manders knew that this would not stop the Liao forces,
however, only delay them. After a few moments of
stunned silence, the Liao long-range missile units
began to fire blindly at the Davion battle line while
small, fast vehicles made their way out of the camp to
search for the unseen attackers. The Bulldog unit
immediately pulled out and headed toward a nearby
mountain range.

The Bulldog unit did its best to avoid fighting on
the way to the mountain rage. There were several small
engagements on the way to the range, however, when-

BULLDOG MEDIUM TANK VEHICLES 63

Type: Bulldog Medium Tank Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Tracked Rear
Tonnage: 60 tons Turret 24
Battle Value: 358 20/20
Weapons and Ammo
Equipment 240 Mass 1 Large Laser 20 Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 6 2 SRM 4 20 5
Engine: 23 1 Machine Gun 4
4 Ammo (SRM) 50 Location .5
Type: 6 8 Ammo (MG) 100 Turret 2
Cruising MP: 8 3 Turret .5
Flank MP: 0 Front
Heat Sinks: 104 .5 Body
Control Equipment: 1 Body
Lift Equipment: 6.5
Power Amplifier:
Turret:
Armor Factor:

HI-SCOUT DRONE CARRIER 64

VEHICLES war tool, and that scout ’Mechs would be the most The Hi-Scout’s MultiTrack Coordination System
expensive. This was because the scout ’Mechs would allows the vehicle to relay information from drone to
Mass: 60 tons always be assigned the most dangerous situations and drone, creating a “sensor chain” that increases detection
Movement Type: Tracked thus would suffer the highest attrition rates. ScolTeck range by over 100 percent. The only problem with this
Power Plant: 240 Vlar I.C.E decided early on to produce the most effective scout system is that some worlds have an unusual amount of
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph vehicle possible. Devoting all possible resources to background radiation that can interfere with the Multi-
Flank Speed: 64.8 kph developing sensor systems, ScolTeck released the Hi- Track. The Hi-Scout also contains normal communica-
Armor: ArcShield V Standard Scout Drone Carriers in the year 3000. tions systems that enable it to transmit over 500 differ-
Armament: ent channels, using all of them at the same time.
ScolTeck Hi-Scout Drone Carriers are used by the
1 SureShot II SRM 2 armies of nearly all the Successor States. Like many command-type vehicles, the Hi-Scout
Manufacturer: ScolTeck Associates carries a small self-defense weapon to discourage nosy
CAPABILITIES infantry units or light vehicles. The missile system uses
Primary Factory: Inarcs The Hi-Scout is the best detection unit available. the TacTex MiniFind as a guidance system.
Communications System: StealthMat-Q w/
With its StealthMat-Q Communications System, the Hi- DEPLOYMENT
MultiTrack Scout can find and identify enemy units on almost any As the Hi-Scout is not a combat vehicle, there are
Targeting and Tracking System: Tar Tec Mini-Find part of a planet without being detected itself. Its maxi-
mum detection range is 60 kilometers, although the use no outstanding combat reports. As a communications
OVERVIEW of the vehicle’s drone sensor units may increase this and detection vehicle, however, the Hi-Scout has proven
Intelligence gathering is a major part of any war. In range. The Hi-Scout has infrared, seismic, sound, to be invaluable. During a border raid into Davion space,
motion, radio, radar and hyperpulse detection systems. a Kurita attack group had to make a blind landing after
the early years of the Succession Wars, the only units The NapFind and PathTrack Sensor Drones use some the unit’s DropShip sensors were damaged. Fortunately
that could accurately gather information were scout of the most complex communications equipment ever for them, the unit had recently purchased a Hi-Scout
’Mechs, such as Stingers or Wasps. Though orbital intel- developed. The NapFind’s sensor range is 10 kilome- Drone Carrier with a full complement of sensor-drones.
ligence was the most effective means of gaining infor- ters, and the PathTrack’s sensor range is 20 kilometers. The Kuritans immediately dispatched the drones on
mation, it was often defeated by enemy jamming sys- recon missions.
tems or simply attacking the scanning DropShip. The NapFind drone uses a skirtless hover system,
the most advanced lift system available in the Inner When the drones reported back hours later, they
Many military vehicle manufacturers accurately Sphere. Developed in conjunction with other military had very little information about enemy activity. Wonder-
predicted that the ’Mech would soon become a costly vehicle manufacturers, the system employs something ing what could have gone wrong, the Hi-Scout's com-
called a “venturi-disk,” the details of which have not been mander patched his StelthMat-Q into the Davion com-
released to the public. The NapFind sensor system is munications satellite system to increase the Hi-Scout's
one of the most advanced available, using infrared, seis- base range from 60 kilometers to 600 kilometers. The
mic, sound and motion detection systems. attack group immediately reported to the unit comman-
der that they had landed on the wrong side of the plan-
The PathTrack is a tracked drone similar in design et and that the original Kurita forces, previously under
to the NapFind, except that it has more powerful detec- radio silence, were victorious.
tion systems. The PathTrack has all the detection capa-
bilities of the NapFind, but can also detect and inter-
cept radio transmissions and relay them back.

HI-SCOUT DRONE CARRIER VEHICLES 65

Type: Hi-Scout Drone Carrier 240 Mass Type: Hi-Scout Drone (PathTrack) 25 Mass Type: Hi-Scout Drone (NapFind) 10 Mass
Technology Base: Inner Sphere ICE 6 Technology Base: Inner Sphere ICE .30 Technology Base: Inner Sphere ICE .2
Movement Type: Wheeled 23 Movement Type: Tracked 1 Movement Type: Hover 25 1
Tonnage: 60 tons 4 Tonnage: 3 tons 8 Tonnage: 2 tons 38
Battle Value: 126 6 0 Battle Value: 11 12 0 Battle Value: 2 0
0 3 0 .15 0 .1
Equipment 0 Equipment 0 Equipment .2
Internal Structure: 88 0 Internal Structure: 8 0 Internal Structure: 0 0
Engine: Armor .5 Engine: Armor .3 Engine: Armor 0
Value 5.5 Value 0 Value 0
Type: Type: .5 Type:
Cruising MP: 18 Tonnage Cruising MP: 2 Cruising MP: 0 Tonnage
Flank MP: 18/18 1 Flank MP: 2/2 Tonnage Flank MP: 0/0 .5
Heat Sinks: 5 Heat Sinks: 2 .75 Heat Sinks: 0
Control Equipment: 16 9 Control Equipment: Control Equipment:
Lift Equipment: 18 6 Lift Equipment: Lift Equipment: Location
Power Amplifier: 1 Power Amplifier: Power Amplifier: Body
Turret: Location Remote: Turret:
Armor Factor: Turret Turret: Armor Factor:
Body Armor Factor:
Front Body Front
R/L Side Body Front R/L Side
Rear Body R/L Side Rear
Turret Rear
Weapons and Ammo
Weapons and Ammo Weapons and Ammo Location Remote & Sensor Equipment
1 SRM 2 Remote & Sensor Equipment Body
Sensor/Communication Eq.
Three (3) Tracked Drones
Three (3) Hover Drones
Ammo (SRM) 50

LRM/SRM CARRIER 66

VEHICLES to protect the crew and critical components from the destroyed in the first salvo of missiles. The second and
missile’s back blast. third salvoes took out the other half.
Mass: 60 tons
Movement Type: Tracked A barrage fired from a missile carrier is a fear- In another instance, a large unit of House Liao
Power Plant: 180 InterComBust I.C.E some sight. One vehicle can launch 60 missiles every LRM 5 carriers, five ammo trucks and several light
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph ten seconds and most carry enough ammunition to ’Mechs were attacking the Marik world of Harsefeld.
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph keep up that rate of fire up for over a minute. The num- Their mission was to capture an important storehouse
Armor: Simple Armor Plate Standard ber and size of the missiles that a lorry can mount being guarded by infantry and tanks. When the Liao
Armament: depend on its own size. The actual missiles used vary forces arrived, the Marik troops were expecting them
according to which House owns the vehicle. For exam- and opened fire from emplacements set up long before
3 FarFire LRM 20s (LRM Carrier) ple, Davion troops may use DeltaDart LRMs and Hov- the battle.
10 Holly SRM 6s (SRM Carrier) erTech SRMs, while Kurita forces may use Shigunga
Manufacturer: Various LRMs and NCK SRMs. Seeing that their ’Mechs would not be able to get
Primary Factory: Various close to the small town and storehouse, the Liao com-
Communications System: Communicator DEPLOYMENT mander ordered the LRM units to set up behind a tall
Targeting and Tracking System: FireScan with House Liao is a heavy user both of long- and ridge line where they could use indirect fire to weaken
IndirecTrack the town. Within a minute and a half, they had fired
short-range missile support units. During a Davion raid 2400 missiles at their targets. Ten minutes later, the
OVERVIEW on the Liao planet of St. Ives, Davion troops were trav- carriers were reloaded and rained another 2400 mis-
Ever since the development of the first rocket cen- eling through a narrow pass in order to reach their siles on the town. After the smoke cleared, the Marik
objective. According to their intelligence, no Liao commander surrendered without ever firing a shot.
turies ago, military units have used mobile missile sys- ’Mechs were around but there would be some defend-
tems to provide cheap and effective fire support. The ing troops. What the Davion invaders did not know was VARIANTS
Long-Range Missile Carrier and the Short-Range Mis- that there were ten short-range missile carriers and The only variation on a weapon system as simple
sile Carrier are two typical examples of missile support four platoons of infantry guarding the pass. The
units. Manufactured by almost every major military infantry retreated up the pass to draw the Davion as a missile carrier is the name of the manufacturer that
supplier, these vehicles are found in every army of the troops in, then the short-range missile carriers imme- happened to produce it. Though other types of support
Inner Sphere. diately opened fire. Of the original one hundred Davion units do exist including AC/2 and laser carriers, they are
tanks that entered the pass, fifty were disabled or far from being as effective as missile carriers.
CAPABILITIES
The chassis for missile carriers vary in basic

design, but they are all essentially military transport
lorries adapted to carry the huge missile launchers and
loading equipment. Those adaptations generally con-
sist of reinforcing the suspension systems and armor-
ing the crew and critical components areas. The armor
is not to protect the vehicle from enemy fire, but rather

LRM/SRM CARRIER VEHICLES 67

Type: LRM Carrier 180 Mass Type: SRM Carrier 180 Mass Front Armor Tonnage
Technology Base: Inner Sphere ICE 6 Technology Base: Inner Sphere ICE 6 R/L Side Value 30
Movement Type: Tracked 14 Movement Type: Tracked 14 Rear 4
Tonnage: 60 tons 3 Tonnage: 60 tons 3 12
Battle Value: 693 5 0 Battle Value: 676 5 0 Weapons and Ammo 12/12
0 3 0 3 10 SRM 6
Equipment 0 Equipment 0 Ammo (SRM) 60 12
Internal Structure: 48 0 Internal Structure: 48 0
Engine: Armor 0 Engine: 0 Location
Value 3 3 Front
Type: Type: Body
Cruising MP: 12 Cruising MP:
Flank MP: 12/12 Flank MP:
Heat Sinks: Heat Sinks:
Control Equipment: 12 Control Equipment:
Lift Equipment: Lift Equipment:
Power Amplifier: Power Amplifier:
Turret: Turret:
Armor Factor: Armor Factor:

Front
R/L Side
Rear

Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
3 LRM 20 Front 30
Ammo (LRM) 24 Body 4

MANTICORE HEAVY TANK 68

VEHICLES situation. Because it is so useful, the Manticore is one Both sides staged a momentary retreat, then
of the few fusion-powered vehicles whose power plant moved back into fighting positions. This time the Stein-
Mass: 60 tons has not been appropriated to supply ’Mech forces. The er defense forces were more wary of the Kurita
Movement Type: Tracked tank’s main weapon is the Parti-Kill PPC. Unlike other ’Mechs, using their long-range missiles for indirect fire
Power Plant: 240 Pitban Fusion particle cannons, the Parti-Kill does not use an energy instead of trying to move in close for an attack with the
Cruising Speed: 43.2 kph collection capacitor or similar chamber. Instead, it uses shorter-range weapons. Most of this fire was concen-
Flank Speed: 64.8 kph a series of magnetic collection bottles that gather their trated on the Kurita long-range firepower ’Mechs, such
Armor: ArcShield Maxi II Standard energy straight from the fusion reactor. These energies as Archers and Trebuchets. At the end of this second
Armament: are then channeled through a larger magnetic bottle engagement, the Kurita forces had lost six ’Mechs
and released from the cannon. This fires an energy while the Steiner forces had lost only five Manticores.
1 Parti-Kill Heavy Cannon PPC “shell” that loses cohesion and disintegrates at 540
1 SureShot Mk VI SRM 6 meters. The Parti-Kill’s bolts are unstable at ranges Seeing that they could no longer rely on long-
1 FarFire LRM 10 under 90 meters. range firepower, the Kurita forces moved in as quickly
1 OMI HighBurn Medium Laser as possible and attacked the Steiner Manticores. This
Manufacturer: TechniCorp / Jalstar Aerospace The Manticore’s next main weapon is its SureShot was the most effective tactic against the defending
Primary Factory: Hesperus II, Armistar Mk VI SRM rack. The weapon is mounted on top of the units because it prevented them from bringing the
Communications System: O/P R Janxiir main turret, just above and behind the particle cannon. power of their main gun to bear on the close targets.
Targeting and Tracking System: TargiTrack 717 It is mounted on vertical and horizontal swivel mounts, Although eight ’Mechs were destroyed, the Steiner
giving the pack a full 120-degree arc of fire indepen- forces lost over 20 tanks.
OVERVIEW dent of the turret.
The Manticore is one of the best-designed and Luckily for the remaining Manticore units, the Kuri-
The Manticore is capable of indirect fire with its ta commander considered his losses were too high to
most powerful tanks ever created. The vehicle is most FarFire Medium Missile Rack. Like most long-range continue the fight even though he had severely crip-
commonly seen among the forces of Houses Steiner missile units, the Manticore’s missiles are patched pled the Steiner defenders. The Kuritans pulled back
and Kurita, though the tank also sees service among through a complex series of fire-control systems that and left the planet.
the armies of the other three Houses. Although the can track targets over any type terrain. The TargiTrack
Manticore mounts a variety of weapons and is heavily 717 Targeting System gives the tank the ability to com- VARIANTS
armored for a vehicle of its weight, it is not equipped to bine its fire simultaneously with other missile units to TechniCorp does not allow purchasers of the Man-
deal with super-heavy vehicles, such as the Demolish- maximize the effectiveness of a missile strike against a
er or the Behemoth. The tank was simply not designed particular target. ticore to make any modifications. Any tampering or
to be a stand-up fighter. exchanging of Manticore equipment immediately voids
DEPLOYMENT the service contract, and TechniCorp will make no
CAPABILITIES The Manticore has proven itself to be a tough repairs on a modified vehicle. Strangely enough, most
Mounting a large variety of weapon systems, the customers respect this restriction.
fighting vehicle, even against superior odds. On one of
Manticore is capable of handling almost any combat the many battles for the planet Morningside, a unit of
invading Kurita BattleMechs was intercepted by a
small Steiner Manticore force. The Steiner troops knew
the surrounding terrain better than the invading forces,
but the Kurita unit was better equipped.

The battle started out as a meeting engagement
between the two sides. The Manticores fired on the
’Mechs with their PPCs and long-range missiles.
Momentarily shaken, the Kurita forces staged a with-
drawal only to regroup and turn back to fight the tanks.
Three Steiner ’Mechs and over ten tanks were
destroyed in this first engagement.

Type: Manticore Heavy Tank
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Movement Type: Tracked
Tonnage: 60 tons
Battle Value: 619

Equipment 240 Mass Equipment (cont.) 176 Mass Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
Internal Structure: Fusion 6 Power Amplifier: Armor 0 1 PPC Turret 7
Engine: Turret: Value 1.5 1 SRM 6 Turret 3
4 17.5 Armor Factor: 11 1 LRM 10 Turret 5
Type: 6 42 1 Medium Laser Front 1
Cruising MP: 13 3 Front 33/33 Ammo (SRM) 15 Body 1
Flank MP: 3 R/L Side Ammo (LRM) 12 Body 1
Heat Sinks: 0 Rear 26
Control Equipment: Turret 42
Lift Equipment:

PIKE SUPPORT VEHICLE 70

VEHICLES harassing ’Mechs, especially ’Mechs like the Archer, exported into the Inner Sphere and nearly impossible
whose main weapon is long-range missiles. to find a buyer for untried military vehicles. ComStar
Mass: 60 tons was the first customer for the Pike.
Movement Type: Tracked CAPABILITIES
Power Plant: 180 Jones w. EmissionKill I.C.E. The Pike is the closest a military unit can get to The ComStar Pikes were distributed among vari-
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph ous worlds whose hyperpulse generators were con-
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph having a short-range artillery weapon without having to sidered at risk. One of these dangerous areas was
Armor: StarSlab/9 Standard purchase Snipers or Long Toms. Although Snipers or near Santander V, homeworld of the bandit king Hel-
Armament: Long Toms do more damage, they are usually in great mar Valasek. Valasek carried out raids against this
demand, hard-to-find and very expensive. planet but because he was looking for water and
3 ZeusBolt Autocannon/2s ’Mech parts, not hyperpulse generators. Unfortunate-
2 Marklin Mini Missile Pack SRM 2s The three ZeusBolt Long-Range Guns give the ly for ComStar, Valasek always managed to stumble
Manufacturer: Canopus Industries Alpha Pike the longest range-weapon capability on the bat- across the generator no matter where it was moved.
Primary Factory: Canopus tlefield. The three guns are mounted in one turret and After becoming weary of recapturing the generator
Communications System: Magestrix Alpha share the same targeting and tracking system. This from bandit troops, ComStar moved a number of
Targeting and Tracking System: Magestrix Gamma unique system tracks the flight path of the shells for all Pikes onto the planet for defense.
three guns at once, automatically adjusting for azimuth
OVERVIEW and elevation. This makes the ZeusBolt 74.3 percent Months later, Valasek once again raided the plan-
The Pike Long-Range Support Vehicle is one of more accurate than any similar system available. et for water and found the generator. This time, howev-
er, Pike units guarded the generator. At the approach
the first produced in the Magistracy of Canopus, locat- The main drawback of the Pike, however, is ironi- of the incoming bandit forces, the Pikes fired at long
ed along the rim of the Free Worlds League. The cally its main weapon. For all their vaunted accuracy, range. This took the bandits by surprise and threw
Magestrix, the leader of Canopus, commissioned the the three ZeusBolt Long-Range Guns do not inflict them into confusion, which allowed the Pikes to fire on
Pike along with several other vehicles in 2987, in much damage. Indeed, a hit from a ZeusBolt Gun is the raiders again and again. By the time they were able
hopes of bringing more trade into her relatively impov- equivalent to the hit of a machine-gun shot or one to reorganize and close into effective range, the Pikes
erished domain. Like many other vehicle producers, short-range missile hit. To compensate for this, the had destroyed several ’Mechs. Deciding to cut their
she surmised that eventually the Lords of the five Suc- engineers of Canopus Industries Alpha gave the Pike losses, the bandits withdrew. Since that battle, no fur-
cessor Houses would not be able to resupply and over 200 rounds of ammunition. This allows the tank to ther raids have been carried out against the ComStar
maintain the immense ’Mech armies they were throw- fire more times at a target and presumably do more installation.
ing away on useless border skirmishes. Kyalla was will- damage. The Pike is also equipped with two small
ing to produce and sell military vehicles to the Lords short-range missile racks for self-defense. These
until they could no longer field their full ’Mech strength, SRMs can fire accurately at targets at ranges of 120
while she saved her own ’Mechs for a later time. meters or less, which would be difficult, even futile, for
the ZeusBolt.
The Pike’s main function on a battlefield include
destroying small vehicles and infantry units and The Pike’s engine is equipped with the Emis-
sionKill system. This device cuts down on the exhaust
emissions given off by the 14-ton engine, theoretically
making it difficult to see the Pike in infrared. Pike crews
are not convinced, however, that the system works.
They also claim that the EmissionKill system drastical-
ly increases the tank's fuel consumption. Most crews
remove the EmissionKill system the first chance that
they get.

DEPLOYMENT
Although the Pike is 38 years old, it has not seen

much combat use. It is difficult enough getting goods

Type:Pike Support Vehicle Equipment (cont.) 144 Mass
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Armor Factor: Armor 9
Movement Type: Tracked Value
Tonnage: 60 tons Front Tonnage
Battle Value: 334 R/L Side 33 18
Rear 25/25 2
Equipment 180 Mass Turret 5
Internal Structure: ICE 6 25 1
Engine: 14 Weapons and Ammo 36
3 3 Autocannon/2
Type: 5 0 2 SRM 2 Location
Cruising MP: 0 3 Ammo (AC) 225 Turret
Flank MP: 0 Ammo (SRM) 50 Front
Heat Sinks: 0 Body
Control Equipment: 2 Body
Lift Equipment:
Power Amplifier:
Turret:

MONITOR NAVAL VESSEL 72

VEHICLES CAPABILITIES In mid 3025, a full-scale rebellion broke out on the
In commercial interstellar trade, a planet usually Kurita-occupied planet of Verthandi. In the first month
Mass: 75 tons of the rebellion, a Kurita Monitor named the
Movement Type: Surface Naval imports only the components that it cannot manufac- Vengeance was docked at Port Gaspin. When a load of
Power Plant: 195 I.C.E. ture locally to produce a particular item. For example, food and ammunition arrived, the stevedores carried it
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph a planet with a viable light industrial base might only aboard. These dock-workers were actually a rebel
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph import computer chips and monitors, with its local firms squad under the leadership of Frances Marrion, most
Armor: Standard manufacturing keyboards and housings. Later on, all recently an art student at the University of Regis.
Armament: the components are assembled to produce personal
computers. Though this subassembly method of pro- Frances and her men overpowered the Kurita
2 Autocannon/20s duction is very cost-efficient, it has only rarely been crew and steamed upriver in the Vengeance. Over the
3 SRM 2s used to produce armaments. next three months, Marrion and the now-renamed
Manufacturer: Nav Hull Swamp Fox terrorized the Kurita troops trying to
Primary Factory: New Samarkand Nav Hull decided that if this practice was so suc- restore order to the Silvan Basin. The Swamp Fox
Communications System: Various cessful for commercial products, it might also work well might be seen coming out of the morning fog to shell
Targeting and Tracking System: Various for its naval patrol vessels. The company markets the a Kurita warehouse or troop barracks. Troops using
Monitor in kit form to planets able to manufacture a the captured jump packs would land in the midst of a
OVERVIEW standard displacement hull and to supply the neces- Kurita morning formation, kill the troops, and then
Though most planets in the Inner Sphere are sary internal combustion engine and power system. rocket out before the enemy could react. Within four
The Nav Hull kit contains armor plating, a communica- months, the Basin and the river were totally in rebel
water-poor, many of the heavily populated or industri- tions package, complete navalized Demolisher turret hands, leaving only the city of Regis still in the hands
alized worlds tend to be water-rich. Large population and detailed instructions on how to assemble the kit on of the Combine.
and industrial centers often spring up along rivers and a variety of hull shapes.
deltas. River commerce becomes a major factor in the The Swamp Fox and Frances Marrion were killed
economic growth of the planet and thus a target for mil- The Monitor is a formidable craft. Drawing only a just before the start of the new year. The Draconis
itary action. Swamps and deltas also provide refuge to half-meter of water, it can freely travel through many Combine had ordered in four ’Mech regiments and
guerrillas and any remnants of whatever army last river channels that more conventional craft could not twelve regiments of supporting troops to put down the
occupied the planet, because ’Mechs and other land- navigate. The armor plating is proof against any type of rebellion. Their first order of business was to destroy
bound vehicles find such terrain impassable. To control weapon, whether wielded by guerrillas or ’Mechs. Its the Swamp Fox, using a supply depot near the river to
these vital arteries of commerce and deny guerrillas a two 185mm cannons are able to sink another vessel in serve as bait. As the Swamp Fox came into firing
sanctuary, planetary garrisons use heavily armed river one salvo. For close-in defense in the confines of a range, four ’Mechs that had been hidden underwater
and coastal patrol craft. narrow river, the vessel carries three sets of SRM 2s. stood up, blocking all retreat. In the ensuing battle, two
Kurita Marauders were destroyed and one Shadow
For the most part, these craft are little more than The Monitor is a slow craft, however, with a top Hawk was crippled. Despite battling valiantly, however,
field conversions of commercial river boats. Some spe- speed of only 54 kph. Though this is sufficient to over- the Swamp Fox and her crew were sent to the bottom.
cially designed patrol craft have also entered service, haul most commercial barges and rivercraft, a faster
however; the Monitor produced by Nav Hull is an guerrilla ship might be able to outdistance it. For this Type: Monitor Naval Vesse
example of just such a surface naval vessel. reason, the Monitor carries a reinforced squad of jump
troops. If needed, the jump troops can launch directly
up from their compartment via deck hatches. As Nav
Hull’s Monitor kits have sold so well, the firm intends to
expand into other forms of naval vessels.

DEPLOYMENT
Monitor duty can be boring and definitely non-

heroic, for no great glory usually comes from sitting
behind one meter of armor plating and blasting a
wooden barge to kindling. One Monitor, however, has
managed to achieve quite a reputation during its
brief career.

Type: Monitor Naval Vessel Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Surface Naval Rear
Tonnage: 75 tons Turret 22
Battle Value: 571 22 / 22
Weapons and Ammo
Equipment 195 Mass 2 Autocannon/20 22 Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 7.5 1 SRM 2 40 28
Engine: 16 1 SRM 2 1
3 1 SRM 2 Location 1
Type: 5 0 Ammo (AC) 15 Turret 1
Cruising MP: 0 4 Ammo (SRM) 50 Right 3
Flank MP: 0 Cargo (Jump Infantry) Left 1
Heat Sinks: 128 0 Rear 1.5
Control Equipment: 3 Body
Lift Equipment: 8 Body
Power Amplifier: Body
Turret:
Armor Factor:

DEMOLISHER HEAVY TANK 74

VEHICLES squat, four-tread model is the one most often thought support vehicles or light ’Mechs to help fight, and so
of as a Demolisher to this day. Aldis Industries soon the heavy tank became known for its ability to destroy
Mass: 80 tons released the Demolisher Mk II, however, a shorter ver- anything on the battlefield, earning its title as the
Movement Type: Tracked sion with a better suspension system and only two “’Mech Slayer.”
Power Plant: 240 GM Superload I.C.E. tread units.
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph Early in the First Succession War, an unknown
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph CAPABILITIES ’Mech force attacked the storehouse on the Kurita
Armor: Durandal 160 Standard The Demolisher is an efficient battle machine. Its planet Kessel. At the time, the Kurita ’Mech forces nor-
Armament: mally stationed there had moved off to attack a Stein-
two turret-mounted 185mm guns use a popular pro- er world, leaving a lance of Demolishers as the only
2 185mm ChemJet Gun Autocannon/20s pellant system that mixes two chemicals in suspension defensive units. The invaders’ force was composed of
Manufacturer: Aldis Industries to propel the huge shells out of the barrel. In the origi- four light ’Mechs, two medium ’Mechs and two assault
nal model, this system produced an enormous amount ’Mechs. Acting on information that the normal defen-
Primary Factory: Terra of heat, so the chassis was modified to act as a sive force had gone, the attackers believed that their
Communications System: Omicron 5000 makeshift heat-sink system. Until the appearance of token force would be sufficient to destroy any opposi-
Targeting and Tracking System: Omicron VII the Demolisher Mk II, crew members had to wear spe- tion.
cial coolant suits because of the unbearably hot tem-
OVERVIEW peratures inside of the tank during a sustained fire- Overconfident, the attacking forces first moved in
Since its introduction into combat, the Demolish- fight. The Mk II solved the problem by channeling most one of their assault ’Mechs to scare any defending
of the ejection gases out the barrel. troops into surrender. Unfortunately, this plan back-
er Heavy Tank has earned a reputation as one of the fired. All four of the Demolisher crews fired at the huge
most deadly vehicles on the battlefield. Although Another problem with the original Demolisher was ’Mech at once and destroyed it outright. Seeing one of
frightened enemy troops have often exaggerated that its targeting, tracking, and communications sys- their number so quickly defeated, the other invader
their reports, the Demolisher is definitely a superb tems drew too much power from the main battery. To ’Mechs regrouped and attacked in waves, hoping to
battle machine. compensate, the Aldis engineers first designed mas- wear down the opposition. This worked no better than
sive power amplifiers to be installed as part of the the previous plan, however; as soon as two or three of
The Demolisher was the first heavy tank produced engine. Their next attempt to solve the problem pro- the charging ’Mechs came into range, the four Demol-
by Aldis Industries and still is the most popular. The duced a smaller, more efficient engine with internal ishers destroyed them before they could inflict enough
Aldis engineers conceived of the Demolisher project in power amplifiers. Though this engine was no larger damage to take out even one of the heavy tanks. Even-
the early days of the Succession Wars as a solution to than a normal one of the same horsepower, its cost tually, the remains of the invading ’Mech force decided
the ’Mech technology problem. The Aldis designers was significantly higher. With the eventual develop- it was wiser to depart the planet, but not before a lucky
hoped to create a vehicle heavy enough to destroy any ment of more power-efficient tracking and communica- head shot destroyed the attackers’ second assault
’Mech, which they could sell to the worlds unable to tion systems, however, the Demolisher became 'Mech.
afford ’Mech forces. equipped with a regular engine.
VARIANTS
The first line of Demolishers was an amazing suc- The number of crew in a Demolisher varies. There are no known variants of the Demolisher,
cess. Many worlds not protected by standing ’Mech Sometimes, there is a commander, a driver, two gun-
armies bought hundreds of Demolishers. This tall, ners, two loaders and one communications/engineer although some troops will remove armor and install
crewman. Other times the commander acts as the dri- small defensive weapons if there are enemy infantry
ver. There are even versions that have only one gunner and small vehicles nearby. Aldis Industries offers a
and no loaders. The number of crewmen in the tank variety of Demolisher “update” packages that improve
depends on when it was produced. The newer the the capabilities of the tank. The most popular updates
model, the less crew it will have. are automatic shell-loaders and a combination com-
mander/gunner position.
DEPLOYMENT
As with any military vehicle, the battle history of

the Demolisher is a mix of victories and defeats. Most
worlds that bought the Demolisher did not buy any

Type: Demolisher Heavy Tank Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Tracked Rear
Tonnage: 80 tons Turret 40
Battle Value: 609 30/30
Weapons and Ammo
Equipment 240 Mass 2 Autocannon/20 20 Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 8 Ammo (AC) 20 40 28
Engine: 23 4
3 Location
Type: 5 Turret
Cruising MP: 0 Body
Flank MP:
Heat Sinks: 160 0
Control Equipment: 4
Lift Equipment: 0
Power Amplifier: 0
Turret: 3
Armor Factor: 10

PARTISAN HEAVY TANK 76

VEHICLES CAPABILITIES es. The fighters had been sent as part of a raiding force
The Partisan’s anti-aircraft weapons consist of that was harassing several nearby planets. The Davion
Mass: 80 tons units on the other planets were attempting to fight off
Movement Type: Tracked four medium autocannon mounted on a quad turret. what looked like major assaults. These attacks were
Power Plant: 240 Internal Combustion I.C.E. Though no different than other guns of the same size, only decoys, however, sent out to lure Davion ’Mechs
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph these weapons fire shells unlike those of other com- away from the Galtor storehouses.
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph bat weapons. Most similar guns use regular-impact
Armor: StarSlab/7 Standard explosives, while the Partisan’s guns fire proximity- The Kurita fighters were not trying to destroy the
Armament: fused rounds. This type of ammunition explodes when storehouse; rather, they were trying to disable the
it gets within five to ten meters of an airborne target, defending units so that infantry could move in and take
4 Flak Autocannon/5s which gives the whole system better accuracy than a the warehouse by storm. The only weapons the fight-
2 Auto Guns Machine Guns normal gun shooting at aircraft. ers could use without danger of hitting the warehouse
Manufacturer: Kallon Industries were their long-and short-range missiles. The only
Primary Factory: Loyalty, Kirklin, Nanking Another difference between the Partisan and defensive units guarding the storehouses were ten
Communications System: JoLex Systems other gun carriers is the AntiAir Flak Systems-1 track- Partisan anti-aircraft vehicles. These vehicles had set
Targeting and Tracking System: AntiAir Flak ing and targeting equipment. This system can track up up in prepared emplacements that left only their turrets
Systems-1 to 200 targets at once, determine the range to each, and miniguns showing. When the Shilones attacked,
and then fire at the optimum target. The gunner is the Partisans were ready.
OVERVIEW equipped with a Target Identification Screen (TIS) that
One of the most destructive weapons on the bat- read out a list of targets, starting with the closest and The first attack wave came and went quickly, scor-
ending with the farthest. Using a simple light-pen sys- ing only rare hits on the Partisans. The next attack
tlefield is the strafing or bombing aerospace fighter. To tem, the gunner can override the computer’s fire wave came moments later, but now the fighters were
counteract these attacks, many companies produce orders with his own. (The gunner can also remove the more cautious They did score several minor hits
some type of anti-aircraft system. Two of the most pop- TIS from the Partisan and use it up to 20 meters away against the Partisan line, but the ground guns
ular are the Rifleman and JagerMech BattleMechs pro- from the vehicle.) destroyed two of the fighters.
duced by Kallon Industries. These two ’Mechs are
powerful AA systems because they can each deliver The Partisan’s targeting equipment also has an Though the Kurita commander could not afford to
such a large volume of accurate fire. optional fire switch that allows it to fire at ground tar- lose any more fighters, his orders were to destroy the
gets. When engaged with battlefield targets, the gun- defending units, no matter what the cost. He knew that
Kallon no longer has the facilities to produce as ner always chooses this option; while overridden, the taking out those anti-aircraft guns would require that
many ’Mechs as they formerly did, so they hoped to meet computer will not switch back to anti-aircraft. As the his fighters hold nothing back, so he ordered his fight-
the demand for anti-aircraft systems to replace the dam- computer does not have an identification system for ers to attack full force. On the next attack run, the Par-
aged or destroyed AA ’Mechs already in use. They filled ground targets as it does for flying targets, the gunner tisan unit destroyed over a dozen fighters, while the
the gap with the development of the Partisan Heavy must use the system’s sights to engage those targets. fighters destroyed only two anti-aircraft guns. The prox-
Tank. The Partisan uses four long-range autocannon of When the Partisan is firing at ground targets, the shells imity-fused shells of the Partisan’s guns continually
the same design found on both the Rifleman and the of the four guns are automatically disarmed of their destroyed the missiles fired by the Shilones, and the
JagerMech. Providing good firepower with long range is proximity fuses, making them normal-impact rounds. heavy emplacements stopped their lasers. After two
what makes these guns so effective against aircraft. more unsuccessful runs, the Shilone commander
Another feature built into the fire-control system is retreated what was left of his flight. No reinforcements
a datalink that allows several Partisans to act as one were called for, and no other attacks were made.
large anti-aircraft unit. All the computers hook into one
large net that picks the best possible targets shown on VARIANTS
all the radar screens. The computer then fires at either There are two popular variants on the Partisan.
the most threatening target or the most dangerous
group of targets. The first replaces the AC/5s with AC/2s, thus extend-
ing the vehicle’s range by 180 meters. A second vari-
DEPLOYMENT ant replaces the AC/5s with long-range missile racks.
A famous Davion battle involving a line of Parti- The latter modification is not always as effective
because its targeting and tracking system has trouble
sans using datalink occurred on Galtor, when a flight of coordinating each missile’s trajectory.
Kurita Shilone fighters attacked a group of storehous-

Type: Partisan Heavy Tank Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Tracked Rear
Tonnage: 80 tons Turret 22
Battle Value: 420 18/18
Weapons and Ammo
Equipment 240 Mass 4 Autocannon/5 16 Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 8 2 Machine Guns 22 32
Engine: 23 Ammo (AC) 40 1
3 Ammo (MG) 100 Location 2
Type: 5 0 Turret .5
Cruising MP: 0 4 Front
Flank MP: 0 Body
Heat Sinks: 96 0 Body
Control Equipment: 3.5
Lift Equipment: 6
Power Amplifier:
Turret:
Armor Factor:

SCHREK PPC CARRIER 78

VEHICLES tial buyers are put off by the cost, however, and the use DEPLOYMENT
of a viable fusion power plant. Many argue that they On one occasion, an undisclosed invader
Mass: 80 tons can purchase a much more effective ’Mech for the
Movement Type: Tracked price. Only time will prove the commercial viability of attacked Butte Hold, home world of Periphery bandit
Power Plant: 240 GoreTex Fusion this deadly vehicle. king Redjack Ryan. While Ryan and his troops were
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph away from the planet, the unknown attackers began
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph CAPABILITIES to raid several outposts. Once they had stolen
Armor: ArcShield VII Mk 5 Standard On the battlefield, the Schrek’s main function is to enough of Ryan’s equipment and supplies, they set
Armament: up a semi-permanent campsite just outside a major
act as long-range heavy fire support to vehicles and city. It was obvious to the city forces that an attack
3 HellStar PPCs ’Mechs. Its three HellStar PPCs allow the vehicle to was being prepared.
Manufacturer: Aldis Industries engage and destroy practically any unit in combat.
Light ’Mechs may be able to close with the Schrek, but Fortunately, the city defense force had acquired
Primary Factory: Terra one hit from its PPCs can usually disable or kill any- several Schreks, so they were not totally unpre-
Communications System: Olmstead 3000 thing under 30 tons. The heavier ’Mechs do not have pared. After a day of setting up dug-in firing positions
Targeting and Tracking System: Omicron IX the speed to engage the Schrek before its PPCs for the Schreks and other vehicles still in working
cause major damage. The greatest threat to the order, the defenders believed they could hold out
OVERVIEW Schrek are medium ’Mechs, for they combine both until Ryan’s return.
For many years, both enemy vehicles and ’Mechs speed and firepower.
The invader’s force consisted mostly of light and
considered the Demolisher to be one of the most awe- The Schrek’s fusion plant has given the Aldis medium ’Mechs, but also included several aerospace
some heavy tanks on the battlefield. The Demolisher’s sales force some unexpected problems. There are cur- fighters. Though the attack began as an attempt to
main guns had the side effect of generating unbear- rently very few combat vehicles using fusion power overwhelm the city defenders, the five Schreks had
able amounts of heat, however, requiring its crew to plants. Consequently, most of the techs assigned to totally decimated the enemy units within a half an hour.
wear specially designed coolant suits. Even the vehicle units are trained to maintain conventional inter- This included the Cyclops piloted by the enemy leader.
coolant suits could not protect the crewmen during a nal combustion engines. While the techs were suppos- Within five minutes of the start of the attack, the con-
sustained fire fight, and they would die either from the edly retrained, many Schreks started to break down as centrated firepower of the Schreks had reduced the
super-hot temperatures or the inability to continue the result of improper maintenance on their engines. assault ’Mech to a slag heap.
fighting. Aldis has responded by offering a free training program
to anyone who purchases ten or more vehicles. The VARIANTS
Ten years and hundreds of coolant suits later, response to this program, however, has not been as There have been very few variants of the Schrek
Aldis Industries announced that they had developed a favorable as expected.
vehicle comparable in size and firepower to the Demol- over the years. Sometimes, however, troops do mount
isher but without the heat problems. This vehicle was One advantage of the Schrek over the Demolisher the Schrek with external machine guns or small lasers
the Schrek PPC Carrier. is that the Schrek was built mainly for defilade fire, or if they believe that a small enemy raiding force may be
fire from prepared, hidden emplacements. The Schrek’s near, but even this is rare.
Using the latest innovations in particle projector high-angle, sloped armor and low profile make it a diffi-
technology, the Schrek is capable of literally vaporizing cult target to spot and destroy. In addition, the Schrek’s
the armor off of any ’Mech with one shot. Many poten- two treads create less ground pressure than the
Demolisher’s four, allowing it to move over softer ter-
rain. The Schrek’s greatest limitation is its lack of close-
range attack capability. The PPC has difficulties con-
centrating a particle stream at ranges of less than 120
meters, and so the Schrek must avoid closing with the
enemy. When it is in a favorable battle position, howev-
er, the vehicle’s heavily armored turret and front slope
give it the protection needed to fight well.

Type: Schrek PPC Carrier Equipment (cont.) 120 Mass
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Turret: Armor 2.1
Movement Type: Tracked Armor Factor: Value 7.5
Tonnage: 80 tons
Battle Value: 662 Front 25 Tonnage
R/L Side 22/22 21
Equipment 240 Mass Rear
Internal Structure: Fusion 8 Turret 21
Engine: 30
3 17.25 Weapons and Ammo
Type: 5 3 PPC Location
Cruising MP: 30 20 Turret
Flank MP: 4
Heat Sinks: 0
Control Equipment: 0
Lift Equipment:
Power Amplifier:

STURMFEUR HEAVY TANK 80

VEHICLES The problem with other designs was that some of the The plan was to jump into the Hesperus system at
missiles would collide when all were fired at once. a nonstandard jump point. The jump point that they
Mass: 85 tons Some of the solutions tried were rotary missile packs chose was on the orbital plane opposite from Hespe-
Movement Type: Tracked and vertical launch-tubes, but these also suffered from rus II, with the sun between the ship and prying Stein-
Power Plant: 255 InterComBust I.C.E. the mid-air collision problem. The final solution was a er eyes. The DropShip would then power down and
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph combination of missile-fire strips and a new terminal wait until the planet had swung around the sun. When
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph guidance system. One missile rack was mounted fac- operating on low power, the DropShip would be all but
Armor: ProtecTech 7 Standard ing up and slightly forward in the right and left rear top undetectable to the Steiner defenses. Once Hesperus
Armament: deck of the tank. The new guidance system launched swung into position, the DropShip would make a low-
the missiles straight up and then arced them toward power entry into the upper atmosphere and then land
2 SturmFeur LRM 20 their target. The other missile rack was mounted in the on top of the production sites with its small ’Mech raid-
2 MiniGuns Machine Guns turret, firing on a much flatter arc. This guaranteed that ing force.
Manufacturer: Trellshire Heavy Industries there would be no missile collisions.
Primary Factory: Sudeten The raiding force consisted of four recon ’Mechs,
Communications System: Angst 2100-b Mounted coaxially to the turret missiles are a two medium ’Mechs, one heavy ’Mech and a few
Targeting and Tracking System: Sturmfeur Highlight machine gun and the SturmFeur HighLight tracking armored transports. The attack went exactly as
w/ BlindFire Radar module with BlindFire Radar targeting system. The planned, except that the raiders found more Steiner
HighLight keeps track of each missile rack’s target, no DropShips around the planet than usual. In order to
OVERVIEW matter where it is. The BlindFire Radar system can avoid detection by the Steiner ships, the DropShip was
The SturmFeur is the largest missile-carrying tank track over 200 targets simultaneously, and is one of the forced to land about 30 kilometers off-target. What the
fastest and most advanced units available. Raiders did not realize was that the large amount of
available in the Inner Sphere. Mounting a huge number DropShip activity around Hesperus was due to the
of long-range missile racks, this heavy tank is capable The only complaint SturmFeur crews have is that arrival of a shipment of SturmFeurs to reinforce the
of disabling or destroying any known vehicle. It was the vehicle’s interior provides the four-man crew with defense garrison. Ten minutes after the pirate force had
commissioned by the LCAF, which wanted a vehicle no room to move. Each control seat is mounted on a landed, the newly landed SturmFeur groups were on
that could support other units without having to worry rack that slides out of the sides of the tank. Once seat- their way to their new garrison positions.
about being attacked. They also wanted the tank to ed, the crewman straps in and slides the chair back
have indirect fire capability so that it could fire over into the SturmFeur. This means that the crew cannot Moving cautiously and slowly toward the ’Mech
obstacles, such as hills or trees. The first SturmFeur move inside the vehicle, though the chairs do swivel to production site, the Raiders made their way through a
rolled off the assembly line in 3018. It boasted enough allow access to all the controls of a particular station. mountain range. They went two at a time, which
missiles to support almost any number of units within allowed the other ’Mechs to provide covering fire. Fif-
range and a new radar guidance system that guaran- Although the SturmFeur is a heavy tank, it has a teen minutes after the first Marik ’Mech made it to the
teed superior indirect fire capability. remarkably low profile. The missiles are mounted inside edge of the mountains, a group of six SturmFeurs in
the vehicle with only their exit ports visible. The engine, the other valley detected them on remote radar sen-
CAPABILITIES loading equipment, and ammunition is stored between sors. The commander of the unit sped out on a skim-
The SturmFeur went through many design the missiles. The turret is the only external piece of mer to find out what was going on. When he saw the
equipment visible on the SturmFeur’s boxlike chassis. column, he immediately called down fire from his entire
changes before the current model became standard. unit. The force was sent running back to their DropShip
DEPLOYMENT minutes after the attack started.
The SturmFeur is a very new vehicle and has not
VARIANTS
seen much combat. There are a few reports of engage- The SturmFeur is so new and specialized that
ments with these tanks, however, against other vehicles
invading Steiner space. The SturmFeur’s first combat there are no variants available. It is rumored that
run occurred on Hesperus II, a Steiner planet that still some SturmFeurs have been given to House Davion
possesses a working ’Mech production facility. The for experimentation, but that several were “lost” along
world is heavily guarded to prevent a full scale attack, the way.
but one Marik faction believed that a small group could
slip past the heavy defenses, land near the production
sites, and steal as many ’Mech parts they could carry.

Type: SturmFeur Heavy Tank Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
Technology Base: Inner Sphere 1 LRM 20 Turret 10
Movement Type: Tracked 1 LRM 20 Front 10
Tonnage: 85 tons 2 Machine Guns Turret 1
Battle Value: 763 Ammo (LRM) 18 Body 3
Ammo (MG) 200 Body 1

Equipment 255 Mass
Internal Structure: ICE 8.5
Engine: 26
3
Type: 5 0
Cruising MP: 0 4.5
Flank MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 312 0
Control Equipment: Armor 1.5
Lift Equipment: Value 19.5
Power Amplifier:
Turret: 66
Armor Factor: 66/66

Front 48
R/L Side 66
Rear
Turret

ONTOS HEAVY TANK 82

VEHICLES sting” by its crews and those who have seen it in action. kilometers away from the dropsite. The infantry
Its weapons can disable almost any battlefield target. swarmed over the plant and destroyed it within min-
Mass: 95 tons utes. The second target was a repair facility ten kilo-
Movement Type: Tracked CAPABILITIES meters away from the purification plant, which the Liao
Power Plant: 285 HeavyLoad w/ PowerBoost I.C.E. Like many vehicles its size, the Ontos gets concen- infantry also destroyed. The Marik defense forces were
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph not at all effective during the initial stages of the raid.
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph trated firepower from a single type of weapon—in this With the Liao forces threatening multiple targets at
Armor: SimplePlate Manufacturers Standard case, the medium lasers. This feature enhances its over- once, the Free Worlds League forces had to try to pro-
Armament: all effectiveness on the battlefield and provides for sim- tect everything at once. In a lucky stroke, however,
plified maintenance and supply. With its eight Martel their spies managed to capture a copy of the Liao bat-
8 Martell Model 5 Medium Lasers Model 5 medium lasers mounted in a single turret, the tle plan, thus discovering that Liao’s next objective was
2 LongFire LRM 5s Ontos can destroy almost any light ’Mech or vehicle with a mining facility in the mountains. Not wasting any
Manufacturer: Grumman Amalgamated one salvo and can inflict heavy damage to anything else. time, the Marik defenders moved to set up an ambush
Primary Factory: Shiro III in the mountains.
Communications System: EasyTalk-2 There was originally a problem with the heat
Targeting and Tracking System: GuideRite w/ Laser sink/power amplifier interface in the turret of the Ontos. The Marik units set up just as the Liao troops
Coordination Link Whenever all eight lasers fired at the same time, the moved into the mountain range. The defense force
massive heat build-up would surge through the heat consisted of eighteen Ontos heavy tanks and some
OVERVIEW sinks and fuse the power amplifier. This problem was supporting infantry, the only units that could reach the
The Ontos, which means “the thing” in Greek, is a eventually solved by adding the Laser Coordination ambush site on such short notice. The Ontos units ini-
Link, which assured that the lasers would fire in a tially engaged the infantry with indirect missile fire.
copy of an obscure 20th-century vehicle that saw limit- sequence rather than all at once. Believing that they were being shelled by light artillery
ed use. It is reported that the project manager for units, the Liao forces sped up and charged the Ontos’
Grumman Amalgamated combat vehicle division was The two LongFire LRM racks were added to give positions. At three hundred meters, the front ranks of
a history buff who was a bit lazy about coming up with the Ontos firepower as protection against long-range the Liao forces ran into a barrage from 144 lasers.
new designs. When assigned the task of designing a attacks on the tank. Although the eight lasers are for-
new heavy tank, the story goes that he merely flipped midable, they cannot attack at the same distances that The front ranks of the Liao infantry broke immedi-
through some of his old books, saw the original the LRMs can. The two racks are mounted above the ately and started to retreat to their support vehicles. In
Ontos—and voila, a new tank was born. lasers on the right and left. the ensuing chaos, the Marik troops destroyed or cap-
tured all the Liao troops. The Capellan DropShips were
The Ontos heavy tank mounts eight medium lasers Like all heavy vehicles, the Ontos is slow. This lack barely able to lift before the dropsite was overrun by
and two LRM 5s, a combination that gives it better over- of speed means that it cannot effectively exploit a the victorious Marik forces.
all firepower than would a single large system such as breakthrough. In most defensive situations, however,
the AC/20. This combination also effectively covers all commanders would be hard-pressed to find a more VARIANTS
normal engagement ranges. Like its Terran predeces- effective vehicle. Because many people believe it is inefficient to
sor, the Ontos has been nicknamed “the thing with a
DEPLOYMENT mount so many lasers on an I.C.E. vehicle, the most
House Liao launched an attack against the Marik popular variation replaces the heat sinks, medium
lasers and power converters with two LRM 20s and
world of Myrvoll in the year 3000. Though the reason five tons of ammunition.
for the attack was never released, it is assumed that
Liao wanted to test the Marik forces’ readiness to Type: Ontos Heavy Tank
defend themselves against a sneak attack. The attack
group was composed of several companies of motor-
ized infantry and their support vehicles. After landing
on Myrvoll’s light side in two commercial DropShips,
the infantry immediately mounted up and started
toward their various objectives.

The first target was a water purification plant 20

Technology Base: Inner Sphere Front Value
Movement Type: Tracked R/L Side 30
Tonnage: 95 tons Rear
Battle Value: 619 Turret 25/25
26
Equipment 285 Mass Weapons and Ammo 30 Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 9.5 8 Medium Lasers 8
Engine: 33 2 LRM 5 Location 4
3 Ammo (LRM) 24 Turret 1
Type: 5 24 Turret
Cruising MP: 24 4.75 Body
Flank MP:
Heat Sinks: 136 0
Control Equipment: Armor .8
Lift Equipment: 1.2
Power Amplifier: 8.5
Turret:
Armor Factor:

BEHEMOTH HEAVY TANK 84

VEHICLES the heaviest cannon available and numerous smaller As it turned out, the Kurita troops were closer to
weapons, the Behemoth is a match for almost any the battle than expected. In order to engage the enemy
Mass: 100 tons combat situation. as quickly as possible, the Steiner ’Mechs and infantry
Movement Type: Tracked left the slower Behemoth behind. Looking for some-
Power Plant: 200 GM I.C.E. CAPABILITIES thing to destroy, the Behemoth eventually found a fair-
Cruising Speed: 21.6 kph Two SarLon MaxiCannons give the Behemoth ly large fuel dump some 30 kilometers to the east. It
Flank Speed: 32.4 kph had been camouflaged to avoid being sighted from the
Armor: ArcShield Maxi II Standard heavy firepower with long range. The LongFire Light air. Not seeing any enemy troops, the Behemoth
Armament: Missile Racks give the Behemoth added long-range closed in for what looked like an easy kill.
hitting capability.
2 SarLon MaxiCannon Autocannon/10s Unfortunately, a Kurita Spider had remained behind
4 LongFire Light LRM 5s The two Harvester 20K SRM 6s are a time-proven to protect the base. Before the Behemoth knew what hit
2 Harvester 20K SRM 6s weapon used on many vehicles. They were added to it, the Spider had planted a solid kick to the tank’s right
2 Harvester 2K SRM 2s the Behemoth’s arsenal to provide extra firepower, as side, slightly damaging the armor. The Behemoth crew
4 MainFire Minigun Machine Guns short-range missiles provide the best killing power tried desperately to swing the turret around, but the Spi-
Manufacturer: Aldis Industries against vehicles. The Aldis engineers added the Behe- der had already used its jump jets to escape.
Primary Factory: New Samarkand, Betelgeuse moth's other weapons—the four Harvester 2K SRM 2s
Communications System: Olmstead 30 and the four MainFire MiniGuns—as an afterthought. The Behemoth crew decided on a desperate
Targeting and Tracking System: Cirxese The lighter weapon’s main purpose is to destroy small- course of action. Hoping that their heavy armor would
BallistaCheck w/ Crixese RockeCheck er units that the tank’s main weaponry may not have protect them and thinking that the Spider would not fol-
time to deal with. low, the crew drove the tank into the middle of the
OVERVIEW dump, and then attempted to blow up the whole base
In 2947, Aldis Industries (soon to be the producer To give it this extra firepower, the engineers decid- by opening up with every weapon they had. Though
ed to sacrifice armor. The original commission called they did not manage to destroy the whole base, they
of the Demolisher and the Schrek), received a com- for 21 tons of armor, but the final design uses 13 tons. did succeed in creating so much smoke and fire that
mission to produce a super-heavy tank for House the Spider’s sensors were useless.
Davion. Their assignment was to forego maneuverabil- The tank’s main drawback is its slow speed.
ity and speed in the interests of heavy armor and mas- Because its maximum speed is only 32 kph, the Behe- Strangely enough, the Spider’s superior mobility
sive firepower. Five years later, Aldis released the 100- moth might not be able to regroup or retreat at crucial proved to be its undoing. For two hours, the Behemoth
ton Behemoth Heavy Tank. moments and could end up being overrun in a pro- and the Spider played a game of cat-and-mouse, with
longed battle. each side scoring occasional hits. As the battle raged
Many studies had shown that a tank’s main weak- on, though, the Spider unwittingly jumped three meters
ness was its inability to deal with superior numbers of DEPLOYMENT in front of the Behemoth, which immediately fired all its
smaller units, such as infantry or scout vehicles. Anoth- Although the Behemoth’s history includes many weapons and destroyed both the Spider’s legs. The
er study showed that a main battle tank must have at MechWarrior immediately surrendered when the
least one very powerful weapon to be able to stand up famous incidents, Aldis Industries especially likes to Behemoth crew threatened to run their 100-ton tank
against even the lightest ’Mech. The Behemoth's promote the tank’s success during one of House over his ’Mech’s head.
design resolved both of these problems. With two of Steiner’s raids on Kurita space. After some hasty
planning for the assault, the Steiner commanders put VARIANTS
all available units into action. The force included sev- The Behemoth is one of the few vehicles without
eral heavy ’Mechs, three infantry companies and one
Behemoth. a history of variant models. There have been a few
instances where flamers have replaced the tank’s
The raid’s main purpose was to prevent a Kurita SRM 2s, but these occurred on a purely individual
attack group from reaching the site of a battle being basis. The main modifications has been when individ-
waged 200 kilometers away. The original plan called for ual unit commanders decided to strip the Behemoth of
a series of hit-and-run raids against the Kurita forces in its roomy internal crew compartment to make space for
order to draw them out into the open, where they would transporting extra equipment or supplies. Five crew-
be overwhelmed by the long-range firepower of the men can normally sleep and eat in relative comfort in
’Mechs and the Behemoth. The infantry could then this extra-spacious compartment.
mop up whatever was left.

BEHEMOTH HEAVY TANK VEHICLES 85

Type: Behemoth Heavy Tank Equipment (cont.) 208 Mass Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Turret: Armor 3 2 Autocannon/10 Turret 24
Movement Type: Tracked Armor Factor: Value 13 4 LRM 5 Front 8
Tonnage: 100 tons 2 SRM 6 Turret 6
Battle Value: 752 Front 46 2 SRM 2 Front 2
R/L Side 38/38 1 SRM 2 Right 1
Equipment 200 Mass Rear 1 SRM 2 Left 1
Internal Structure: ICE 10 Turret 40 2 Machine Guns Front 1
Engine: 17 46 1 Machine Gun Right .5
2 1 Machine Gun Left .5
Type: 3 0 Ammo (AC) 20 Body 2
Cruising MP: 0 5 Ammo (LRM) 48 Body 2
Flank MP: 0 Ammo (SRM) 30 Body 2
Heat Sinks: 0 Ammo (SRM) 50 Body 1
Control Equipment: Ammo (MG) 200 Body 1
Lift Equipment:
Power Amplifier:

NEPTUNE SUBMARINE 86

VEHICLES from a mobile command post as effectively as from a on lance of House Kurita’s Fifth Galedon Regulars was
fixed installation. ordered to destroy the Davion underwater command
Mass: 100 tons post, located three kilometers offshore. The Dragons
Movement Type: Submarine Naval Davion has attempted to avoid this problem by plac- waded into the surf and headed out toward the Davion
Power Plant: 270 Doorman Naval HyPerOx I.C.E. ing many of its control complexes underwater. Using command and control facility.
Cruising Speed: 32.4 kph Extremely Low Frequency radios, the command posts
Flank Speed: 54.0 kph can effectively control the land battle, while remaining About two kilometers from their objective and 50
Armor: 14.5 SeaSlab Standard invulnerable to aerospace fighter and DropShip attacks. meters below the surface of the water, the Dragons
Armament: Only ’Mechs, which can walk along river and sea bot- started to lose sight of one another. After closing back
toms, are able to attack the underwater command posts; into visual range, they resumed plodding along. The
1 Naval Sutel XII Large Laser doing so, however, tends to degrade their offensive capa- going was slow, and occasionally a Dragon would slip
1 Sea Devastator 20 Rack LR Torpedo 20 bilities. To provide a defense against such underwater and slowly settle face-first into the bottom muck, throw-
2 Sea Harvester Six Rack SR Torpedo 6s attacks, Davion reintroduced the submarine. ing up clouds of obscuring debris. Suddenly, a cluster of
Manufacturer: Galtor Naval Yards torpedoes hit the far-left Dragon. Though none of the
Primary Factory: Galtor CAPABILITIES shots penetrated, the ’Mech's left arm had sprung a leak
Communications System: Lynx-Shur The Neptune was first produced in 2950 by the Gal- and quickly filled with sea water, becoming useless.
Targeting and Tracking System: Sonar Sync Tracker
tor Naval Yards, a builder of commercial ships. Even The Davion Neptune let loose five more salvos of
OVERVIEW though the vessel displaces 100 tons, the six-man crew Sea Devastators at their attackers. This resulted in the
With the decline of seagoing navies in the late 21st of a Neptune are cramped because of the bulk and com- torso of a second Dragon becoming flooded. The Nep-
plexity of its machinery. tune came closer and started to pepper the Dragons with
century, the submarine all but vanished from military Sea Harvester torpedoes. The Dragons could not effec-
inventories. It has made a comeback in recent years, The Neptune is an outstanding weapon. Its Door- tively reply. Their autocannon and LRMs were useless
however, because of changes in military defense tactics. man Naval 140 power plant allows for maximum sur- underwater, but the Neptune stayed out of range of their
As ’Mech combat became battles of maneuver and face or submerged speeds of 54 kph. While on the sur- medium lasers.
position rather than of firepower, any commander who face, the Doorman acts like a diesel engine, using
could disrupt or destroy his enemy’s command, control hydrocarbon fuel and burning it with the oxygen in the The Kurita lance commander decided to withdraw.
and communication centers could win a quick, bloodless atmosphere. A snorkel allows the diesel to be used The Dragons plodded slowly back through the muck,
victory. Consequently, the owners of those control com- while submerged up to a depth of twelve meters. harassed by the Neptune. One Dragon was lost when its
plexes began to heavily protect and guard them as the Below twelve meters, the Doorman utilizes a hydrogen center torso became flooded and its fusion reactor
centers had become prime targets for attack. No matter peroxide mixture as fuel, with the fuel’s bound oxygen quenched by the onrushing sea. The other three Drag-
where the control complexes were located, they imme- as a combustion agent. ons managed to emerge from the sea, however, bat-
diately drew the fire of every available aerospace fight- tered and nearly destroyed. The Davion command and
er, DropShip and ’Mech in the area. It became a cliche The Neptune has a double-hull construction. The control complex remained in action throughout the bat-
of war that a fixed command post could not survive the outer hull is not pressurized, serving only as a frame- tle for New Ivaarsen, coordinating the planetary defend-
first few hours of an invasion. Another proven tenet is work for the armor plating. The inner hull is the pres- ers and contributing to the eventual defeat of the Com-
that a commander could not control a planetary battle sure hull. It is rated for dives as deep as 120 meters, bine forces.
though it has been taken down even deeper during
emergency situations. VARIANTS
The Neptune’s primary limitation has always been
The main offensive armament of the Neptune is the
Sea Devastator 20 Rack Torpedo system. A navalized its lack of torpedo reloads. Some Davion versions have
version of the Devastator LRM, the Sea Devastator has therefore removed the Sutel XII and added another Sea
excellent range and firepower capability. Two Sea Har- Devastator system, plus another three tons of torpe-
vester 6 rack torpedo systems, another navalized version does. Another common variant is to use the Sutel XII
of a land-based missile system, back up the Sea Devas- space to increase the number of Sea Harvester tubes
tator. As a secondary weapon, the Neptune mounts a and the ammunition load. Both these variants decrease
Sutel XII large laser. the Neptune’s shore bombardment capabilities while
increasing its effectiveness in underwater attacks.
DEPLOYMENT
During the attack on New Ivaarsen in 3021, a Drag-

NEPTUNE SUBMARINE VEHICLES 87

Type: Neptune Submarine Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Submarine Naval Rear
Tonnage: 100 tons 78
Battle Value: 604 Weapons and Ammo 58/58
1 Large Laser
1 LR Torpedo 20 38
2 SR Torpedo 6
Equipment 270 Mass Ammo (LR-T) 6 Location Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 10 Ammo (SR-T) 15 Front 5
Engine: 29 Front 10
3 Front 6
Type: 5 8 Body 1
Cruising MP: 8 5 Body 1
Flank MP: 0
Heat Sinks: 232 .5
Control Equipment: 10
Lift Equipment: 0
Power Amplifier: 14.5
Diving Equipment:
Turret:
Armor Factor:

88

89

DARTER SCOUT CAR

Mass: 13 tons Armament:
Movement Type: Wheeled 1 Johnston Minigun Machine Gun

Power Plant: 75 GM ICE Manufacturer: General Motors
Cruising Speed: 76 kph Primary Factory: Kathil
Flank Speed: 151 kph
Armor: ProtecTech Light Communications System: Overlook J9
Targeting And Tracking System: Brightstar

17 Mk. I

Overview years in vehicles used on the frontiers of were forced to choose; either pause to
Seeing their front line mankind’s expansion from Terra. In an make adjustments or continue the chase.
emergency, the engine can be repaired Time and again, frustrated DCMS patrols
forces ground down by the First using civilian vehicle parts and is capable of could only watch as their quarry used better
Succession War, the Great Houses running on poorly refined petrochemicals for handling to dart away and raise the alarm,
attempted to compensate for their long periods of time. foiling several surprise attacks.
losses by stripping garrison and militia
units of more advanced equipment and Lacking the sophisticated electronics Deployment
redistributing it to front-line units. As the found in the vehicles it replaced, the Darter After two centuries of production, the
wars continued to visit devastation upon the has a generous three-ton cargo capacity that
Inner Sphere’s industrial base, however, allows it to carry a wide range of mission- Darter can be found across the Federated
even these antiquated units became difficult specific equipment. It only requires a single Suns. The highest concentration remains
to replace. Answering the call by the AFFS to person to operate the Darter Scout Car, with the planetary militia of the Capellan
produce a new (but inexpensive and though the cargo bay can quickly be March, but the low cost and low
maintainable) vehicle suitable for converted to carry additional personnel. A maintenance requirements have found it a
reconnaissance operations, GM retooled the driver-operated machine gun is mounted on home with planetary garrisons and less well
Kathil vehicles plant to produce the Darter the front of the vehicles. equipped line units too. Regrettably, given
Scout Car. Introduced in 2822, this design an increasing demand for heavier combat
has spread across the Federated Suns, One innovative feature that GM added vehicles, GM is cutting back Darter
providing reconnaissance capabilities to to an otherwise unsophisticated design is a production on Kathil in favor of other
many conventional units. system that constantly alters the pressure designs.
of the Darter’s tires to compensate for
Capabilities terrain conditions. For example, where other Variants
The Darter Scout Car is representative units are forced to halt and manually adjust No official variants exist, but a host of
the tire pressure when moving from a rocky
of the kind of unsophisticated vehicle design surface to sand, the Darter can keep going field modifications have emerged. Typically,
introduced during the Succession Wars. The without a pause. This seemingly some of the cargo space is sacrificed to
chassis and armor are designed for unimportant feature proved invaluable to enable an SRM 2 or SRM 4 launcher to be
simplicity and ruggedness. They can be Davion patrols on Kasai IV in 2962, as they mounted.
repaired using widely available parts and scouted the advance of Kurita raiders.
require little maintenance. GM based the Repeatedly switching from one type of
power plant on a proven design, used for terrain to another, the Combine pursuers

90

DARTER SCOUT CAR

Type: Darter Scout Car Equipment (cont.) 0 Mass Front Armor
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Heat Sinks: 32 0 R/L Side Value
Movement Type: Wheeled Control Equipment: 1 Rear
Tonnage: 13 tons Lift Equipment: 0 10
Battle Value: 46 Power Amplifier: 0 Weapons 7/7
Turret: 0 and Equipment
Armor Factor: 2 Machine Gun 8
Ammo (MG) 200
Equipment 75 Mass Cargo Location Tonnage
Internal Structure: ICE 1.5 Front .5
Engine: 7 4 Body 1
11 Body 3
Type:
Cruising MP:
Flank MP:

91

MARTEN SCOUT VTOL

Mass: 15 tons Armament:
Movement Type: VTOL 1 Federated SuperStreak SRM 2

Power Plant: Tyron 100 ICE Manufacturer: Cal-Boeing of Dorwinion
Cruising Speed: 140 kph Primary Factory: Belladonna
Flank Speed: 216 kph
Armor: ProtecTech Light Communications System: Achernar
Standard

Targeting And Tracking System: IsBM
Lantirn

Overview its predecessor. A larger fuel capacity Deployment
After the initial success of doubles the range and endurance of the The goal of producing a design as
VTOL, while the cargo bay can carry thirty
the Ferret Light Scout VTOL on its air deployed remote sensors—twice as successful as the Ferret continues to elude
introduction in 2901, Cal-Boeing was many as the Ferret. Cal-Boeing. The Ceti Hussars have several
so busy dealing with a wave of orders companies of Martens, using them to free
that the company had little time to develop The sleek fuselage lines reduce the up light BattleMechs for combat operations.
new designs. This state of affairs continued VTOLs radar signature, and the specially Still, no other main line AFFS unit has
until 2967, when a combat-oriented version ducted and muffled exhaust systems deployed the VTOL. The Free Worlds League
of the Ferret dubbed the “Wild Weasel” was significantly reduces the infrared and audio and Lyran Commonwealth have both
unveiled. The fragility of the Wild Weasel (a signature as well. Some technicians have remained unenthusiastic about the Marten
common problem with all VTOLs) hampered complained that regular maintenance is as well. In the League, a handful of
the effectiveness of the new design, complicated for the specialized muffler conventional regiments supporting the
however, and few buyers materialized. system, but Marten crews appreciate any Defenders of Andurien are currently
It was not until 3021 that Cal-Boeing felt advantage they can get. They impress upon evaluating the VTOL. In the Commonwealth,
confident enough to try again with the more the support crews that removal of the the inexperienced Twenty-second Skye
conservative Marten. Once more focusing on system will result in a major (personal) Rangers have also received a company,
reconnaissance and light transport health and safety threat. though the crews complain they find
operations, the Marten shares many of the themselves spending more time transporting
same features found in the Ferret. Although The Marten carries firepower in the Colonel Petroff’s extensive wardrobe than
the Marten has proven itself an effective form of a nose-mounted Federated patrolling. Planetary militia units have shown
design, the design’s higher cost and the SuperStreak missile system, giving the more interest in the Marten, but only a few
shadow of the Wild Weasel have resulted in Marten the ability to strike at enemy infantry wealthy worlds have actually purchased
disappointingly few orders. while remaining at a safe distance. Mar tens.
Commanders have occasionally used this
Capabilities launcher to deliver Inferno missiles, either Variants
Three times heavier than the Ferret, the to flush infantry and vehicles from their In an attempt to attract sales for their
positions or to set fires to block enemy
Marten trades speed for upgraded movement. Both of these tactics were used new airframe, Cal-Boeing has converted
protection, carrying three time the armor of to great effect by the First Ceti Hussars in several VTOLs into dedicated infantry
their raids on An Ting and Igualada. transports, stripping out the missile system
to allow for an expanded infantry
compar tment.

92

MARTEN SCOUT VTOL

Type: Marten Scout VTOL Equipment (cont.) 24 Mass
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Armor Factor: Armor 1.5
Movement Type: VTOL Value
Tonnage: 15 tons Front
Battle Value: 163 R/L Side 8
Rear 5/5
Equipment Mass Rotor
Internal Structure: 1.5 4
Engine: 6 Weapons 2
and Equipment
Type: 100 0 SRM 2 Location Tonnage
Cruising MP: ICE 1 Ammo (SRM) 50 Front 1
Flank MP: 13 1.5 Infantr y Body 1
Heat Sinks: 20 0 Cargo Body 1
Control Equipment: 0 0 Body .5
Lift Equipment:
Power Amplifier:
Turret:

93

COBRA TRANSPORT VTOL

Mass: 30 tons Armament:
Movement Type: VTOL 1 Omicron 950 Medium Laser
2 McArthur Anti-Missile Systems
Power Plant: 100 Hermes Fusion
Cruising Speed: 87 kph Manufacturer: Aldis Industries
Flank Speed: 130 kph Primary Factory: Terra
Armor: FiberTech Light
Communications System: Datacom 100
Targeting And Tracking System: Tarmac

Quasar V

Overview Capabilities however, and resulted in several fatal
Plunged into the The impressive ten-ton cargo capacity accidents before the design was modified to
reinforce the vulnerable sections.
Reunification War, the newly of the Cobra’s cargo bay is the key to the
formed Star League Defense Force VTOL’s success. The deck, walls and ceiling A nose mounted medium laser is the
was ill prepared for the unconventional of the compartment are festooned with tie- only offensive armament the Cobra has,
tactics employed against it by the down points, power, cooling and filtration and can be fired either by the pilot or the
Periphery States. While some hidebound hook-ups. So equipped, the Cobra can carry navigator/cargo master. The use of the
officers appeared content to plough through almost any cargo imaginable—the whole weapon is usually a sign that they are in
all opposition regardless of casualties, compartment can even be sealed to allow over their heads.
others developed new tactics to deal with the transportation of liquids (fighting forest
guerrilla forces. Before her death at the fires by dumping a full load of water out the Deployment
hands of Taurian Concordat assassins, rear hatch is not an uncommon duty for a The initial success of the Cobra with
General Amalthia Kincaid masterminded the Cobra during peace-time).
creation of special Striker Regiments. the Striker Regiments ensured that it
Trained to live off the land (depriving the With good but not spectacular armor became one of the standard SLDF
guerrillas of a logistical tail to target) and protection, the Cobra was not intended to transports, right up until the destruction of
fully versed in the tactics of their support combat operations by becoming Aldis Industries during the Amaris Coup. The
opponents, the Striker Regiments returned directly involved in the fighting. The most design also proved invaluable to SLDF
the initiative to the SLDF. common threat is expected to come from troops and their civilian supporters trapped
The key to the success of the Striker man-portable missile ground fire. Aldis on Terran Hegemony worlds during the Civil
Regiments was their mobility, an asset that Industries mounted twin anti-missile War. The VTOLs became mobile bases, from
Cobra Transpor t VTOL (introduced in 2582) systems on the underside of the fuselage to which these resistance fighters waged a
made possible. Not a flashy new combat combat this. Cobra pilots soon perfected long and bitter struggle against the
unit, Aldis Industries’ Cobra proved itself a the “snake-bite” maneuver; when faced with occupying Rim Worlds Republic troops.
workhorse design that was able to missile fire, the pilot flies directly towards
transport troops, supplies or support the incoming salvo, and then pull back on Variants
personnel with equal ease. the stick to bring the nose up and allow the Most Cobra variants involve installing
Anti-missile systems to engage the
approaching warheads. This was found to additional equipment in the large cargo bay.
reduced the lifespan of the airframe, Several were modified into flying MASH
units, while others were outfitted to become
flying Command, Communication and
Control (C3) units.

94

COBRA TRANSPORT VTOL

Type: Cobra Transport VTOL Control Equipment: 1.5 Weapons and Equipment Location Tonnage
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Lift Equipment: 3 Medium Laser
Movement Type: VTOL Power Amplifier: 0 Anti-Missile System Front 1
Tonnage: 30 tons Turret: 0 Anti-Missile System
Battle Value: 257 Armor Factor: 3 Ammo (AMS) 36 Front .5
Cargo
Front Rear .5
R/L Side
Rear 48 Body 3
Rotor Armor
Value Body 10

Equipment: 100 Mass 12
Internal Structure: Fusion 3 12/12
Engine: 4.5
8 10
Type: 12 0 2
Cruising MP: 10
Flank MP:
Heat Sinks:

95

DAIMYO HQ 67-K

Mass: 50 tons Armament:
Movement Type: Wheeled 1 RAMtech 1200 Large Laser
4 Type 87 machine guns
Power Plant: Vlar 230 Fusion
Cruising Speed: 57.3 kph Manufacturer: Buda Imperial Vehicles
Flank Speed: 82.6 kph Primary Factory: Buda
Armor: 3/Starslab
Communications System: Sipher Battlesys 5.2
Targeting and Tracking System: Eagle Eye VY 9-3

Overview In 3027, the Daimyo HQ was large ’Mech operations to the management
Originally designed by discontinued and its production lines of DEST missions.
retooled to produce the Tokugawa, which
Engineer Frank Beuren, the shares a similar chassis. Armed with a turret mounted RAMtech
Daimyo Headquarters was intended Large Laser and four type-87 machine guns,
to let a battlefield commander Capabilities the Daimyo has a defensive armament
communicate with units at the theater The Daimyo has the same command superior to other HQ vehicles. It also carries
level. In order to compete with other a full platoon of infantry.
manufacturers, he designed it to fulfill its capabilities as other Mobile Headquarters
role while making sure it could defend itself. vehicles with a couple of notable Deployment
Not being one to compromise on quality, exceptions. The most important is that the Like other mobile headquarters, the few
Beuren incorporated the best available vehicle has expandable sides. When these
technology into the vehicle. sides are contracted, the vehicle is capable remaining Daimyo HQ units in service are
Unfortunately, the Daimyo HQ vehicle of command and control functions at flank only partially operable. Ironically, one of the
gained a stigma shortly after production speed. There is only room for the command few remaining Daimyos has been kept fully
began. In late 2796, the majority of orders crew, however, and its capabilities are operational: the original vehicle used by
issued to units on Kentares were from the somewhat diminished. Coordinator Jinjiro Kurita. It has undergone
first Daimyo HQ produced, one used by the at least five refits over its career, and its
Coordinator himself. In the first two months When expanded, the Daimyo acts as a most recent use was at the defense of
of the Kentares Massacre, Coordinator Jinjiro fixed command center. Communications and Luthien in 3052. Once called Jinjiro’s
Kurita watched the executions on the control stations are evenly placed in each Revenge, this Daimyo is now called the
monitors inside this Daimyo. Once Jinjiro side of the vehicle to keep the weight evenly Vengeance and can be found in the service
started attending these executions, horrified distributed. As each side deploys, a holo of the Second Sword of Light Regiment. It is
members of the crew passed off recordings tank is revealed at the front of the vehicle assigned to the second battalion—who also
to a local ComStar representative, who then and the interior space of the command participated in the Kentares massacre.
made certain that they were broadcast to portion is nearly doubled. The sophisticated
the rest of the Inner Sphere. When the news Sipher Battlesys command computer feeds
of this treachery reached Coordinator Jinjiro, constant information updates to the
he and his Otomo put the entire crew of the holotank. This powerful piece of equipment
vehicle to the sword. allows the Commander to command
operations ranging from orbital defense and

96

DAIMYO HQ 67-K

Type: Daimyo HQ 67-K Equipment (cont.) 112 Mass
Technology Base: Inner Sphere Armor Factor: Armor 7
Movement Type: Wheeled Value
Tonnage: 50 tons Front
Battle Value: 330 R/L Side 34
Rear 22/22
Equipment Mass Turret
Internal Structure: 5 15
Engine: 24 Weapons 19
and Ammo
Type: 280 0 Large Laser Location Tonnage
Cruising MP: Fusion 2.5 4 Machine Guns Turret 5
Flank MP: 0 Ammo (MG) 100 Turret 2
Heat Sinks: 6 0 Cargo (Infantry) Body .5
Control Equipment: 9 1 Body 3
Lift Equipment: 10
Power Amplifier:
Turret:

97

SF-1X STARFIRE

Mass: 55 tons Armament: Communications System: Wunderland
Frame: NAIS MXA/22 General Motors PTAA Ultra Autocannon/5 Fighter Series 60
4 Martell Medium Lasers Targeting and Tracking System: Wunderland
Power Plant: CoreTech 275 1 ExoStar Small Laser Raptores 2
Armor: NAIS Special-X Ferro-Fibrous
Manufacturer: Banzai Weapons Design
Company,

Primary Factory: New Avalon

Overview than the original. The structure benefited The lessons taught by the successful use of
In 3028, the Gray Death from an early success in ferro-aluminum the Starfire, and subsequent trials using
armor manufacture, however, though limits other examples of Star League engineering,
Legion discovered a Star League on the production process kept the Starfire enabled the Federated Suns to deploy
memory core on Helm that would down to only seven tons of such protection recovered technology more quickly and
eventually lead to a widespread rather than the twelve tons enjoyed by the safely than other Successor Sates.
renaissance of military technology. Though Hellcat II.
new equipment would soon infuse the Deployment
armies of all five Successor States with the At the same time, efforts to work out The Starfire was never intended for full
wonders of the Star League, nowhere were semi-modular weapons ports eluded the
the effects of this discovery more designers. The goal was to create something production, but rather as a test craft for
immediately applied than at the New Avalon that would be a better fit for fast and easy recovered technology, Only a handful were
Institute of Science. In the scramble to be testing of various experimental systems. ever produced by the Banzai Weapons
the first state to field the advanced They were unable to accomplish this at first, Design Company on New Avalon. Many of
technology found in the so-called Gray Death and as a result, each equipment loadout these were scrapped upon the completion of
Memory Core, the NAIS and Banzai Weapon required extensive work to remove and the tests, or hopelessly damaged during the
Design Company immediately began working replace parts. Technicians and engineers course of experimentation. Only one Starfire
on prototypes to test the feasibility and had to return to their drawing boards for is known to exist today. This mothballed
capabilities of various recovered systems. each new system they wanted to implement, craft is on display at the NAIS as a
The Starfire medium fighter was one such a time-consuming and expensive practice. testament to Davion ingenuity.
prototype, though it served as little more
than a proof-of-concept design, rather than a A baseline model for the Starfire, Variants
production craft in itself. however, was quickly devised. Centering on As a “guinea pig” for lostech equipment
a nose-mounted Ultra Autocannon/5—a
Capabilities rapid-firing version of the standard GM tests, the Starfire underwent a number of
The Starfire’s flying-wing chassis Whirlwind series—the fighter also featured a field refits during its brief career, each
pair of medium lasers on each wing and a putting a different system or combination of
configuration was strongly influenced by tail-mounted small laser. These weapons systems through their paces. Some refits
technical specs of the Star League-era combined to produce a craft that, while not included an LB 10-X autocannon or
Hellcat II, though efforts to develop a copy overly powerful, did give Davion engineers a extended-range large lasers, while others
of that craft fell short due to a heavier chance to field test lostech weaponry in experimented with double heat sinks or
airframe, which required more engine power conjunction with readily available systems. targeting-enhanced missile launchers.

98

SF-1X STARFIRE

Type: SF-1X Starfire Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Tonnage: 55 Ultra AC/5 Nose 9 17 7 7 —
Battle value: 955
Ammo (Ultra) 20 —1

2 Medium Lasers LW 2 6 10 — — —

2 Medium Lasers RW 2 6 10 — — —

Equipment Mass Small Laser Aft .5 13 ———
Engine: 15.5
275
Safe Thrust: 7 10
Max Thrust: 11 5
Structural Integrity: 7 3
Heat Sinks: 20 7
Fuel:
Cockpit: 400
Armor Factor:
125
Nose Armor
Wings Value
Aft
42
31/31

21

99

F-77 DEATHSTALKER

Mass: 80 tons Armament:
Frame: F-77/X 1 Imperator X AutoCannon-10
4 Hellion-a III Extended-Range Large Lasers
Power Plant: VOX 240a 2 Hellion-b II Medium Lasers
Armor: StarSlab Lite/2
Manufacturer: Andurien AeroTech (FWDI)
Primary Factory: Andurien

Communications System: Telestar F-61
Targeting and Tracking System: SynCom VAX

Overview some dating as far back as the late 20th comparable fighters used by the SLDF and
Though regarded by its century on Terra. Rather than create drag, its member states. During trial flights, test
however, engineers at Andurien AeroTech (a pilots were repeatedly outmaneuvered and
own designers and military division of Free Worlds Defense Industries) “killed” by opposing craft, though even with
aerospace experts of the day as a realized that when properly applied, this each “death”, the F-77 managed to claim a
visionary concept, the F-77 alternate wing design could not only produce number of “kills” for itself. Far worse,
Deathstalker was perhaps just a few years a remarkably stable flight profile, but also however, were flaws in the airframe
too far ahead of its time. Unveiled in 2744 allowed for the use of lighter, thinner design—primarily stemming from a weight
in response to a call by House Marik for a materials in construction. In a supreme imbalance between the wings and the
cutting-edge attack fighter, Andurien example of thinking “outside the box”, fuselage. This imbalance became
AeroTech’s Deathstalker was designed to Andurien AeroTech moved on this devastatingly apparent during a much-
compete with some of the best craft flown unorthodox plan and debuted the publicized demonstration flight for potential
by the Star League Defense Force. Deathstalker in 2744. customers, when one of prototype’s wings
Unfortunately, the revolutionary wing design, suddenly ripped off, sending it to a fiery
combined with the old-fashioned mindset of Intended for an air supremacy role, the crash that permanently grounded the
the reviewing generals and a much- Deathstalker mounted a powerful Imperator Deathstalker and led to a massive redesign
publicized crash of one prototype during X Heavy AutoCannon in its nose, backed up that would ultimately produce the F-90
flight trails prompted the stillborn death of by twin Hellion Extended-Range Large Lasers Stingray.
this revolutionary aircraft. in each wing. Twenty-five double-strength
freezers permitted the craft to fire all of Deployment
Capabilities these weapons at once, though any pilot Free Worlds Defense Industries only
The F-77 Deathstalker began as an doing so would still notice the spike from
the powerful VOX 240a fusion plant. Even manufactured twenty F-77s, none of which
experimental concept, a departure from so, an additional pair of wing-mounted ever saw action in live combat. All but four
conventional aerospace theory. The main medium lasers provided a reliable fallback of these craft—which today are the
wings of the Deathstalker sweep forward when cooling down. The combination of this centerpiece of air museums throughout the
from the aft quarter of the craft, rather than weapon load and the thick armor made the League—were destroyed in the centuries
toward the back from the nose or mid- Deathstalker formidable in combat. since its debut.
fuselage. As unorthodox as this might
seem, this design is hardly original, based Unfortunately, the Deathstalker’s
largely on various older aircraft models— airspeed was too slow to compete with

100