Hello all. Today I'm are going to look at two contemporary artillery platforms from the 3145 series of Technical Readouts. The SM2 artillery tank and the Sniper Artillery tank from TROs Draconis Combine and Federated Suns respectively both have front mounted Sniper artillery pieces and are available for purchase on the open market. Both have a 3/5 movement profile and Limited Amphibious Hulls. This allows a cross comparison of strengths and weaknesses while both fulfilling the need for mid strength tube artillery support.
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SM2, not to be confused with the SM1 variant, the SM3.The SM2 was the first effort by Clan Nova Cat engineers in making a dedicated tube artillery platform. Being new to the artillery game, the Nova Cats built the SM2 more in line with Trial based combat, able to resist punishment and with a somewhat shallow ammo bin. The secondary weapons and systems were largely disregarded in favor of being able to perform under fire. The engineers went with a barebones anti infantry package of 3 Heavy Machine Guns mounted in the left, right and rear arcs, while keeping the Sniper mounted in the front. A turret was neglected in favor of cramming the impressive 13.5 tons of clan grade Ferro Fibrous armor into the minimum 4 hit locations, arranged 65/65/64.
A limited Amphibious Hull allows the SM2 to cross rivers and keep traveling from one combat zone to another without the need for bridgelayers or support vehicles to help it ford rivers and lakes. The 1 MP a turn is hardly impressive, but considering the range of the Sniper artillery piece it isn't hard to have the SM2 advance through water toward a battle site, then provide support on the other side without worrying about falling out of supporting range of advancing force. The ability to cross rivers can also be helpful in trying to put some impassible distance between you and enemy tanks or battle armor, provided you have some warning and don't get caught while crossing.
If you do get cornered, the high armor value of the SM2 should keep you safe until reinforcements arrive. Just keep your gun pointed down range and let the enemy chip at your armor. The Nova Cats didn't get a chance to become familiar with artillery tactics enough to develop an artillery platform to do anything other than put shells down range. The choice of an ICE engine, tube artillery and minimal weaponry suggests the Nova Cats weren't interested in the SM2 being much besides a semi mobile gun emplacement. Just. Keep. Shooting. It was built for an unglamorous job and the SM2 does it well.
Simplicity is king with the SM2. The fact that it is built to clan specs doesn't mean it is vastly superior to it's Inner Sphere counterparts. In fact, the technology used in the SM2 only nets a few tons in weight savings from the weapons and defensive systems, which could be aped by IS standard MGs, CASE and Heavy Ferro. This, and the easily replaced ICE engine should make this an attractive buy for mercenaries with limited resources. It may not be fancy, but it does do it's job really well. Thanks to the high grade armor, the SM2 is able to operate in a direct fire capacity with confidence.
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Sniper Artillery. The name says it all.Quickcell originally built the Sniper Artillery Tank for the AFFS by shows a greater maturity in artillery doctrine and force composition. The Sniper Artillery (or SAV for this article) is reflective of that deeper experience and planning. A turret holds a pair of Machine Guns, allowing the Sniper Artillery to engage infantry from any arc, while a pair of ER Small Lasers allow it to fend off a Battle Armor attack or provide last resort guns to finish off a crippled enemy. The lasers are powered by a fusion engine, which allows the Sniper Artillery to carry more ammo and energy weapons than the SM2, and 4x the ammo for the MGs over the SM2's HMGs.
Armor is less impressive than the SM2, but still somewhat robust for an artillery vehicle. The SAV uses 12 tons of standard armor arranged 48/40/24/40. The addition of the turret divides the armor and weakens the concentration of armor on each location. This is somewhat mitigated, however, by the addition of CASE to keep your crew alive in the event of ammo detonation.
Additional equipment is where the SAV really begins to show foresight and maturity. A Trailer Hitch allows the SAV to haul additional ammunition to the battle site, companion artillery trailers or even ad hoc defense with gun trailers. The Limited Amphibious Hull of the Sniper Artillery allows it to perform all the same movements mentioned in the SM2 article above. Finally, 4 Communications Equipment provides a variety of options worth exploring. The Mobile HQ rules out of TacOps allow you to use the 4 tons of Communications Equipment for a variety of tactical advantages. These shouldn't be overlooked when considering that most of the time your Sniper Artillery should be in a hidden and/or protected position. The ability to provide you with Communications and artillery at the same time is an invaluable combination.
The Sniper Artillery is a more finesse weapon platform. The smaller armor profile and Communications Equipment encourage the Sniper artillery piece to be used indirectly from cover and protected by friendly infantry or gun emplacements. The deeper ammo well and Trailer Hitch encourage the Sniper Artillery to hang back and blast trees, fortifications or other immobile targets from the rear echelon. A greater range in strategic options with the Trailer Hitch and Communications Equipment will allow the Sniper Artillery some additional use once the firing stops.
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So which is better? The answer of course depends on what TacOps rules you are using. If, for instance, you are not using the Mobile HQ rules from TacOps, the 4 tons of Communications Equipment in the Sniper Artillery go to waste. If you are a fan of the Burst Fire rules in TacOps, the 200 rounds of ammo and turret mount of the Sniper Artillery allows you to saw enemy ambushers in half. The SM2's HMGs can do more, but only 1 gun at a time, and the ammo may run out faster. The Trailer Hitch of the Sniper Artillery may also be wasted if your group doesn't make use of towed vehicles. Without the Mobile HQ/Satelite or towed vehicles rules the Sniper Artillery's BV is harder to justify. As a pure artillery platform it isn't bad, but it gets a big boost from the TacOps rules. If you are into optional rules the Sniper Artillery is more rewarding. Even if it never hits anything with the main gun, the Communications Equipment bonuses can influence the outcome of your game. If you want simple and effective short duration artillery and don't mind paying a higher BV, the SM2 is for you.
