A nice Saturday evening dinner over fajitas with Redshirt produced a discussion about big Lyran tanks, and which ones were really superior to others. Is the Alacorn really the king of Steiner heavy armor? Where do the Demolisher II, the Sturmfeur, the Gurteltier, etc. fit in to that pantheon? And what about the new kid on the block, the Kelswa? Well... hell, why not discuss that last one and find out? Kelswa, ahoy!
Born of a need that Steiner has filled time and again for a big, mean, bruiser of an assault tank, the Kelswa seems at a glance to pale in comparison to its compatriots. But there's more here than one might realize- perhaps it's not a triple-Gauss threat, but there's a lot to like about this tank- and a few surprises, not the least of which is naming it after a family that has been as often a thorn in the ruling Steiner family's side as it has been a staunch ally. The vehicle is a product of Arcturan Arms, with two factories building it and seeing service in several militaries at this point- and even Clan forces. Seeing Jade Falcon-owned Kelswas rolling at them must have caused some very confused reactions for Lyran troops during that Clan's
desant into their territory.
The Kelswa's core is a 285 fusion engine, propelling one of the Inner Sphere's largest tanks at a stately but average 54 kph. Nothing to write home about here- it's the same speed assault tanks (and Mechs) have utilized for years, which means a Kelswa will feel right at home with the standard assault formations of whatever military it serves in- and suffer the same problems as a result. One almost has trouble seeing what prompted yet another hefty 3/5 tank to be built by the Lyrans- but we'll look at that later.
Previous articles haven't been good tests for the VotW autocannon, but this time we can pop off a few test rounds to see how the old Kali Yama does. The Kelswa doesn't mind much, after all. Twelve tons of heavy ferro fibrous armor (backed by CASE) gives this brute a shell worthy of its Lyran assault tank lineage, with a whopping seventy points of armor on the front glacis. A very respectable 41 points guard the flanks and rear- enough that the AC-20 here can hit twice and STILL not break through- and 45 more points coat the turret. Breaking a Kelswa will be a matter of motive hits and crits, not breaking the shell. It's hard to fault the Lyrans on this setup- if you're going to build a big, mean assault tank, make it able to survive a few hits.
What's my rule? "Speed, armor, firepower, pick two". We sure didn't pick speed, but we're well-armored. So... we must have guns, and we sure do. Two Gauss rifles might be almost a cliche for an assault-weight unit in Battletech at this point, but it sure works just as well as ever. As one can imagine, these sit in the turret, backed by two heavy machine guns (a weapon this author has never been a fan of compared to the LMG). The rifles share five tons of ammunition, plenty for even long engagements, while the MGs share half a ton of ammunition as well. Two forward mounted ER medium lasers sit in a mounting next to the off-center cockpit, using the fusion engine's heat sinks nicely and providing a bit of extra punch forward. And... wait, there's no 'and'? Where's the rest of the weaponry? This feels almost Succession Wars-esque in its weaponry- perhaps not the specific kind, but in the amount. Why aren't we packing more guns?
Thing is, the Kelswa might come up short in a direct comparison to the Alacorn or Gurteltier, but it shouldn't. While it lacks the triple-threat of the former and the sheer survivability of the latter, the Kelswa does its thing with a fusion engine- NOT an expensive XL motor as the other two use. While that means the engine takes up a sobering 25 tons, it also means a less pricey option for those looking to build up their forces quickly- like, say a Successor State looking to rearm on the fly as the HPG collapse causes chaos and aggressiveness in its neighbors, or for a company looking to sell a budget- but still mighty- assault tank to those neighbors to make some much-needed income. With that in mind, the Kelswa might not be as flashy as those that came before it, but it certainly has the advantage of being cheaper- no small factor in this new era.
Fighting a Kelswa is the same as ever- LBX, SRMs, whatever can get a few motive hits so you can just leave it behind. Those rifles have unfortunately long range, but immobilizing it will at least keep it from being able to move to good firing positions- and with the lasers forward mounted and the heavy MGs almost irrelevant to them, a squad of battle armor swarming an immobilized Kelswa makes for fun times.
Using one is simple as well- it's just like any other big tank with a Gauss rifle- stay back and throw shots until the target comes apart. Nothing again to write home about here- it's so simple a Jade Falcon tanker can do it.
So. Rugged, plain, but wallet-friendly. No variants exist of this brute, so this is all you get for an article. Go on, discuss, and let me know what you'd like to see from this tank in the future as well.
