Experimental Testbeds, circa 3055

[Liam's Ghost]

While 3055 is best known as the point when the houses stopped haphazardly slapping star league technology on their existing designs and started haphazardly slapping together all new designs out of Star League technology, it was also a period of considerable all new innovations in technology, as documented in hushed whispers in texts like the Tactical Handbook. Though a lot of these technologies would take a while to show any real payoff (because Fasa's standing policy was to not put designs with non-tournament legal equipment (once called level 3) in TROs), the text, both past and present, indicates that they were still around, and somebody was definitely testing (statistically speaking, this somebody was probably the Fed Com states).

What follows are a few battlemech refits utilizing technology that still had its new lab smell in 3055. The refits are (mostly) fairly basic, at times even pretty weak, because the point wasn't so much to build a supermech as to run a new system through its paces outside of a lab setting. Even so, they aren't all turds. Only some of them.

All fluff is my own invention. Feel free to discard as you will. Keep in mind that these designs are using equipment that wouldn't see mass production for years or even decades, so it's not like your entire army should be running around with them. At best, even if you want to ship them off for some live fire testing in the field, it's probably like no more than a lance to a regiment.



Archer

The Archer was the obvious platform for the testing of experimental missile systems. Even the most modern variants of the time were based on one of the most ubiquitous and well understood machines in existence, meaning engineers could quickly identify any bugs that might occur between the chassis and the new experimental systems.

Two notable examples are the ELRM and Mortar equipped models of the Archer. The concept of the ELRM variant (tagged ARC-4x1) won fairly universal approval, but design and manufacturing problems with the ELRMs themselves, as well as the disruption caused by the fracturing of the FedCom alliance, kept them from being a viable battlefield system for decades. The Mortar variant, on the other hand, was far more viable from a manufacturing standpoint, but its autoloading mortars were deemed a less effective system overall against front line Clan forces. Interest and funding were thus shifted to other weapons programs, even though the Mortar system could be considered a fully developed and robust weapon system. 

Archer ARC-4x1
IS experimental
70 tons  
BV: 1,624
Cost: 7,420,273 C-bills

Movement: 4/6
Engine: 280
Heat Sinks: 10 [20]
Gyro: Standard Gyro

Internal: 107 (Endo-Steel)
Armor: 216/217
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Head                        3        9
Center Torso               22       33
Center Torso (rear)                 10
Right Torso                15       24
Right Torso (rear)                   6
Left Torso                 15       24
Left Torso (rear)                    6
Right Arm                  11       22
Left Arm                   11       22
Right Leg                  15       30
Left Leg                   15       30

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Medium Laser                    LA     3
Medium Laser                    RA     3
Extended LRM 15                 RT     8
Extended LRM 15                 LT     8

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
Extended LRM 15 Ammo            RT     6
Extended LRM 15 Ammo            RT     6
Extended LRM 15 Ammo            LT     6
Extended LRM 15 Ammo            LT     6

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            RT
CASE                            LT


Archer ARC-4x2
IS experimental
70 tons  
BV: 1,241
Cost: 6,237,073 C-bills

Movement: 4/6
Engine: 280
Heat Sinks: 10 [20]
Gyro: Standard Gyro

Internal: 107 (Endo-Steel)
Armor: 216/217
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Head                        3        9
Center Torso               22       33
Center Torso (rear)                 10
Right Torso                15       24
Right Torso (rear)                   6
Left Torso                 15       24
Left Torso (rear)                    6
Right Arm                  11       22
Left Arm                   11       22
Right Leg                  15       30
Left Leg                   15       30

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Medium Laser                    LA     3
Medium Laser                    RA     3
'Mech Mortar 8                  RT    10
'Mech Mortar 8                  LT    10

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
Smoke Mortar 8 Ammo             RT     4
Smoke Mortar 8 Ammo             LT     4
Anti-personnel Mortar 8 Ammo    LT     4
Anti-personnel Mortar 8 Ammo    RT     4
Airburst Mortar 8 Ammo          LT     4
Airburst Mortar 8 Ammo          RT     4
Shaped Charge Mortar 8 Ammo     RT     4
Shaped Charge Mortar 8 Ammo     LT     4

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            RT
CASE                            LT

[Liam's Ghost]

Jagermech

It's a bit of an unfair stereotype to say that House Davion loves its autocannons, but then, they did build the Jagermech. And when the AFFS began looking for a good platform to test out prototypes of their new smaller caliber LB class cannons, there were few more ideal candidates.

For a testbed, the results are surprisingly capable, and even superior as an anti-air platform than the modernized Jagermech it was based on. Its quad guns couldn't match the theoretical hitting power of the standard Jagermech, and their prototype nature made them just as susceptible to jamming as ultra cannons on the standard model, but they could fill the sky with flack or saturate a target with submunitions to find the holes their compatriots punched in them. The lighter LB class cannons even freed up space for additional armor.

Though there was talk of standardizing the testbed as a new production model once the new cannons had reached their finalized production state, politics stepped in, with the funds originally allocated going instead to the "redesigned for Davion Pride" Jagermech III.

JagerMech JM6-Dx1
IS experimental
65 tons  
BV: 1,011
Cost: 11,913,770 C-bills

Movement: 4/6
Engine: 260 XL
Heat Sinks: 10
Gyro: Standard Gyro

Internal: 104
Armor: 152/211 (Ferro-Fibrous)
                     Internal    Armor
--------------------------------------
Head                        3        9
Center Torso               21       20
Center Torso (rear)                  7
Right Torso                15       20
Right Torso (rear)                   7
Left Torso                 15       20
Left Torso (rear)                    7
Right Arm                  10       15
Left Arm                   10       15
Right Leg                  15       16
Left Leg                   15       16

Weapon                         Loc  Heat
----------------------------------------
Medium Pulse Laser              LT     4
Medium Pulse Laser              RT     4
LB 2-X AC                       RA     1
LB 2-X AC                       LA     1
LB 5-X AC                       RA     1
LB 5-X AC                       LA     1

Ammo                           Loc Shots
----------------------------------------
LB 2-X Cluster Ammo             LT    45
LB 2-X AC Ammo                  RT    45
LB 5-X AC Ammo                  RT    20
LB 5-X Cluster Ammo             LT    20

Equipment                      Loc
----------------------------------
CASE                            LT
CASE                            RT

[Takiro]

Very cool Liam, brings me back to the mid 90s when Tactical Handbook came out. Too bad FASA never did a XTRO. Plenty of our home campaigns saw the limited use of such experimental technologies often through PCs who outifitted their Mechs. To show their unreliable (experimental) nature we had the dreaded roll a 2 home rule where something went wrong with this fancy pants equipment. Also we started calling the ELRM the XRM (eXtreme Range Missile) there too. Mortars never got any use cause we never understood them very much. What damage did they do particularly?

I will try to look up that Atlas with a mace and triple strength myomer with had running around terrorizing folks later. :o

Ah the memories! Keep up the good work. ;)