This idea grabbed hold of my brain and wouldn't let me go to sleep, so I had to flesh it out and discharge it from my consciousness.
The Archer ARC-2F was one of the earliest versions of the Archer, one of the first Mech-based anti-aircraft support platforms, believed in some technical circles to have taught lessons used to inspire the Rifleman-3N. It is believed to have been extinct since the First or Second Succession Wars, and no sightings of this Mech have been documented since.
The 2F would have had a distinct profile; in place of the now-standard LRM racks of the standard Archer, the 2F sported two AC/2s in the torsos with one ton of ammunition each, often half of those loaded with flak ammo which was replaced with standard munitions as the availability of flak tapered due to the attrition of war. Two SRM 4s with one ton of ammunition each poked out underneath the autocannons, as well as the ubiquitous arm-mounted medium lasers. These weapons gave the ARC-2F a secondary role of short-range lance support, able to deliver enough firepower and armor to support a charge when aerospace was not a threat.
Unfortunately, the most notable feature of the ARC-2F was the large laser this variant carried in the center torso in place of the familiar rear-mounted mediums. This weapon, it is believed, was the primary cause of the downfall of this particular Archer variant. Being nestled so close to the fusion engine, the heat created between the engine and the weapon would quickly break down the cooling jacket around the laser, leading to serious overheating problems and breakdown of the laser's crystals. This often would leave the Mech with only its autocannons to use for self-defense in the heat of battle, and these would only deter the lightest of opponents.
When the large laser failed, those 2F variants that did survive usually were retrofitted with the rear-mounted medium lasers so common on Archers today, and a quest for more firepower led to the exchange of autocannons for LRMs. This led most 2Fs to become 2Rs, or in Lyran space, the 2S.
Today, it is believed the 2F does not exist anywhere in the Inner Sphere. Some agents within Comstar have speculated that some may have survived, having left with the Kerensky Exodus, but no evidence of this Mech has appeared anywhere in Clan space in the time the Inner Sphere has known them. As such, we can only document what the Helm memory core has given us as to the specifications of this Mech. These appear below.
According to some technical historians, the notable contributions of this Archer to the creation of the Rifleman was recognition of the need for faster tracking of targets, hence the moving of the Rifleman's main weapons to its arms. Also, the AC/2s were upgraded to AC/5-class in an effort to have better hard target deterrence.
Archer ARC-2F
IS Introductory Box Set
70 tons
BV: 1,235
Cost: 5,922,573 C-bills
Movement: 4/6
Engine: 280
Heat Sinks: 11
Gyro: Standard Gyro
Internal: 107
Armor: 208/217
Internal Armor
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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 26
Left Leg 15 26
Weapon Loc Heat
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Medium Laser LA 3
Medium Laser RA 3
SRM 4 LT 3
SRM 4 RT 3
Large Laser CT 8
AC/2 RT 1
AC/2 LT 1
Ammo Loc Shots
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SRM 4 Ammo LT 25
SRM 4 Ammo RT 25
AC/2 Ammo RT 45
AC/2 Ammo LT 45
Equipment Loc
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Standard None
Standard None
