Tomcat-II
Designed as a large craft escort fighter, the what the Tomcat-II lacks in in-built weapons it makes up for in durable armor and terrifying speed. Even when burdened by two of its intended "main" weapon, Air-to-Air Arrow missiles, the fighter can still easily keep pace with most others in its weight class. Once it has released its payload, it gains incredible maneuverability, able to make the most of its meager onboard weaponry by swooping in to strike the enemy where they are most vulnerable. With 10 tons of armor, the Tomcat is still remarkably tough to take down, holding its own against many of the most common weapons deployed in the Inner Sphere. The Tomcat-II's robust performance as a missile carrier in early simulations also prompted its developers to put extra time into improving the fighter's atmospheric flight capability, envisioning the fighter as also being able to serve as a strike bomber in the first wave of a planetary invasion. The Star League Royal variant makes use of double heat sinks, replaces the large laser with an ER version, and replaces the LRM-10 with a PPC; the removal of one heat sink allowed the fighter to function, the variant going on to be loved and feared in equal measure.
Type: Tomcat-II TM-C2
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Tonnage: 50
Battle Value: 905
Equipment Mass
Engine 300 Fusion 19
Safe Thrust: 8 (Fully Laden: 6)
Max Thrust: 12 (Fully Laden: 9)
Structural Integrity: 0
Heat Sinks: 11 1
Fuel: 480 6.0
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor 160 10
Armor
Value
Nose 48
Wings 42/42
Aft 28
Weapons
and Ammo Location Tonnage Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV
Large Laser NOS 5.0 8 8 8 0 0
LRM 10 NOS 5.0 4 6 6 6 0
LRM 10 Ammo (12) FSLG 1.0 - - - - -
10 EO Pylons NOS 0.0 - - - - -
Quirks: Atmospheric Flyer, Fragile Fuel Tank
Tomcat-III
The ungainly but functional big brother of the Tomcat-II, the Tomcat-III is an escort and DropShip hunter to the last. Able to carry twice as many Air-to-Air Arrow missiles as its older siblings, and able to follow up with its nose-mounted AC/20, this fighter is a terror to light DropShip crews, and squadrons of them can even cause small WarShips to sweat. The downside to this firepower is its agility when so encumbered- or rather, it's lack thereof. When carrying all four AAA missiles, the fighter's maximum of 1.5g acceleration can only match the rated safe acceleration of many of the DropShips it is intended to hunt. As a result, most sorties see these fighters only carrying two or three missiles. Once it has released its payload, however, the fighter is able to match pace with the majority of medium and heavy fighters, and is able to handily out-maneuver almost the entire population of large craft. Common modifications replace the AC/20 with a gauss rifle, while a few naval commanders have opted to strip almost all of the weapons and much of the armor on the Tomcat-III to make room for surveillance equipment, and expanding the already generous fuel reserves to turn the fighter into a scout vessel, able to search for hidden enemies in dense asteroid fields and around the far sides of moons. During planetary invasions, many of the latter modification are repurposed as self-propelled, manned surveillance satellites, equipped with external consumables pods and fuel tanks that allow pilots to remain in orbit for nearly 20 continuous days (naturally, most commanders wisely opt for much shorter surveillance details, though long-lasting orbits have been used as punishments).
Type: Tomcat-III TM-C3
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Tonnage: 100
Battle Value: 1,182
Equipment Mass
Engine 400 Fusion 52.5
Safe Thrust: 6 (Fully Laden: 2)
Max Thrust: 9 (Fully Laden: 3)
Structural Integrity: 0
Heat Sinks: 13 3
Fuel: 680 8.5
Cockpit 3
Armor Factor 224 14
Armor
Value
Nose 72
Wings 54/54
Aft 44
Weapons
and Ammo Location Tonnage Heat SRV MRV LRV ERV
AC/20 NOS 14.0 7 20 0 0 0
Medium Laser RWG 1.0 3 5 0 0 0
AC/20 Ammo (15) FSLG 3.0 - - - - -
Medium Laser LWG 1.0 3 5 0 0 0
20 EO Pylons NOS 0.0 - - - - -
Quirks: Rumble Seat, Atmospheric Instability
