We're back, with apologies for the disappearance for a couple of weeks. The brief thing is that after a series of cuts at my job, I'm now doing three full-time jobs' worth of work in a week, and the amount of extra work being done both at the office and at home is significant. Today is the first full day off I've had in a few weeks, and it's left me with little time for gaming or any of that. I'll make an effort to be better about this from here on, however, even if it's smaller articles like this one. Today's article is a request from our good friend Worktroll, who requested a closer look at an interesting fire support tank called the Pilum.
One of the classic combat vehicles of the early days of Battletech was the Striker, the poster-child of the second TRO in the game's history in 3026. The Striker was simple in concept- give a modest-sized wheeled vehicle a mid-sized LRM rack and a big SRM rack, and it can hit targets at any range for a wallet-friendly price tag. A group of Strikers could rain down LRMs on an enemy force, with mobility to keep the range and the massed SRM-spam to make sure anyone who wanted to press the issue regretted it. Simple- but Valiant, the company behind the Striker, wanted to build something a bit bigger. They sure pulled that off, at least. The 'swollen Striker' became known as the Pilum, and while it wasn't considered a success early on it's proven to be a winner over time- the largest wheeled vehicle able to be built in the game, Pilums take the simple Striker concept and make it into a whole lot more of the same. Let's take a look.
The Pilum starts with a 70-ton wheeled chassis, double the size of the Striker. While unable to meet the original speed of it's smaller cousin, the Pilum reaches a respectable 4/6 movement curve, with the bonuses a wheeled chassis offers in certain terrain to boot. That's not bad- that means Pilums can pace the usual fire support platforms like Archers, and even outrun others like the LRM carrier and Longbow. This is accomplished by going with a 260 fusion engine, a luxury that boosts the price tag of the Pilum but one that makes all things possible here. While this might deter sales to some commands, the Pilum was intended for the large checkbooks of the Federated Commonwealth (and later the Federated Suns after the breakup)- a look at similar-era projects like the Berserker suggests that the AFFC of the 3050s was not particularly concerned with price, only effectiveness.
A solid ten-ton sheath of ferro-fibrous armor covers the Pilum, unusually tough for a fire support tank. The vehicle was one of the first tank designs of the post-Clan invasion explosion of new technologies to gain this kind of armor, and it's a welcome sight for Pilum crews. Forty points of armor coat the turret and the front, with thirty-three points in the sides and the unusually-tough rear. The kind of fast-moving harassing units that usually cause LRM boats fits (hovercraft, VTOLs, fast light Mechs like the Spider, etc.) wil have a tough time bringing down a Pilum before it can call for help- other than its motive systems, it's a tough vehicle to knock out.
Knocking it out though should be a priority for the enemy. Pilums aren't ridiculously well-armed, but it's enough to be a big problem for an enemy. The formula isn't all that different from the Striker- just a lot more of it. Where the Striker has an LRM-10 to rain down fire with, Pilums go with stereo LRM-15 racks in the turret to make for a serious world of hurt on an enemy. Backed by a pair of Artemis IV computers and a three-ton ammo bay (twelve rounds per launcher), the Pilum can make life seriously miserable on an enemy. The author isn't a big Artemis fan in general, but at the time of the Pilum's debut the Guardian ECM system was far less prevalent than it later became, so it makes sense from that standpoint- the idea of removing them in favor of more ammunition for siege operations and alternate ammo types is appealing, but that's up to personal choice.
Backing the LRM racks is an array of short-range defensive options to hold off harassers- where the Striker relied on an SRM-6 to do the job, the standard 3050s love of the Streak SRM-2 dictated two of those questionable-value weapons to be installed in the turret, sharing a ton of ammo. The loss of the SRM's versatility in terms of ammunition (no more inferno or flechette options) is made up for by... er... well, it's not, and this should be switched out for the old SRM-6 rack at the first opportunity in the author's opinion. Fortunately, they're backed by a pair of fore-mounted medium pulse lasers- weapons that the author normally avoids, but which here work well. They cover the LRM's dead zones nicely, and backed by the SRMs can give a light enemy some serious problems.
Solid, right? Use a Pilum just the way you would use about any other LRM boat like the Sturmfeur or Rhino- just know that it's tough enough to take a few hits, so you can afford to send Pilums into situations that you might not risk most similar vehicles in. A great addition to FedSuns formations- and a huge threat to the enemies of the Davions. A well-used platoon of Pilums is a game-changer, for sure.
While there are rumors of close-combat versions out there replacing the LRM racks with MRM or SRM racks (seriously?), no solid info exists. Only one variant officially exists, stripping the LRMs in favor of a single Arrow IV artillery system. Four tons of ammunition feed the launcher, giving plenty of options for ammo choices. The rest of the vehicle, including the defensive armament, remains identical. Obviously this is a great choice for mobile formations in need of artillery support, and should be given a VERY healthy amount of respect. Very reminiscent of the old Chapparal in a lot of ways, really.
So, you know what to do- have some fun with the Pilum, give it some tests and let us know what happens. Brew up some variants and let us know what you come up with- do you like the idea of replacing the launchers with other missile systems, for example? You know how it works. Thanks for reading, and we'll be back next week with another request, see you then!
