Joint Equipment Systems had a rocky start in the missile-carrier business, as tank fans are well aware. The JES I packed a massive punch in the form of an impressive set of SRM racks, but with all but one mounted forward, combined with shockingly poor movement for a hovertank, it was a very mixed bag to say the least. The same mistake was made then with their enormous JES II- while the forward mounting of a battery of LRMs isn't as problematic as for a close-fighting SRM-carrier, the speed of the unit was so poor as to make it nearly useless for offensive operations, and even in a defensive role it was prone to being overrun. It seems this trend was noticed by JES engineers enough to warrant a new unit, but one that makes only the most passing attempt at fixing the problem.
At 60 tons, the JES III comes in at just under 2/3 the size of its older cousin in the fire support role. By using a smaller chassis, the engine can give more speed without having to be massive (the reason a Rifleman moves the same speed as a Banshee 3E, but has so much greater firepower). The result is a pretty clever move by JES- while the new tank is smaller than its cousin, it gains speed AND keeps the same forward-facing firepower. By any standard, that's pretty impressive stuff.
By opening up the hood, so to speak, we find the JES III's using an XL fusion engine (the JES II used a standard fusion model). More weight savings, despite an increase in cost- I'm always a fan of using an XL if the cost (and vulnerability on a Mech) allows the unit to do things that it wouldn't be able to accomplish otherwise, and trying to build the JES III without this just doesn't work. The speed isn't anything spectacular- at 3/5 you'll still struggle to keep up with a running battle- but at least it's competitive with other heavy fire support units, and leaps and bounds better than the Annihilator-esque crawl of the JES II. Note however that the JES III marks JES' foray into using wheels, with all the benefits and drawbacks that can provide- tracks would have been much nicer, overall.
Fire support vehicles sometimes feature designs that feel a bit light on the armor- designers apparently figure that since it's sitting behind the front lines, there's no need to go all crazy and add on things like protection from weapons fire. The JES III surprisingly makes that kind of choice- while the II had a pretty hefty skin to protect it from return fire, a III taking fire won't last long. Eight tons of Starshield armor are oriented mostly in a 'point this end at the enemy' configuration, with the fore able to take two hits from the VotW test cannon before breaking. The sides take twenty-one points each, while the rear follows with a 20-point shell covering the rear- enough to survive a chance encounter with a Saladin. The... turret? Wait, this has a turret? On a JES design? What heresy is this? There's 26 points there, anyway.
A turret. JES finally figured out what customers had hated about the first two in the series. Sure, the JES I had one of its SRM racks (out of seven) in a turret, but that's not going to dissuade most attacks. The JES II tried putting a couple of missile racks on the sides for cover, but that's little consolation if someone gets behind it, especially with its plodding movement. Here though, we have a fire support unit that can actually bring its weaponry to bear outside the front arc. Well done, JES- it took over half a century to figure it out, but here we are at last! Four big FireFire LRM-15 racks sit in an angular setup, fed by a total of six tons of ammo for... well, it's not GREAT battlefield endurance, but the accepted minimum at least of twelve turns of fire. Nothing to sneeze at- that's a lot of muscle to throw at someone, and with the LRM being as flexible of a weapon as it is these days with specialty ammunition types one can make a real mess with a JES III's weapons. Minefields? Guided munitions? Narc? Smoke? Whatever- this is just a premier example of what a fire support tank can be. And remember, that's sixty warheads flying off the racks every turn- on a fairly mid-weight vehicle! A pair of boring old machine guns share half a ton of ammo and are in forward mountings (the art suggests they're in ball-turrets, but we go off stats here), in case infantry pop up. If infantry are attacking your JES III, you don't deserve to have your tank anymore anyway- switching this out for an AMS and a ton of ammo would be a much better kit.
As one would expect, several variants exist. The most basic removes one ton of ammunition (come on, take the MGs instead!) to gain a C3 slave module, making for a tank that can make life truly miserable from a distance with the right network... but only for ten turns. It's a great idea, just not the best sacrifice to gain that ton it needed- the MGs and ammo for the C3 and an ER small laser would have been a vast improvement.
JES listened on the next idea- with the MGs and ammo removed, the weight was put into the engine, making for a faster JES III at 4/6. Ohhhhh yes. A pair of useless anti-infantry weapons lost to be able to move that much faster is ALWAYS a good thing on a platform like this, and should be utilized by players at every opportunity over the standard version if the option is available.
EDIT: Brought to my attention, this version utilizes an XXL engine, which wasn't mentioned in the record sheet. This makes for a VERY expensive platform in terms of C-bills, so if you're loaded, use this. If not, ask yourself if that extra speed is worth a massive hit to the wallet- if not, you can buy a few slower versions for the price of one of these.Returning to the original engine (and bringing back the MGs) is a version that trades out the LRM racks (you monsters!) for a quartet of MML-9s (...insult redacted). On this the MGs make more sense- an MML carrier likely gets into body-punching range for the SRMs more than the dedicated LRM versions will, so it might actually encounter enemy infantry more. However, while the ability to fling 36 SRMs in someones face is a scary prospect, that's also the problem- it's scary, and so people want it to go away quickly. And the armor is the same as ever- enough to withstand a few hits at fire support ranges, but not enough to stop a dedicated attack at closer ranges- the kind that this would probably find itself at. My advice is to hold these back as bodyguards for standard-issue JES IIIs and discourage anyone from pushing at your fire support lines too hard- nothing tells that visiting Dragonfly or Plainsman where to stuff it quite like a few dozen SRMs to the face.
EDIT: Again, the record sheet didn't tell the full story. Two more tons of ammunition are added here along with a pair of ER medium lasers. Not that this really changes much about the unit, mind you, but it's a little more endurance and a couple of added treats for the enemy to think about. And I always appreciate a unit using a fusion engine that uses those free heat sinks!Finally, another fairly simple switch is a version that drops the LRMs (you monsters!) for a quartet of Thunderbolt-10s (...insult redacted). This is a gamble- you only have nine rounds per launcher, the range isn't as far, and an AMS makes your day suck. But... that's a lot of concentrated muscle. I'm not personally a fan of this version, myself, but I see the appeal for many players. Let your instincts guide you- if you're a T-bolt fan, this is going to be fun. If not, stick to one of the other setups. (The author found himself wishing this version was based on the speed variant, losing the MGs again to go up to 4/6 to compensate for the shorter range of the launchers here. The author has harped on the machine guns too much in this article.)
JES IIIs were originally built for the Republic, but as with their previous offerings it's now hard to find a military that doesn't use them to make enemies miserable- it's likely quite common to see JES IIIs lobbing salvos at each other on worlds across the Inner Sphere under every flag imaginable. So if you're reading this, it means that your faction of choice uses this thing- and so do your enemies. So learn this vehicle well- you never know when you'll find yourself looking at an unfriendly JES III through your crosshairs... or through those of your own JES III.