UZL-*S UzielDeveloped at the opening of the FedCom Civil war, the Uziel falls solidly into the Medium weight class at 50 tons. The product of a direct commission from Defiance-Furillo general manager Duke Thelonius Gracchi, the Uziel was an attempt to both raise morale among Defiance-Furillo employess, and also to make his division of the company's image better. The final result can hardly be considered anything but a success.
Built on an Foundation E40 Endo-Steel frame to save weight, the basic Uziel UZL-3S uses a 300-rated GM XL fusion engine, and is easily capable of reaching speeds of up to 96 kilometers per hour over open terrain at a run, keeping its balance with a standard gyro. It also utilizes an array of six Rawlings 50 jump jets, for an effective jump range of fully 180 meters. Eight tons of Maximillian 100 Standard armor provide adequate protection, but only 75% of the chassis maximum. Only the center torso and legs can take a gauss rifle hit without breaching straight to the internal structure, although the side torsos only barely fail to stop the slug, and those locations that still have armor will be unable to take even a medium laser after that. The arms even if pristine are only able to stop a medium pulse laser twice before the internals are exposed. Surprisingly, the legs on this machine are armored even more heavily than the center torso, although only by a small amount. The rear torsos on this machine are similarly weakly armored, with only the rear center torso able to stop a medium laser strike without allowing some damage to transfer, and after a hit like that, even a machine gun will shred what's left of the armor with damage to spare. The head, at least, mounts the maximum possible armor coverage, though in all likelihood that will rarely be tested without the rest of the 'Mech already shot to pieces (which in all honesty isn't very hard).
For offensive capabilities, the -3S can open the engagement out to a whopping 810 meters thanks to a right arm mounted Defiance Shredder LB-2X Autocannon with a single ton of ammo mounted in the corresponding torso. This limits your ammunition choice to either slug or cluster, but you'll definitely not run out of ammo in the field. With such a small hit, you're probably better off using cluster ammunition to force enemy fast-movers to stay honest at range, or try to find the Golden BB. The more accurate qualities of cluster ammo aren't anything to sneeze at either, especially when firing at harassing VTOLs at range. The short range armament is much more impressive than a pair of plinks at long range, and consists of a Defiance Model XII ER Medium Laser mounted under the autocannon on the same arm, a TharHes Thunderbolt 12 Large Pulse Laser occupying the other arm, a pair of Diverse Optics ER Small Lasers, one in each side torso, and finally a Harvester 20K SRM-6 launcher in the center torso, with the associated ton of ammo housed next to the autocannon ammo in the right torso. This weapon arrangement allows the -3S to potentially knock over an enemy 'Mech at ranges up to 270 meters, if a pilot connects with most weapons, and the chances only get better as the ER small lasers come into play at 150 meters. Knife-fight range to be sure, but still handy when in range. This weapon load is handled by eleven double heat sinks, all mounted in the engine, which easily come up short if a pilot finds himself firing everything in the middle of a jump, spiking high enough to both slow the 'Mech, and also make shots more difficult as the heat interferes with targeting solutions. If the pilot is running flat out instead of (literally) burning across the terrain, the heat load is much more manageable when all weapons are fired, but the pilot will still feel it in the cockpit, even if the 'Mech's performance won't degrade appreciably.
Three Four variants of the Uziel exist, though none are nearly as common as the base model above. The original prototype version was at some point put into production in smaller numbers to supplement the main variant. Additionally, a pair of personalized variants exist, both of them sequentially owned by Wolf's Dragoons Black Widow Company XO Jacob Kincaid.
The first variant, the UZL-2S, makes the largest changes to the 'Mechs armament, but also rearranges the interior workings to make room for some of the new equipment. The chassis, engine, jump jets, and armor all stay the same, but all weapons save the SRM launcher are ripped out and replaced, and the missile bin is moved to the left torso. The autocannon, ER medium laser, and pulse laser are all traded in for a pair of Parti-Kill Heavy Cannon PPCs, one mounted in each arm. The ER small lasers are traded in for a pair of Kicker Machine Guns, fed by a half ton of ammo that takes its place next to the missile bin already there. All of this is fed by the minimum load of ten double heat sinks, which has some serious difficulty handling a heat curve that's stayed much the same. Overall range has been reduced by fully a third to the PPCs' maximum range of 540 meters, but firepower at that range is ten times what it used to be, and if both cannons connect this Uziel is very much capable of knocking an opponent down at range. The SRM launcher can seek out holes in the enemy's armor at close range, and the machine guns are useful for dealing with enemy infantry in your way. The other change to this variant from the baseline is the addition of a Cyclops Beagle Active Probe in the left torso, offering at least a bit of padding around the ammo bins, and making this into a superb mid-weight scout that can more than handle itself against the competition. If the pilot is feeling reckless and firing off all weapons while jumping, the heat will start slowing the 'Mech and degrading targeting performance immediately, and even throttling back to just a run will still bump the heat high enough to slow the run down in the next few seconds until that heat can be dissipated.
The next variant is more unique, used by Wolf's Dragoon Jacob Kincaid, as mentioned above, and is dubbed quite simply, the UZL-2S “Jacob”. This variant makes more radical changes to the 'Mech, dropping the engine to a 250-rated Extra Light engine, and removing the jump jets entirely, while simultaneously upgrading the standard gyro to an extra-light model. The armor is without a doubt upgraded to eight and a half tons of light ferro-fibrous, offering 85% of the maximum coverage for the chassis. Now, the armor can take a gauss rifle to any front location but the arms and head and still not transfer damage, and the arms only fail by the barest of margins. After such a hit, the arms and side torsos will be completely without armor, while the center torso and legs will still have enough armor to completely stop a medium laser, although nothing else. The rear armor is upgraded as well, offering enough protection to stop medium laser hits across the board, although the side torsos will be completely without armor, and the center will only be able to stop a single SRM before more damage transfers to the internal sections. Still, even if its still more fragile than it could be, it's much improved over the -2S and -3S variants. What does all this build up to, you ask? The primary armament of this machine is a pair of Rotary Autocannon-5s, one in each arm, and fed by three tons of ammunition, with two tons housed in the right torso and one in the left. This allows the “Jacob” to engage up to 450 meters away with over half a ton of burning metal in a very small engagement window. The SRM-6 launcher makes a reappearance, but is moved to the left torso now that the center has no free space for the launcher to fit. A single ton of ammo feeds the launcher, in the left torso next to one of the tons of RAC ammo. Two ER small lasers, one in each side torso round out the armament. Overall, this model is definitely the best suited to dishing out large amounts of damage downrange, even if that range is significantly reduced relative to that of the -3S, and only slightly reduced versus the -2S. Despite the fact that this design uses the minimum ten double heat sinks, the heat curve on this 'Mech isn't bad, running cool enough that the pilot is more than likely to not be bothered even in the midst of combat, and it takes fully thirty seconds of sustained running and firing everything for the 'Mechs performance to be even minimally degraded.
The
last second to last variant makes a significant departure from standard equipment, mounted several components that are experimental or expensive to produce. This design shares the chassis, engine, gyro, and pilot of the previous, and is called the rather unimaginative UZL-2S “Jacob II”. Just about everything else is changed, however. A supercharger is installed in the left torso, allowing the 'Mech to move even faster than the original -3S model if it really needs to, although this does risk damaging the engine. The armor is upgraded yet again to nine tons of light ferro-fibrous, and covering the 'Mech with nearly 90% of its maximum protection. The bulk of the increased protection goes to the legs and side torsos, with each front side torso can take a pair of large laser hits without breaching, and both legs can take an AC/20 shot without damaging anything inside, although a machine gun will shred the remaining armor with ease. The rear side torsos can now withstand a full medium pulse laser blast without buckling. The armor on the head, arms, and both sides of the center torso remain identical to the initial “Jacob” model. However, the most radical modification to the 'Mech is probably the addition of an Actuator Enhancement System to the 'Mech's arms. This system increases the accuracy of the weapons mounted in the arms, as well as making it easier to land a punch on a target. The weapons load is even more significantly changed, ripping out both RACs to instead mount a pair of LAC-5s, one in each arm. Four tons of ammo, two mounted in each side torso, allow the “Jacob II” to engage targets with multiple varieties of specialty ammo and never worry about running dry over the course of even several engagements. The SRM launcher present on all Uziel variants has been upgraded to a Streak system, mounted in the left torso with a single ton of ammo. Rounding out the armament are a pair of medium pulse lasers. Although effective to only 180 meters, these are very capable of discouraging getting too close, if the other armament failed to persuade your opponents. Although not as outright damaging as the first “Jacob”, this version is significantly more versatile and possesses much more staying power on the field. This variant is also impossible to overheat without outside help using the same old ten double heat sinks, riding cool even if the pilot fires everything he can at a dead run for as long as the ammo holds out.
Finally, some time after this article was written, the Uziel UZL-8S debuted in Record Sheets: 3067 Unabridged. Much like the Jacob variants, the 8S reduces the ground speed. Very
unlike the Jacob variants, this saved tonnage is converted directly into a rocket jetpack of no fewer than eight Improved Jump Jets, letting the Uziel leap 240 meters at a stretch, fully a third farther than the earliest models. That's a significant increase in tonnage spent on mobility, unfortunately, which means cuts had to be made elsewhere. Rather than gut either the -2S or -3S's armament but maintain the original role faithfully, Defiance Industries instead chose to reimagine the new variant's purpose. Every weapon is removed and replaced by something else: in this case, a Streak SRM-6 instead of the original SRM-6, and two Medium Pulse Lasers in each arm. Last but not least is a Guardian ECM Suite. This transforms the -8S into the stuff of nightmares for heavy, slow formations, especially those that rely on advanced electronics. Thanks to the inherent accuracy of the pulse lasers, and the ammunition efficiency of the Streak launcher, the 8S is capable of executing full distance jumps while still being able to expect results at the other end. It's a headhunter, and an excellent platform for neutralizing C3 networks - first temporarily, and then more permanently with the lasers.
Aside from the
latter two Jacob variants, the Uziel has been deployed widely with both the AFFS and LCAF. Dozen of units have received and used the Uziel, as well as several mercenary commands. With the conclusion of the FCCW and the Jihad, the Uziel isn't unheard of to turn up just about anywhere, although most units are encountered in units formerly of the Federated Commonwealth. The only exception is the 8S, which was introduced during the Jihad and quickly made its way into the Free Worlds League and the hands of the FWLM.
Using an Uziel is more simple than it looks. Although 50 tons, it plays like an oversize scout 'Mech. Use the -3S to harass enemy units that are susceptible to smaller hits at long range, and wait for an opening to leap in and blaze away at an exposed enemy, before jumping away and getting out of the action to cool off and avoid return fire. It doesn't have the armor to brawl with its trooper brothers in the Medium class, and the -3S doesn't really have the raw firepower to compete in that field either, instead relying on its speed to avoid anything it can't harass, and its guns to take care of whatever can catch up to it. The -2S is easier, as it actually has the guns to engage enemies and send them to the ground at range. It's also a superb scout with its Beagle probe, able to sniff out hidden units, and well armored enough to take the stray hit or escape an ambush. Better to err on the side of caution, and avoid the big boys with the big guns until there's a good time to strike. Lots of ammo in side torsos and an extra-light engine means that even if it did mount CASE, it wouldn't stop an explosion from gutting your 'Mech, so be careful. There's enough ammo that short of dumping it you won't be able to expend it all before missing armor becomes a problem, too.
Fighting an Uziel is also simple. None of the production models like big hits at all, so gauss rifles and other big guns will force them to keep their distance unless they want to lose an arm or a torso. Again, its basically an overgrown, over-gunned scout 'Mech, and any amount of big firepower will put one down for the count fairly quickly. Don't underestimate one's effect on the battle, though, as the -2S can disrupt infantry ambushes easily with a Beagle probe and machine guns, and both of them are fast for their size.
Additional information and artwork can be found at the
Master Unit List, and Camospecs has more
minis than I can really link to.The Uziel has had a new miniature released since the initial publication of this article.
It fixes everything that was ever wrong about the original, at least partly because it defaults to the significantly better -2S.
There's also a specific variant for the 8S
