Says TRO3060, the Gladius ended production b/c the Pontiac AC/10 supply was cut off when Jeff Calderon became Protector. I want to say some of the MWDA info said the Gladius II was the replacement b/c the supply stoppage.
Taurian Protector Grover Shraplen authorized the licensing of the Maultier design to Marian Arms shortly after Julius O’Reilly took power, and in 3066 also lifted the previous Protector’s ban on importing the Gladius Pontiac 50 AC/10. Profi ts from the weapon sales are presumably going to fi nance the Taurian Concordat’s ongoing campaign in the Pleiades Cluster.
HB:MPS, pg. 162
Taurian Protector Grover Shraplen authorized the licensing of the Maultier design to Marian Arms shortly after Julius O’Reilly took power. In 3066 Shraplen lifted the previous Protector’s ban on importing the Gladius Pontiac 50 AC/10. Cassius’s government has encouraged this relationship with the Concordat and is even exploring the possibility of exporting arms to the Magistracy of Canopus. Cassius is looking for sources of hard currency to buy the BattleMechs his defense industry cannot build.
M&M: TSD, pg. 200
Now, there is not much fluff on the Gladius Mk. II, but there is this:
Alphard Trading Corporation catered to the realities of the Marian Hegemony and produced an ICE-powered model that dispenses with complex energy weapons in favor of the near-ubiquitous Pontiac light autocannon.
RecGuide: IlClan #32, pg. 4, J.Edgar Light Hover Tank entry.
MUL gives 3070 as Introduction Date for the J.edgar (LAC), and 3073 for the Gladius Mk. II, so i can assume that either the MH-TC trade is still firm, or the Marians finally bought the Pontiac 50/Light licence from Stereope.
PD: Doh, almost forgot. BattleCorps MilSpec article. But i dont know its canonicity right now.
GLADIUS MEDIUM HOVER TANK MK II
Mass: 40 tons
Movement Type: Hover
Power Plant: Omni 145 ICE
Cruising Speed: 86 kph
Maximum Speed: 130 kph
Armor: Marian Arms Standard
Armament:
1 Pontiac Light AC/5
4 GM Minigun Light Machine Gun (arrayed)
4 Death Blossom Rocket Launcher/15
Communications System: Garret T10B
Targeting & Tracking System: O/P 911
The resumption of trade between the Marian Hegemony and the Taurian Concordat in the wake of Protector Grover Shraplen’s rise to the Protectorship allowed production of the Gladius Medium Hovertank to resume on Alphard, which meant an increase in the available vehicles to the Marian Legions and the Taurian Defense Force. This surplus was put to good use after the failed Circinan invasion and the resumption of partisan violence in the Lothario districts.
In 3073 a new model Gladius was observed in action on Bromhead, and Com Guard SigInt has recently obtained copies of the ROMs of this vehicle in action. The Pontiac autocannon—formerly a bone of contention between the Concordat and the Hegemony—has been replaced by a new Pontiac light autocannon. The increase in available mass allowed Hegemony designers to add four light machine guns tied together into an array alongside the forward-firing Pontiac. Four disposable pods of Death Blossom rockets were added to the tank’s bow. Together these modifications make the Gladius a far more deadly city-fighter, able to deal with enemy tanks or infantry with ease. The Death Blossoms ensure that any enemy thinking the Gladius easy meat because of the smaller autocannon will be met with a powerful barrage.
The presence of the light autocannon on this tank, along with the Clint BattleMech, makes us suspect the Taurians may have stolen more than just the machine gun array technology from the Davions.
