When it first debuted in 3055, the
Thunder was hailed by the Capellan Confederation as "the fastest AC/20 in the Inner Sphere" (apparently because they'd forgotten that the Saladin and Hammerhead existed). As a fast-moving heavy mech with a really big gun, it was a dangerous in-fighter, but with the rapid pace of technological upgrades that were made in the late 50s and early 60s, it quickly was found to have some serious flaws, namely a near-total lack of ranged firepower.
Debuting in Field Manual: Capellan Confederation, the LHU-2B was designed by a student at the Victoria Academy of Arms and Technology in order to take advantage of new technologies in order to make a mech that carried a big autocannon like the
Thunder but was better able to fight at range. The design was considered so impressive that the student was given the honor of naming the new mech and chose
Lao Hu, or Tiger. It first walked off the assembly line in 3062 and was shared with the Confederation's Canopian allies.
From a technical standpoint, the
Lao Hu is a 75 ton mech powered by a 375 XL engine, giving it a top speed of 5/8 just like the earlier
Thunder. Endo-steel is used for added weight savings and the mech is protected by 13.5 tons of standard armor plating, leaving it one ton shy of maximum, and it arranges it fairly sensibly, being short a single point on the arms and side torsos, three points short on the center torso, and four points below on the legs. All frontal non-head locations will survive a single hit from an AC/20 plus something else without being breached- a single small laser for the arms and side torsos, an Inner Sphere large laser for the legs, and an Inner Sphere large laser and medium laser for the center torso. To the rear, the side torsos can withstand one hit from a Clan ER Medium Laser while the center torso can take a hit from an Inner Sphere PPC.
For weaponry, the LHU-2B
Lao Hu is given a greater emphasis on range than the
Thunder. The right arm mounts an LB 20-X, giving it better range and the ability to use cluster rounds, but unfortunately it's so bulky that it extends into the right torso so it's unable to be fired into the mech's rear or right side arcs. Three tons of ammunition insure that it will last through most fights, all stored in the right torso. To allow it to strike foes further away, the 2B also mounts an ER Large Laser in the left arm and an LRM-15 in the left torso, fed by a two ton ammo bin. Unfortunately, the mech lacks CASE so it will be destroyed rather than disabled in the event of an ammo explosion. The stock 20 double heatsinks do an adequate job of cooling them mech- it gains 3+movement heat on an alpha strike, but the LB 20's shorter range compared to the other weapons and the LRM's minimum range insures that this is not likely to be a routine occurrence.
When the mech was reprinted in TRO 3067, two new variants were added, the LHU-3B and the LHU-3C.
The LHU-3B was designed as a C3 Master mech, for coordinating fire between the Confederation's relatively small number of C3-equipped designs when it appeared in 3063. To fit the large C3M computer onto it, a ton of armor was removed from the arms and torsos, the LB 20-X was downgraded to an LB 10-X, and the LRM-15 was dropped to an LRM-10 with Artemis IV. The ER Large Laser was retained. The autocannon is still fed by a three ton ammo bin and the LRM pod by a two ton bin, still without CASE, but the smaller guns mean that this variant has better ammunition endurance. The change in weaponry insures that this variant runs cool even on an Alpha Strike
The LHU-3C, on the other hand, was intended as a sniper, replacing the 2B's autocannon with a Gauss Rifle and the LRM-15 for a trio of LRM-5s while again retaining the ER Large Laser. With the Gauss Rifle having a two ton bin and the LRMs now carrying three tons of ammo, this mech is well-positioned to take advantage of your favorite type of specialty munitions for the missiles, whatever types you happen to prefer. It's only capable of generating a single point of heat on a running alpha strike.
With the debut of Record Sheets: 3067 Unabridged, two more variants were released, the 3L and 4E, showing up in 3069 and 3078, respectively. Like the 3C, they keep the same armor profile as the 2B.
The 3L is a variation on the 2B, but completely replaces the weapons. The right arm autocannon is now a RAC 5, the left torso LRM pod is back to the LRM-10 with Artemis IV from the 3B, and the left arm ER Large Laser has been replaced with a Plasma Rifle. Three tons of RAC ammo occupy the right arm with the gun, while the LRM pod and Plasma Rifle are each forced to make due with only a single ton of ammo apiece, both stored in the left torso. People who were paying attention probably noticed that this doesn't add up to the same mass of warload as the 2B, and the remaining four tons come in the form of a Targeting Computer stored in the right torso to insure extra accuracy for the autocannon and Plasma Rifle. On an alpha strike, this mech only generates movement heat (assuming you spun the RAC up to max), but with its limited ammo you probably don't want to do that too often. Given that this mech debuted without any fluff, it's unknown if the RAC and Targeting Computer represent battlefield salvage from fighting with the FedSuns, if they were produced by the FedSuns as a refit of salvaged 2Bs, or if they're factory produced. Heck, it could be all three. The mech shows up on the MUL as being available to both the Confederation and the Suns (as well as the Canopians).
The 4E is a radically different beast. It packs Stealth Armor and a new weapon package. The Stealth Armor, of course, necessitated the addition of a Guardian ECM, which is stored in the new Small Cockpit, while an XL Gyro takes up additional space in the center torso. The 3C's Gauss Rifle is back, again with a two ton ammo bin in the right torso. The traditional left arm energy weapon has been upgraded to a Heavy PPC, nearly doubling its punch, while a trio of Rocket Launcher 10s sit in the left torso as hold out weapons. The addition of the Stealth Armor pushes its heat burden up considerably, but an added four double heatsinks take its dissipation to 28, letting it fire the PPC and GR while running with stealth engaged for no heat gain. According to the MUL, this is the only variant not used by anyone besides the Confederation.
All in all, the
Lao Hu functions as a reasonably mobile, reasonably durable, reasonably armed mech. The 2B has an issue with a blind spot in its right firing arc thanks to the autocannon's bulk restricting it to the front arc, but other than that the main weakness of any variant of the mech is ammo dependency and a lack of CASE. I will say that I dislike the 4E just for being yet another Capellan mech that combines Stealth Armor and a Gauss Rifle, they're positively dripping with such mechs at this point. Other than that, it's a solid Capellan design but not a particularly flashy one.
