So was looking at my Abolisher again and went, 'Wait a minute, that's nothing but heretical Clantech nonsense. We need a MANLY SPHEROID (suicide) rocketbike around here'.
AKA: SPEEEEEEEEEED!!!!
Blame Acksed. I do.
Background:
Officially the Cassowary, the second largest - and most predatory of - flightless bird of Terra, this slim hover vehicle is also referred to as the following:
Cannonball
Suicide Rocket
Lawndart Express
Vibe Ride
And other appellations too colorful to mention here. All based around the fact that is one of the fastest armored production vehicles in the Inner Sphere that isn't a true aerospace fighter or conventional fighter. In fact, its acceleration curve is an incredible 6.5gees starying from a stationary position, even on the ground, all the way up to its maximum obtainable airspeed. So long that is, as the pilot is willing to activate the triplet of jet boosters tucked into the sides & above the long tail of the craft, one can reach 324kph in a Cassowary. Yes, you read that right - a maximum aerial velocity of 90 meters per second. Flat.
Unlike an earlier Clan based design, which the Cassowary's engineers swear, 'honest', that it is not a direct competitor to, this design flips the layout end over end, while also going for more of a hit and run sniper configuration. Visually, each Cassowary looks like the classic slim VTOL gunship that has existed ever since the wars of the 20th century on Terra. Two small canted downwards stub wings, each with five single-use rocket tubes, are set behind a cockpit not much larger then a household refridgerator. Twin rotating ducted fans on swivels are located above and behind these, and are tipped with small winglets themselves to increase stability at higher speeds as they rotate closer to straightline thrust. A third smaller pod, this one a true turbine is set below the long tail, which ends at an inverted-V airfoil, has only three angles it moves from. Straight down for stationary hovering, landing/take-off, a negative 60 degree angle for cruising, and a 0 degree/straightline aft setting for whenever the Cassowary goes over its regular cruising speeds. Which, as one can guess, is quite often. On either side of the main pod, and in a nearly unnoticeable hump+ divot on top of the tail, are three booster jets that divert plasma from the onboard reactor in the same way as a jumpjet. Original plans were to incorporate these into the turbine, but insurmountable thermal issues potentially leading to catastrophic metal fatigue forced engineers onto a different path.
Beyond the obvious rocket pods - which in fact launch as a single salvo due to stability reasons if limited to only being able to be reloaded back at a base/airfield - there is a long needle-like extension underslung at the mid-point of the chassis. Based upon a smaller version of Donal PPCs used for centuries as the Warhammer's main guns, the particle projector cannon can accurately reach out to the same ranges as that classic design, if with a reduction in damage output per shot. Tiny pivoting airflow diverters ring the muzzle of the emitter, all in order to keep the energy cannon steady while at the speeds the craft is capable of. Remarkably, these use antiquated pneumatic tubes to work, rather than myomers, in order to trim down slightly on maintenance and logistics when away from a well-stocked field base. In fact, for all that it is a cutting edge design, over 70% of its dense Ferro-Fibrous armor plates share identical shapes with those on other units mounting the heavier armor type, further reducing the Cassowary's logistical trail while also giving a practical reason to buy a few if a unit already has 'Mechs or vehicles utilizing the advanced alloy composite.
Use:
Use of the Cassowary in the field can effectively be viewed as the aerial equivalent of a Savannah Master blitz. Targets are swarmed by upwards of a dozen Cassowarys from all directions which will either making a lightning fast pass to fire once and then dart behind cover, or see the entire swarm converge inwards to be showered in a hail of rockets and particle bolts. One minor issue though is that the Cassowary's turret relies on a small targeting reticule in the pilot's helmet and a thumb-stick on the right hand controls, in order to both pivot and view from a tiny camera set in an over-under co-axial mount to the particle cannon. This requires upwards of a year of training and can be extremely disorienting at first. A slightly more expensive Block II model uses a helmet based upon a BattleMech's own NeuroHelmet, if lacking the mind-machine interfacing equipment, in order to include the secondary 360 degree 'wrap around' vision-strip set just above a pilot's normal line of sight.
Variants:
Referred to as the 'Moa', this version of the Cassowary removes the single light particle cannon and replaces it on the turret with a dual-barrel set of mid-grade combat lasers. While reducing its effective direct fire combat range by half, it sees a near 100% increase in damage output. Due to needing to get in much closer to a target before its can use its lasers, extra armor was added around the unit. Again, in thinking of costs, and how it is much more likely to be damaged, the alloy composite was switched to the more common form of Ferro-Fibrous and increased in mass by one ton, along with altering a few armor plates along its top and under the cockpit which closely resembles the shapes of plates on various other units. A further sub-variant of the Moa is equipped with extended range lasers and the more advanced combined HUD + Helmet system.
Design Quirk:
Easy to Maintain
Cassoway Rapid Response VTOL
Mass: 15 tons
Movement Type: VTOL
Power Plant: 130 XL
Cruising Speed: 162 kph
Maximum Speed: 324 kph
Armor: Heavy Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
1 Light PPC
1 Rocket Launcher 10
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communication System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
Introduction Year: 3145
Tech Rating/Availability: E/X-X-X-X
Cost: 3,202,500 C-bills
Type: Cassoway
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Experimental)
Movement Type: VTOL
Tonnage: 15
Battle Value: 678
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure 1.5
Engine 130 XL 4
Cruising MP: 15
Flank MP: 23(30)
Heat Sinks: 10 0
Control Equipment: 1.0
Lift Equipment: 1.5
Power Amplifier: 0.0
Turret: 0.5
Armor Factor (Heavy Ferro) 49 2.5
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Front 2 15
R/L Side 2/2 8/8
Rear 2 7
Turret 2 9
Rotor 2 2
Weapons
and Ammo Location Tonnage
VTOL Jet Booster Rear 0.5
Rocket Launcher 10 Front 0.5
Light PPC Turret 3.0
Design Quirk:
Easy to Maintain
