The IS Standard Assault Suit was designed by GM during the height of the Word of Blake Jihad, and only achieved full production at a number of GM plants one week after the fall of Terra. Accordingly, it suffered from the draw-down in military purchasing, and due to the glut of second-hand equipment available failed to achieve its aim of dominating the high-end mercenary BA suit market.
An evolutionary rather than revolutionary design, the IS Standard Assault Suit owes several design features to its ancestor the IS Standard battlesuit, despite being twice as heavy. Armor was increased by about half, but it was armament which benefited most from the upgrade. Centrepiece was a 'Mech-grade medium laser mounted in the right arm, capable of killing lighter suits with one hit, or of seriously damaging lighter 'Mechs and vehicles. The internal suit powersupply gave the laser extended battlefield endurance. To back up the laser, a shoulder-mounted SRM-4 launcher with 3 reloads provided further damage potential while complementing the laser's range.
The suit boasted an improved sensor suit. While the ISSA suit was not expected to be a scout, it was expected to be employed in heavy urban fighting, and it was anticipated the sensors would prove a decisive factor in such battles. Lastly, the left arm boasted an anti-personnel weapon mount. The Heavy Shredder Needle Rifle was intended to be the standard offering for this mount - a weapon capable of blasting unarmoured infantry off a battlesuit without doing more than scratching the suit's paint.
While the design saw limited use - mainly as security-response units protecting GM facilities - its wearers regarded it highly. Years of experience with the IS Standard Suit meant the ISSA's ergonomics were superb, its control and communication interfaces intuitive, and its life-support systems capable of coping with even the most extended use. GM hasn't abandoned hope of putting the ISSA - nicknamed for some obscure reason the "Big Daddy" - at some point, and the success of the Ravager in the mercenary market may well result in at least a limited production run.
Type/Model: Inner Sphere Standard Assault
Tech/Era: Inner Sphere / 3085 / CBT Rules
Chassis Type: Humanoid
Weight Class: Assault (1501-2500kg)
Rules: Level 2, Standard design
Ground Speed: 10.8 km/h
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor Type: Standard, Advanced
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Type/Model: Inner Sphere Standard Assault
Equipment: Slots Mass
Chassis Type: Assault Class Humanoid 0 550
Motive System: Ground Movement (1 MP) 0 0
Jump Jets (0 MP) 0 0
Armor Type: 13 Points Standard, Advanced 0 550
Manipulators:
Left Arm: None 0 0
Right Arm: Basic Manipulator 0 0
Weapons and Equipment Loc Shots Slots Mass
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Medium Laser RA 30 3 325
SRM-4 Body 3 3 360
AP Weapon Mount LA 1 - 5
Improved Sensors Body 1 65
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