Thorizer II IFV
Mass: 36 tons
Movement Type: Hover
Power Plant: 150 Fusion
Cruising Speed: 97.2 kph
Maximum Speed: 151.2 kph
Jump Jets: Vehicular Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 90 meters
Armor: Standard
Armament:
1 Small Pulse Laser
2 Medium Laser
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communication System: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking System: Unknown
Introduction Year: 3145
Tech Rating/Availability: E/X-X-X-E
Cost: 1,350,415 C-bills
Overview
A dismal failure as both a hovvercraft and an aerospace fighter, the Thorizer was a prime example of trying to do too much on a platform when the tecnology to do so was not available. The Niops Association, desperate for a solid hovercraft and IFV platform that could function in tainted environments, would revisit the design in the 32nd century, recasting and improving the design considerably.
Capabilities
Abandoning any effort at making the Thorizer a true aerospace fighter, Niopian engineers chose to focus on what the Thorizer could do well: carry things and mount jump jets. Moderning the chassis and standardizing components allowed engineers to use fit the 36-ton Thorizer II with a 150-rating Omni standard fusion engine, found on designs such as the Valkyrie light 'Mech or Burke defense tank. This dramatically improved overland speed, with the Thorizer II capable of reaching speeds of 150 kph.
Modernizing a platform originally designed to convert to an aerospace fighter made environmetnally sealing the Thorizer a straightforward proposition. Further, the streamlined hull proved easy to turn into a floatation hull, allowing the Thorizer II to function in the numerous waterways of Niops, even in the event its air skirts are compromised.
The primary role of the Thorizer II is to deliver infantry to combat. To that end, it devotes most of its original fuel bunkerage and cargo space to a four-ton infantry bay, allowing it to deliver a full platoon of infantry to the battlefield, while protecting them from hostile external environments.
Where originally thrusters for fighter mode were fitted, the modern Thorizer II swaps these for standard jump jets. While the Thorizer II can't fly in atmosphere, these do, however, give it limited maneuverability in microgravity, where it can produce 0.5 Gs of thrust, with a single ton of fuel providing for 12 km/sec of delta-v, allowing the Thorizer to function as a stop-gap infantry carrier amongst aseroid mining sites.
While the original Thorizer predated the widespread deployment of energy weapons, the Thorizer II takes advantage of its fusion engine to carry twin medium lasers forward, with a single small pulse laser aft. This pulse laser is there to assist embarked infantry with clearing LZs prior to disembarking.
Deployment
At the cost of cheaper light BattleMech, the Thorizer II would seem a poor investment at first glance, but they provide the Niops Association Militia with a multi-role platform capable of supporting their infantry forces in ways standard BattleMechs can't, and on a world starved for hydrocarbons like Niops, represents a good alternative to ICE-driven APCs. To that end, the Militia intends to make the Thorizer II its standard infantry transport. Whether Niops can produce enough of them to do so remains to be seen.
Type: Thorizer II
Technology Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced)
Movement Type: Hover
Tonnage: 36
Battle Value: 464
Equipment Mass
Internal Structure 4
Engine 150 Fusion 8.5
Cruising MP: 9
Flank MP: 14
Jumping MP: 3
Heat Sinks: 10 0
Control Equipment: 2.0
Lift Equipment: 4.0
Power Amplifier: 0.0
Armor Factor 48 3
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Front 4 14
R/L Side 4/4 12/12
Rear 4 10
Weapons
and Ammo Location Tonnage
Small Pulse Laser Rear 1.0
2 Medium Laser Front 2.0
Combat Vehicle Chassis Mod Body 4.0
3 Jump Jet Body 1.5
Combat Vehicle Chassis Mod Body 0.0
Infantry Body 4.0
Cargo Body 1.0
Cargo (Liquid) Body 0.9999999999999999
Features the following design quirks: Improved Communications, Improved Sensors, Narrow/Low Profile, Difficult to Maintain, Hard to Pilot, Non-Standard Parts
