Ballista

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[edit] Description

A fore-runner of the O-Bakemono, and designed to look exactly like the Catapult, with which it was intended to be used in concert with, the Ballista is an up-scaled, up-armored assault intended, like it's faster successor, to carry the Arrow system into battle. The design was chosen to confuse enemies as to what exactly they faced. Equipped with a guardian ECM suite to help hide it's lance from enemy sensors, and a beagle probe to spot ambushes, it is designed to work in concert with the Kuritan addiction to C3 and provide artillery support with the built in C3 slave computer. Nineteen tons of standard starslab 2 armor, is upgraded with CASE to provide protection from ammunition explosions from the four tons of artillery shells stored in the side torso sections. A standard engine and gyro are used to keep the costs of production down, while a basic ten double strength heat sinks can cope with a protracted arrow salvo, they struggle if the secondary energy weapons are brought into use as well.

[edit] Armament

Twin arrow IV artillery systems provide the core of this heavy assault 'Mech, giving much needed heavy fire support on the battlefield. For those 'Mechs unwise enough to close with it, a single ER large laser, and paired ER Medium Lasers provide sufficient firepower to deter scouting mechs and give heavier 'Mechs cause to consider.

[edit] Variants

The CPLT-100X2 has cut the armor protection from the massive 19 tons to 17, this saved weight is used to add two more tons of arrow IV ammunition, which necessitates moving one of the ER Medium Lasers from the right side torso to sit under the cockpit. While this adds additional much needed longevity in the field, it is not popular with the pilots as the new laser position is prone to leak heat into the cockpit, making any closing enemy scout a deeply unpleasant sight. However, the designers then simply asked the test-pilot who'd complained whether he'd prefer the occasional sauna from the medium laser's heat, or to have some of the additional artillery ammunition placed there without the CASE protection the torso ammunition bins provided.

The CPLT-90X, reputed to be the successor to the CPLT-100X, and scheduled for deployment in 3058, is ten tons lighter. Closer to the original catapult in capabilities, it retains the twin arrow IV systems, and a full six tons of artillery ammunition in CASE protected ammo bins, the downgrade in size necessitates swapping the energy weapons out for five ER Medium Lasers. The C3 slave is, however, swapped out for a C3 master computer, enabling the 'Mech to act as the command and control unit for a fire support lance. While the ammunition mechanism for the right side arrow launcher is convoluted, it is reasonably reliable. The benefits of storing all the arrow ammunition in the left torso, and the design only needing one section to be protected with CASE is a benefit for field maintenance. Again it has ten double strength heat sinks to keep heat under control, which is entirely sufficient for the artillery systems, and quickly overwhelmed under the strain of the energy weapons. This version, however, drops the ECM suite and active probe, intending to rely on lance-mates and scouts for such things. 14.5 tons of standard starslab armor provide adequate protection for a 'Mech intended to remain in the rear of the battle. (BV2=1353)

[edit] References

Made with The Drawing board.