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with the cockpit canopy defined, showing FoV
Cockpit details
showing command couch suspended in the canopy bubble.
A Jihad era addition to the TO&E of Clan Ghost Bear. To counteract the WoB Jihad, and in particular the cells of Manei Domini cyborgs it was decided that a rapid response urban combat fighter was needed. Since they needed to speed production, an IS factory was converted, plus the unprecedented decision to arm Rasalhagians who had demonstrated their loyalty, ruled out an Omni mech, both logistically, and from combat training and familiarity. That said, cost was not viewed as a consideration, especially measured vs effectiveness.
The resulting mech, based off an already respected Succession War city fighter, the Vulcan, exceeded expectations, in every way.
The first criteria was the speed to respond rapidly to any situation, and to chase down any rebels and Jihadists that were encountered. To that end, the new Vulcan IIC mounts a 280xl engine, allowing for speed approaching 120 kph, and a jump capacity of 180 meters, with ports in the legs and side torsos. To aid in it's mission, it has an unusual "bubble canopy" providing unparalleled vision, allowing the pilot to easily see above, below and to the sides, and it also mounts an advanced Active Probe, to help in ferreting out the enemy. Of course, all of that would mean nothing, if it was not equipped to absolutely devastate the Word of Blake enemy, when uncovered.
For this, it carries 2 heavy anti-personnel Flamers, and a total of EIGHT 20mm Machine Guns, split between the two forearm weapon clusters. Each forearm also carries sufficient CASE protected ammo for 25 bursts per MG, deemed more than enough. Backing those is an array of Extended Range Medium Lasers, located two in the left torso, and one in the centerline, below the cockpit. To add to it's punch, and provide long range capabilities when not in an urban environment, it also carries a single Extended Range Large Laser, in it's right torso, which when combined with the 3 other lasers, gives it respectable battlefield firepower, for it's class.
For defense, it combines it's speed and jump mobility with over 98% of the theoretical maximum in ferro fibrous armor it can carry, which is then supplemented by a full ECM suite, making the Vulcan IIC hard to find, hard to catch, and carrying enough armor to shrug off hits from all but the heaviest weapons should someone actually manage to catch it. In all, it has gained an enviable reputation on the battlefield, not just against infantry, but it has held up well against armor and other Battlemechs, too.
Unfortunately, it's reputation for reliability without heavy regular maintenance is not so sterling, in part to the rushed nature of the design, but also due to facilities not truly ready for the task of building clan spec weaponry. This, and it's obscenely high cost (especially for such a specialized unit) caused the Mech to be discontinued, and until Fortress Republic, it seemed unlikely that any new ones would be built. Rumors from the Dominion are that these mechs indeed ARE being produced again. And likely most of the glitches of the earlier models were sorted out on this new production run.
Edited by Bishop Steiner, 15 August 2014 - 06:07 PM.
