Kristov Kerensky, on 20 May 2015 - 10:26 AM, said:
The Imp is actually an IS Mech, it was simply designed by Clan Wolf, but it was meant to be used by Wolf's Dragoons in the Inner Sphere, so it only uses IS Tech and all but 1 variant are strictly IS Tech. The 1 variant that isn't pure IS uses Clan weapons but the rest is IS Tech and it's only for Wolf's Dragoons, that variant isn't found anywhere else.
It wasn't designed by Clan Wolf, because it existed for at least a decade-and-a-half before there
was a Clan Wolf (depending on which sources are cited for Clan Wolf's founding).
That being said, the original IMP-1A made its debut in 2793 (versus Clan Wolf's founding around either 2807 or 2810, according to Sarna.net at the time of this writing), almost a full decade after the SLDF left the Inner Sphere (in October 2784).
So, the
Imp wouldn't have been known in the Inner Sphere until the Wolf's Dragoons arrived with the IMP-2E - so, the only models known in the IS as of 3050 would be the
IMP-2E & the
IMP-3E, and the chassis is virtually unheard-of outside of the Dragoons and some of the Clans (where the latter are likely exclusively using the
Imp C), according to TRO 3050 Upgrade - "Beyond the Dragoons, the
Imp remains rare, spotted mostly in the second-line touman of Clan Star Adder back in the homeworlds. Most analysts agree that the rarity of these machines reinforces the view that they have long since been phased out by Kerensky’s descendants in favor of newer and more capable designs.").