StarCorp's New Nightmare Machine

[DeJaVu]

LONGBOW

Type/Model: LGB-13CLongbow
Mass: 85 tons
Chassis: StarCorp 100
Power Plant: Strand-Martin 340 XL
Walking Speed: 43 km/h
Maximum Speed: 65 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor Type: StarSlab/12.5 with CASE
Armament: 6 Doombud MML-7
3 Diverse Optics ER Small Lasers
Manufacturer: StarCorp Industries
Primary Factory: Crofton
Communications System: O/P 3950 COMSET M7
Targeting & Tracking System: Martin-Quarry Tarsys XLR 2.2 with Artemis IV FCS


In Irian corporate circles we talk about the competition. We talk about how Defiance Industries gets all the reputation, or how Corean Enterprises seems to stay in the forefront technological breakthroughs. We complain about how no matter how many ’Mechs we produce, Irian Technologies never seems to get the respect we deserve. And we talk about StarCorp. Makers of the Warhammer. Makers of the Highlander. Makers of the Emperor.
And the Longbow. Who could forget the Longbow?
StarCorp is unveiling several new models of the Longbow built for export. The first, designated the -13C, is the flagship. The most noticeable change is the extra-light 340-rated engine that gives the traditionally sluggish Longbow the speed to keep up with its faster cousins. In order to make the most of that speed, StarCorp has installed in place of the LRMs a suite of six seven-tube Doombud multi-missile launchers, each with its own independent Artemis IV fire control system. The ammunition magazines for these launchers fill roughly thirty percent of the Longbow’s torso space, but the flexibility of these launchers means that much ammunition is a necessary component, not an unacceptable risk.
This model Longbow is cropping up everywhere. I’ve begun tracking it not by sightings but by munitions invoices, because these ’Mechs go through missiles like no BattleMech I’ve ever seen, including earlier versions of the same chassis. From what I can tell, StarCorp is selling this ’Mech to anyone with the money to pay for it, which means that the MML technology is proliferating throughout most of known space.
The second version, designated the -14C, keeps the extra-light engine but downgrades it to the standard 255 rating of the original Longbow. The extra mass is dedicated to replacing the seven-tube MMLs with full-size Doombud-9s. The only other significant change is the upgrade of the -13C’s small lasers to full-size medium-class lasers on the -14C, which might make a Blakist MechWarrior hoping to close with the support ’Mech a little more hesitant. As with the other version, the -14C is spreading across the Inner Sphere, but the largest concentration is in the Federated Suns, no doubt simply due to the location of the production center.
The third ’Mech I’m only inferring from an HPG snippet I got hold of a few months back. Evidently the NAIS was working on a test-bed Longbow equipped with light autocannon. The space allocated to carry the large missile racks of the original proved receptive to batteries of cannon, but I don’t know that they got any more than the prototype built. I saw a reference to a strange Longbow on New Avalon during one of the battles, but then that’s New Avalon: if there’s not a new ’Mech being spotted every time something flares up, you start to worry. The Davions are nothing if not tinkerers.

[Siberian-troll]

Для человека, вхожего в "корпоративные круги Ириана" автор на диво сомнительно отзывается о своих хозяевах и работодателях.
Хотя может он предупреждает, что к новому Лонгбоу-14 блейкистскому мехвойну близко лезть не надо, а не злорадствует...

[Leonid]

А всегда так... но не все решаются публично говорить - обычно это становится последним днем работы в конторе, а смежные по специфике будут шарахаться от болтуна.

[Siberian-troll]

так этот цикл статей, насколько я понял - во вселенной БТ общепубличный в духе мануалов
Что-то типа статей в их варианте ЗВО.