Armor: The Strength of the Armies

[DeJaVu]

[12 December 3070; MercNet] Since the start of the Blakist Jihad the manufacture of military equipment has seen both highs and lows. The near-constant conflicts across almost all of known space have created a demand for military hardware that has far out-stripped the production capacities of every known manufacturer, but that same conflict has brought heavy damage and financial ruin to many of the largest arms manufacturers in the Inner Sphere. With their semi-low-tech nature, the armored combat vehicle has risen again to prominence on the battlefield
Manufacturers like Aldis Industries, Scarborough Manufacturing, Hellespont Industrials, and the Kressly Warworks have been working around the clock and across the calendar churning out as any chassis as possible. While the second half of the 3060s introduced a plethora of armored combat vehicles, many of the most popular tanks—the Demolisher, the Schrek, the Manticore, or hover chassis craft like the Saladin or the Drillson—have become the highest selling in decades. While high-profile machines like the Alacorn and the Mantueffel haven’t been neglected, sheer demand has brought these venerable designs back to prominence.
Of course, this new prominence has not come without a price. As with many of the BattleMech manufacturers in recent years, prosperity for a vehicle manufacturer has brought them under the violent eye of the Word of Blake, and corporate security contracts are fast becoming one of the high-paying contracts being offered for choice on Arc-Royal and other mercenary hiring worlds.