Charger

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Charger
Charger
Production information
Manufacturer Wells Technologies,
Luthien Armor Works,
Ravenna Electronics,
Sapphire Metals
Model CGR-1A1
Class Assault
Cost 7,520,370 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass 80 tons
Chassis Wells 990
Armor Durallex Heavy
Engine LTV 400
Speed 86.4 km/h
Armament
BV (1.0) 820
BV (2.0) 981[1]


Description

The Charger was designed by Wells Technologies in 2665 as a scout 'Mech designed to survive contact with the enemy. This was done by building the Charger on an 80-ton frame, making it the heaviest scout 'Mech in existence. In order to carry out its mission as a scout, the Charger is powered by a massive LTV 400 fusion engine that takes up almost sixty percent of the Charger's mass. The Charger is armored with ten tons of armor, which is more than adequate for its role as a scout 'Mech. If faced with a 'Mech of similar size, the Charger uses its speed of 86.4 km/h to evade an attacker.

Armament

Because the designers of the Charger wanted to discourage any activities that would put the 'Mech in danger, the engineers at Wells Technologies armed the Charger with five Magna Mk I Small Lasers. These weapons give the Charger respectable firepower at extremely short ranges and are effective against infantry. The Chargers most potent weapons are actually its fists. If the Charger is able to close to short range, then the 'Mech can use its massive fists and weight to do an amazing amount of damage to its target.

Variants

  • CGR-1A5 - The 1A5 variant of the Charger is one of the first variants of the Charger made to take it from the role of scout to assault 'Mech. The engine has been downgraded to a 320 rated engine, which reduces the maximum speed of the 'Mech to 64.8 km/h and the 'Mech has had four of the Small Lasers removed. The 'Mech carries an Autocannon/20 as its primary weapon. It also has two SRM-6 launchers and a Medium Laser. The 'Mech's armor has been increased by five tons. This makes the 'Mech extremely dangerous at close ranges and gives it a speed comparable to most 'Mechs in the heavy weight class, while carrying armor on par with other eighty ton 'Mechs. BV (1.0) = 1,128, BV (2.0) = 1,458[2]
  • CGR-1A9 - An attempt to make the Charger more effective at long ranges, the 1A9 reduces the engine to a 320 rated engine and also reduces the 'Mechs speed to 64.8 km/h. The 'Mech's arsenal has also been overhauled with the removal of four of the five Small Lasers. The 'Mech has had four Medium Lasers installed for close combat and a single LRM-20 launcher installed as well. To make up for the lost mobility, four jump jets have been installed to allow the Charger to jump up to one hundred and twenty meters. BV (1.0) = 1,315, BV (2.0) = 1,397[2]
  • CGR-1L - A simple modification of the Charger in an attempt to make it more effective when scouting as a BattleMech in general, the 1L variant removes four and a half tons of armor and also removes all five Small Lasers. The 'Mech replaces these with a Large Laser and two Medium Lasers. While this reduces the armor on the Charger to that of a traditional scout 'Mech, it also makes the Charger capable of better defending itself against other scout 'Mechs. BV (1.0) = 772, BV (2.0) = 980[3]
  • CGR-2A2 - A Periphery modification of the Charger, the 2A2 has had a ton of armor removed and has had its weapons stripped out. In their place, the 2A2 carries a Medium Laser and five Rocket Launcher 10s. This modification gives the Charger an immense amount of firepower that can be used in one shot or can be used over the course of a battle. With the Charger's role as a heavy scout, the one shot nature of the Rocket Launchers is not as much of a hindrance as if they were placed on a dedicated assault 'Mech. BV (1.0) = 944, BV (2.0) = 1,109[3]
  • CGR-3K - House Kurita's 3K is an upgrade of the 1A9 that uses an XL engine to maintain the Charger's speed of 86.4 km/h. The 'Mech is armed with four Medium Pulse Lasers and an LRM-20 launcher with an Artemis IV fire control system. The Mech also has a jumping distance of up to one hundred and fifty meters. This variant was confirmed to have been deployed on An Ting in the War of 3039 and may have been what Davion forces initially dubbed the Charger II; however, descriptions of the Charger II suggest that it was more likely a LRM-equipped variant of the Hatamoto-Chi (presumably the -Kaze). BV (1.0) = 1,485, BV (2.0) = 1,656[4]
  • CGR-C - An upgrade of the 3K, the Charger C is modified to carry a C3 Slave unit that allows it to share targeting data with other 'Mechs in its unit. In order to add the slave unit, a Medium Pulse Laser had to be removed from the design. The left over mass goes towards extra ammunition. BV (1.0) = 1,479, BV (2.0) = 1,592[3]
  • CGR-KMZ - The "Kamikaze" variant is produced at a Luthien Armor Works plant on Shimonita that was purchased by the Sapphire Sunset yakuza clan and renamed Sapphire Metals. It has a top speed of 64 km/h, but utilizes improved jump jets that allow it to leap up to 180 meters. It also utilizes Light Ferro-Fibrous armor. It primarily has a long-range armament composed of two Light PPCs and a Heavy PPC. An MML 9 has two tons of ammunition, allowing it to be effective at both short and long range. Should an enemy manage to close, the "Kamikaze" carries a Sword in the shape of a wakizashi. BV (2.0) = 1,781[3]
  • CGR-SA5 - A variant of the Charger that takes the 1A5 variant to its logical conclusion with new technologies, the SA5 is powered by a 320 rated Light Fusion Engine, giving it a speed of 64.8 km/h. A MASC system has been added, allowing the 'Mech to reach speeds of 86.4 km/h in short bursts. The 'Mech is also built on an Endo Steel chassis to save even more weight. The SA5 carries an LB-X Autocannon/20 as its primary weapon. This is backed up by three ER Medium Lasers and two Streak SRM-6 launchers. The 'Mech is armored with fifteen and a half tons of armor. BV (1.0) = 1,717, BV (2.0) = 2,003[3]
  • CGR-SB - Called Challenger by its designers, the SB variant of the Charger was devised in 3025 by Stuart Bell, chief Tech of the mercenary unit Hat-in-the-Ring Battalion. The radical alteration looks to turn the Charger into a traditional assault 'Mech. This is accomplished by reducing the 'Mechs speed to 54 km/h, which allows the use of a smaller engine (incidentally, the commonplace Pitban 240 reactor). The 'Mech is armored with fifteen and a half tons of armor and is armed with four Large Lasers and a Medium Laser. The Challenger also has twenty-eight heat sinks to help handle the massive amounts of heat from its heavy energy weapon arsenal. The SB modification concept is remarkable because it is not particularly difficult to apply, using a common and well-known reactor type in the refit and essentially only upgrading the existing weapons so that the targeting system needs not be tampered with. BV (1.0) = 1,330, BV (2.0) = 1,604[3]
    • The Challenger subtype in turn saw attempts at modification, such as mounting a Donal PPC in the right arm and/or a LRM-15 launcher in the torso. However, these modifications are quite difficult and tend to overtax the Challenger's Dalban HiRez targeting system. Considering the scarcity of Chargers, and even more so the Challenger sub-variant in the first place, field modifications of this subtype probably remained unique attempts applied to only one or two 'Mechs each.
  • CGR-1X1 - This experimental model is a heavily modified CGR-1A, with almost every system given a cutting-edge makeover. The ancient and massive 400-rated engine has been replaced with an XL model. A supercharger combined with MASC gives the 'Mech an astounding top speed. The old weaponry has been replaced with an ER Large Laser and a Medium X-Pulse Laser. Chaff Pods and Laser Anti-Missile Systems supplement Ferro-Fibrous armor, and the 'Mech carries an advanced suite of electronics. BV (2.0) = 2,009[7]

Notable Pilots

Related BattleMechs

  • Hatamoto-Chi - The HTM (Hatamoto) series of assault BattleMechs fielded by the Draconis Combine is essentially a redesign of the Charger, with a related chassis and (apparently) the weapon load-out similar to that of the Thug. The Hatamoto-Chi is considered the standard configuration.

Gallery

References

  1. Technical Readout: 3039, p. 157
  2. 2.0 2.1 Master Unit List: Battle Values, p. 78
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Master Unit List: Battle Values, p. 79
  4. Technical Readout: 3050 Upgrade, p. 87
  5. Technical Readout: 3085, p. 191
  6. Record Sheets: 3085 Unabridged — Old is the New New, p. 105
  7. Experimental Technical Readout: Corporations, p. 7
  8. Main Event

Bibliography