ProtoMech

First created by Clan Smoke Jaguar, Protomechs were designed as a way for armored troops to deliver the firepower of a BattleMech to the battlefield for much less cost in resources.

History

In the months after the Battle of Tukayyid, Clan Smoke Jaguar found themselves with a serious problem. Guerrilla raids and uprisings within their Inner Sphere occupation zone had left them stretched to the limit in resources. Smoke Jaguar scientists found that if something wasn't done soon, their Clan worlds would soon be stripped of the ores needed for BattleMech production.

The Clan's top scientists went to work on a radically different battlefield unit design that would combine elements of a BattleMech and that of Elemental Battle Armor. Standing only half the height of a BattleMech, the smaller units would mass only one-tenth that of the larger machines. This, combined with their smaller engines, would allow the Clan to make many more of these for less material. Dubbed ProtoMechs, the ultimate goal of these machines was for a Point of five, working in unison, to be as effective as a BattleMech, while requiring less than half the amount of construction resources.

At the same time, Smoke Jaguar geneticists began the task of creating a suitable breed of pilot. Unlike the bulky Elementals, this new breed would need to be smaller even than aerospace pilots, so that they would be able to fit into the cramped confines of a ProtoMech's torso.