Courtesy of Eldoniousrex
You could always tell things were not going well when the top brass sent out infantry squads to dig trenches they hoped would provide some sort of defense against an onrushing regiment of BattleMechs.
Corporal Andrews knew better—only a ‘Mech could kill another ‘Mech. Or at least a bunch of tanks with artillery support. Some troopers in a hole with shoulder-launched rockets? Might as well have been pissin’ into the wind.
But what else could they do? The 3rd Republican Guards had been scattered all over Summer trying to put down insurrections spurred by the SLDF’s invasion, and with few enough armored assets to defend the capital, officers were ordered to set up defenses with whatever they had on hand. Which wasn’t a lot.
“Private! Get that machine gun squared away, then help me with this SRM pack,” Corporal Andrews shouted. “We’re going to need to have these reloads at the ready. Contact is imminent.”
The private gave a professional “yessir,” but Andrews could hear the boy’s voice crack at the use of the word “imminent.” They’d all heard reports of the SLDF’s ruthless conquest of the Rim Worlds, and they knew no quarter would be asked or given. Andrews’ squad also knew their odds of survival against a combined arms regiment wasn’t particularly great, either.
But what else could they do?
Just as Andrews was about to lay down his third SRM pack, a distant cheer went up from the rear echelons, followed by the steady thumps of BattleMech feet. Andrews poked his head above the embankment he’d incorporated into the trench network to see the Republican Guard ‘Mechs walking into position on the defensive line, their long gun barrels offering the sort of long-range support Andrews’ squad desperately needed.
“Thank god,” Andrews muttered with relief but then looked closer at his new ‘Mech support. It was difficult to gauge the size of a ‘Mech simply by looking at them on the horizon, so he instead inspected the soldiers now milling about each BattleMech’s feet and did some quick math. A few body lengths tall meant these were light ‘Mechs, without the armor or firepower for a defensive action. Judging by the gun barrel diameter, they came armed with a light autocannon at best.
“Sir,” the private returned with a radio in hand, “one of the Jackrabbit pilots is asking for a prepared ‘Mech position. What should I tell them?”
So that’s what they’re called, Andrews thought. He hadn’t seen this particular design before, but maybe they were hiding a surprise for the SLDF. “Tell them we didn’t have time to make one and make do with whatever cover they can find.”
The Jackrabbits had even less time than the infantry to prepare. No sooner had the private retreated to relay Andrews’ orders did the first barrage of long-range missiles arrive. One struck the embankment Andrews had positioned himself behind and blew him backward into the trench wall. Dazed, he looked up to see the Jackrabbit firing its autocannon, the dull bark of each fired round just enough to pierce his muffled perception as he struggled to maintain consciousness.
To Andrews, the Jackrabbit struck an almost heroic figure defending his less-armored compatriots from the onrushing hordes of monstrous metal, which Andrews could just make out beyond the crater that used to be his defensive fortification. The olive-drab SLDF ‘Mechs all seemed so much larger, angrier, and deadlier than the Jackrabbit that stood above him, barking away with its autocannon like a yappy dog trying to scare a pack of wolves.
It didn’t work. More missile plumes came arcing downward to strike the Jackrabbits holding the line, then lasers, PPCs, and the supersonic crack of Gauss rifle slugs. Each Jackrabbit was torn apart almost simultaneously, with one a few hundred meters down the trench line erupting in a ball of flame as its ammo stores cooked off. The one above Andrews was struck twice by Gauss slugs and then fell over backward out of sight.
So much for our ‘Mech support, Andrews thought as he dragged himself to his feet, picked up the SRM launcher, and placed it over what remained of the embankment. He wanted to shoot whoever thought those Jackrabbits were good enough to stand up to a real BattleMech, but he’d settle for popping one of the green monsters charging his position.
Jackrabbit History
Despite already having access to an infantry support platform in the Sentinel (or perhaps due to the dubious quality of the Sentinel), the SLDF put out a call for a light infantry support BattleMech with long-range fire capability. Skobel MechWorks of Moscow won the bid with the first Jackrabbit prototype in 2763, and production began in 2765. The Jackrabbit would be approved for combat testing a mere two weeks before the Amaris Coup, resulting in the entire production run falling into the Amaris Empire‘s hands. Thus, the Jackrabbit became a common sight among the Republican forces fighting against the SLDF throughout the Amaris Civil War.
If fighting for the wrong side wasn’t bad enough, the Jackrabbit quickly gained a reputation for being a lackluster light ‘Mech even in its intended role. The primary complaint was its main armament: an Armstrong JJ-Lite AC/2. Although capable of striking out to extreme ranges, the light autocannon was woefully inadequate for penetrating armor on tanks or even BattleMechs five tons lighter than itself. The Stinger, Wasp, and Locust all had a laser armament more dangerous than the Jackrabbit‘s, and all had either jump jets or greater speed to outmaneuver the Jackrabbit.
Dismally ill-equipped against the most common light ‘Mechs in the Inner Sphere, the Jackrabbit compounded its shortcomings with extremely light armor and no Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment (CASE) for either its autocannon or short-range missile launcher, leaving the ‘Mech incredibly vulnerable to incoming fire. Although the Jackrabbit was evaluated to have extremely high readiness ratings thanks to its ease of maintenance, this merely resulted in more Jackrabbits for the SLDF to destroy during its conquest of the former Terran Hegemony worlds.
Of the 500 examples which survived the Civil War, nearly all of them were mothballed by ComStar. All Jackrabbits salvaged by the SLDF were cannibalized for parts and supplies, and not a single Jackrabbit was taken during Operation EXODUS. This was partially due to the ‘Mech’s association with The Usurper, and partly because veteran SLDF pilots were critically aware of the Jackrabbit‘s flaws.
Even when ComStar activated the Com Guards for the Battle of Tukayyid, the 500 mothballed Jackrabbits were not sent to fight the Clans. However, following the Clan’s defeat, Anastasius Focht recognized the depleted Com Guards would need to restore its forces to defend an uneasy truce. Focht then ordered all Jackrabbits to be stripped down to their base chassis and rebuilt as the Nexus in 3055.
Although even less armored than the Jackrabbit, the Nexus relied on its speed and jump jets to avoid enemy fire. It also possessed a powerful laser-based armament that put the Jackrabbit to shame. The Word of Blake would then use the same chassis to produce the Nexus II, and even the far-flung Scorpion Empire would casually ignore the BattleMech’s tainted history when creating the Star Python.
The original JKR-8T was armed with an Armstrong JJ-Lite autocannon/2 and a single Holly Streak SRM-2. A GM 150 engine provided the Jackrabbit with a top speed of 97 kph, and 3.5 tons of ferro-fibrous armor provided some protection, but not enough to ensure the safety of its two tons of ammunition stores. The excessive weight of the Armstrong autocannon prevented the placement of additional armor or a larger engine, ultimately dooming the Jackrabbit.
Two variants were produced to overcome the JRK-8T’s deficiencies. The JKR-9R—nicknamed “The Joker” by SLDF troops—was developed in 2768 following complaints from Republican Guard forces. It replaced the autocannon with a large laser, an extra heat sink, and a full ton of armor. Far more capable than the original, fully half of all Jackrabbits spotted with Word of Blake Protectorate forces were of this type. The Word of Blake would also field the JKR-9W beginning in 3074, which came armed with a light autocannon/5 and an extended-range medium laser.
However, the Jackrabbit‘s iterations and evolutions maintained a poor reputation among many MechWarriors, either for its negative association with the Rim Worlds, ComStar, and Word of Blake, or simply being a subpar design. Whatever Jackrabbits remain today are museum pieces best used as a cautionary tale of how not to build a light ‘Mech.
And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.
Love how that white one about halfway down looks like a big grinning face.
This mech seems like it’d be better suited to security detail at like a port or airstrip, dealing with the more violent levels of smugglers or thieves.
And the real tragedy is, you can pretty easily make the Jackrabbit a… tolerable mech, simply by swapping the Streak 2 and its ton of ammo for a pair of medium lasers, and either CASE or another half ton of armor.
That way at least you get a little punch to go with the AC2, without changing the Jackrabbit’s “character” too much by losing the well known to be inefficient cannon.
(Or at least save a little tonnage by swapping to a regular SRM 2, then you can at least bring Infernos to set up smokescreens to hide behind while you use the AC2.)
The fact that the SLDF were willing to bring atrocious mechs like the Sling, Flea, and Shadow Hawk but not the Jackrabbit is pretty indicting. This thing is bad. It sacrifices both speed and armor in order to carry two very weight-inefficient weapons that don’t even work well together. Even old-rules “SSRMs can load infernos” and later-timeline alternate autocannon ammos can’t salvage the base model.
The original art looks kind of neat at least. The Ral Partha mini doesn’t capture any of its charm IMO, even by the standards of the old metal minis.
The Shadow Hawk I think is a bit misunderstood. It IS a bad mech to be honest, in a one on one fight, most mechs of the same weight class would kick its ass. The main point though is that they are NOT meant to be fighting as single units, a unit of 4 Shadow Hawks is supposed to pick an enemy and combine their firepower against it rather than do the 1v1 duel of the Clans and in the light of these combined fire tactics, the SHD works decently well.
The SLDF’s ultimate hypocrisy is shown by the fact they rejected the Jackrabbit, which had been originally designed for their use, but took the plans for the Matar–a fully Amaris project from the get-go–and then developed it into the Stone Rhino after they became the Clans.
Considering the relative ease of constructing, maintaining, and supplying small-caliber ballistics and small missiles, I can see where rushing the Jackrabbit out the door as a measure to fill out the ranks makes some kind of sense. That said though… yeah. This thing barely makes it up to the level of a MilitiaMech, let alone a proper BattleMech. This is the type of ‘Mech that appears in movies to take a single laser or missile hit and explode gloriously, like disposable gang members in a John Woo film. It’s the mookiest ‘Mech.
It’s pretty much “What if a Vulcan, but worse?”
In some ways, the Jackrabbit is to the Vulcan what the Locust is to the Cicada.
At least Comstar took the Jackrabbit design and turned it into the Nexus, which definitely has value to it in combat! But when it comes to HOW Mechs look, I definitely like the appearance of both! Even if the Jackrabbit sucks in a fight, it does LOOK good!
The Republican Guards could have had the Jackrabbit modified to carry a much bigger punch, but that extra mass might have slowed the Mech down, and the Jackrabbit needed ALL of it’s speed just to stay alive! But remember, Terra was in the hands of Amaris and they now had access to all of the tech available to the Star League capital as well as the slave labor of Terra’s population, so they could have done many things with the Jackrabbit, but by the time it was rushed into service, Kerensky’s forces were knocking down Amaris’ door, the situation was dire and Amaris had to use anything, ANYTHING he could’ve to stop or at least slow down Kerensky while he plotted and planned on how to win, which he didn’t! It must’ve been like Hitler in the bunker in Berlin during the last days of World War II, hoping to stop the Soviets, which he didn’t!
True. Anyone promising a “Wonder Weapon” to both of them would have gotten the means to produce them, no matter how stupid they were.
And seeing what Germany tried in the last Years of the War, that is saying a lot.
Yup. It’s crap. I love the looks, but…it’s crap.
Ongoing series: Bad Mechs or Mechs with AC2s or AC5s?
Where does the Jagermech rank? Probably done that one already, it’s a 4x bad mech!
As for the link to the Sentinel, that’s an effective mech for the money and weight. Similar (in really real game terms) to the Phoenix Hawk in capability. Both could drop the MGs. And 5/8/5 is almost as good as 6/9/6 when it comes to dodging incoming fire.
Eh I’ve seen worse 25 ton mechs, like that IS Omnimech with zero armor. Raptor?
Oops was thinking Watchman not Sentinel. Sentinel is yes, also crap. UAC better barely than AC.
Imagine…WHAT IF Amaris’s forces, using the advanced tech they had, had created, instead of 200 Jackrabbits, but 200 Star League-era versions of the Nexus instead! The Nexus is WAY better, in looks, style, mobility, and, above all, weapons punch: what if Amaris’ forces used THOSE against Kerensky? Can you imagine how they would have prolonged the ultimate conquest of Terra?
Are we talking about the original Nexus here? You know, the one with 36 points of armour?
Please tell me your post is heavily coated in candied sarcasm.
Sorry….500 instead of 200, but still, WHAT IF? Star League Nexus instead of Jackrabbit?
What if? Then some more sections of here in Alberta (the final showdown fortress in the mountains) would have been glassed by orbital bombardment.
That era of warfare compared to say 3025, in terms of “chess pieces available for bidding”, was a little looser. And by the end the SL forces were I’m sure sick of combat and eager to end things.
Alberta nuked? OUCH! Fortunately Battletech history has yet to happen…..right? Hopefully not with Amaris!
Eh I’m just glad we’re mentioned at all. I find it hilarious that Comstar First Compound is on Hilton Head Island, just because Michael Stackpole is haha
I used to think Robotech’s “Reflex Point” was in Alberta too, maybe Calgary, but perhaps it’s in Montana. Would be a great name for a theme bar roughly in the spot. Also Robotech lore nuked Toronto specifically, which gives every non-Ontario Canadian a half-chubby.
Reflex Point was definitely in Alberta, it was stated in one of the source books, Invid Invasion.
I mean, yeah, it’s a bad ‘mech, like everything else that carries an AC/2, but “can’t defeat multiple Highlanders when deployed without cover in a static defensive line” is hardly a demonstration of that. That qualifies as a really bad day even for most assault ‘mechs. For a light harasser like the Jackrabbit, that’s just working for extra credit on your Darwin Award.
That story is not why the Jackrabbit is a bad mech. It is a story about someone who has no clue about mechs, in a hopeless situation, who first gets his hope lifted and then smashed to pieces. That Infantry squad was in a position where resistance was futile, and someone decided to add a group of infantry support mechs to the mix. But again, what can this mech do? Most mechs in his weight class will rip him to shreds. If he gets into combat with one or more anti-mech infantry platoons, I would put my money on the infantry if both sides are of equal competence.
Welllll…..
I can see *some* use for it in harassing medium, heavy and assault mechs in the pre-3050 era, you can stand off and plink some mechs to death by crit seeking or slowly sandpapering off their armour if you focus a whole lance on a target, at least until someone calls up artillery or an aerospace fighter.
If I were to give it a role, I’d say it’s a harasser, there to annoy the living hell out of your force and cause minor damage before a major engagement. Post-3050 though, too many weapons can now reach a similar range that it is no longer as safe to be in AC2 range as before. So you could say that times have changed.
The problem with that is that it is too slow to run away from a Locutus or most hover tanks. (The usual means to deal with harassers). It has no Jump jets to so escaping that way is also not an option. In close-quarter combat with a Locutus, it is outgunned. Hell, it has barely more firepower than a 5 t Savanna Master.
The only role for it I can see is a moving target.
I wasn’t even aware of the existence of this ‘Mech before reading this. I do wonder what the writers were doing with some of these designs. There is a not optimised design and then there is utter garbage BS.
Just a reminder that nothing made by Man is perfect; it’s this way in the past, present AND the future, whatever future that’s going to be by the REAL 31st. Century, that is!
Hope it includes giant robots kicking ass!
First off, thanks for actually taking one of my suggestions Sean! :-P
Second, yet another classic from Eldoniousrex!
Many years ago now, I did the “‘Mech of the Week” article for the Jackrabbit at the official board.
For those who are interested, it’s here:
https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,56138.msg1290662.html#msg1290662
I am usually in the “There are uses for any mech”-Team, but I cant really find one for the Jackrabbit. Its that bad.
My question is this: how would the Jackrabbit do against standard infantry? Those weapons would shred them! Against battle armor infantry, would they at least cause some hurt? The Jackrabbit would be great against standard infantry, provided they don’t have any anti-armor weapons with them, that is!
First, you have to find the infantry. So if the Infantry doesn’t hold the idiot ball, they will keep out of sight.
If the Infantry is holed up in a building or light field works, most of the ammunition the Jackrabbit carries will be used up taking down a single Infantry Platoon.
If the Infantry has APC support, there is a real possibility that they can outgun or outmaneuver the Jackrabbit.
https://www.sarna.net/wiki/Heavy_Hover_APC
Any Amaris Jackrabbit pilot was just waiting to be killed, no matter what the situation was! No wonder the SLDF took such pleasure in taking them out one by one! If Amaris thought that the Jackrabbit was a “wonder weapon” along with the prototype of what would become the Clans’ Stone Rhino assault mech then he was gravely mistaken, emphasis on “grave”ly!