Bad ‘Mechs – JagerMech
Courtesy of Eldoniousrex
Quan Roberts, the lead engineer of the Kallon engineering incubation team, stormed into the room with a rigid frown creasing his forehead. Roberts had a reputation for being a demanding manager, and most under his command knew to stay quiet when he was in one of his moods. Most, but not all.
“Alright team, we have our orders. The top brass wants us to take another look at the Rifleman. Thoughts?”
“Um, sir?” Asked one fresh-faced tech. “Why might management be considering a replacement for the Rifleman?”
Everyone else in the conference room immediately looked away as though trying to avert their eyes from witnessing a gruesome hoverbike crash. It had been just four years since the introduction of the RFL-3N, and it had since gone on to become one of Kallon’s most successful products. To even think about replacing it so soon sounded more like an insult than a challenge.
Roberts stared the question down for a few tense moments, then responded. “This stays between us, but Kallon management has been discussing potential sales with House Davion following the cessation of internal hostilities.”
“You mean after the SLDF invades Terra and kills Amaris?”
Another few moments of tense silence, then Roberts nodded. “So far, Amaris Empire forces haven’t been able to stop Kerensk’s drive coreward. Management believes it’s just a matter of time before the civil war is over, and what comes next could be a very lucrative opportunity for Kallon.”
“So this request for a Rifleman replacement is really just an excuse to arm the Davions, right?”
“Not officially,” Roberts pressed both palms on the table. “And I will remind all of you that any wild presumptions will be strenuously denied by Kallon should any FORMER employees express them outside this room.”
There were a few furtive glances, but Roberts judged the message to have been universally received. “Now, let’s think of this as an opportunity for a do-over. How could we make a better Rifleman?”
“Um,” the same fresh-faced tech started. “Well, the pilots s-say that the Rifleman is too hot, doesn’t have enough ammo, and its armor protection is in-insufficient.”
“Alright, then here’s what we’re going to do.” Roberts took a datapad and started furiously typing up a preliminary design document. “We’re going to make a bigger, better Rifleman based on those criteria. It’ll be heavier, we’re going to replace the lasers with more autocannons, and make sure to keep the same targeting capabilities that everyone loves from the Rifleman.”
“But sir–even with five more tons, the chassis won’t be able to–“
“You!” Roberts pointed at the tech. “You’re fired! Clean out your desk and remember the terms of your NDA.”
The rest of the team was silent save for the sound of footsteps as the now jobless tech shuffled quietly out of the conference room.
Roberts made a few more grand gestures on his datapad and then threw it on the table. “The rest of you have three weeks to get a functional design out of this. Get to work.”
It wasn’t until five minutes after Roberts left the room that another engineer actually picked up the datapad. He then handed it over to the woman on his left, who handed it to the woman on her left.
Finally, it reached someone who said what everyone had been thinking. “The only way this thing moves with that many autocannons is if we remove more armor from the Rifleman. And with the added ammo bins, it’ll be even more vulnerable to sympathetic cookoffs.”
Another engineer just shrugged. “Well, orders are orders I guess. Hope those Davions have life insurance.”
In 2774, Kallon Industries, makers of the wildly popular Rifleman BattleMech, introduced its replacement: the JM6-S JagerMech. It was merely four years since the introduction of the RFL-3N, a variant that was supposed to have finally perfected the Rifleman, but MechWarriors reported a number of shortcomings with the older machine. Specifically, the RFL-3N ran far too hot, had insufficient ammunition for its arm-mounted autocannons, and it had insufficient protection for front-line combat.
Kallon’s solution was to create a ‘Mech that did indeed solve the Rifleman‘s heat issues but increased its overreliance on ammunition-based weaponry, added more ammunition bays, and stripped away what little armor the Rifleman had. The result was a ‘Mech that was more vulnerable than the Rifleman in every measurable way.
Had the JagerMech been introduced during peacetime, perhaps Kallon would have been rightly ridiculed for making a worse Rifleman and calling it an improvement. But because the JagerMech was introduced at the very height of the Amaris Civil War, media outlets had larger headlines to fill their nightly news broadcasts, and the JagerMech‘s shortcomings were explained away to military procurement officials as all part of the design.
When the civil war ended and the Succession Wars began, House militaries had a sudden and desperate need for any and all war material they could get their ironfisted hands on. Kallon sold the JagerMech to both the Federated Suns and Capellan militaries, but it was the Suns’ love of autocannons that gave the JagerMech a permanent home.
Armed with twin Mydron Model C AC/5s and twin Model D AC/2s, the JagerMech could put down a withering hail of light cannon fire, provided its ammunition bays remained topped up. Kallon marketed the JagerMech as a second-line fire support and anti-aircraft ‘Mech so that customers understood the importance of keeping the JagerMech near its munitions.
Despite this, the Fed Suns often placed JagerMechs in striker lances as on-demand fire support similar to how infantry doctrine demanded at least one heavy gunner be assigned to each squad. Rather than replace the Rifleman, the JagerMech found itself serving alongside the Rifleman in a role it had never been designed to fulfill.
Over the course of the Succession Wars, the JagerMech would receive a stellar reputation from MechWarriors who used it in its intended role as second-line fire support. Those MechWarriors who used it in its non-intended role as first-line fire support didn’t get the chance to complain about the JM6-S’s paltry six tons of armor (two less than the Rifleman) because they never survived combat.
Word of mouth has a way of favoring the survivors, and the JagerMech would go on to become a central pillar of the Federated Suns armed forces.
Even from the outset, however, Davion officials identified the JagerMech‘s faults and proposed a solution. The JM6-A, introduced in 2778, replaced the Mydron Model Cs with twin LRM-15 launchers and an additional two tons of armor. This brought the JagerMech back to being at least as armored as the Rifleman, but the variant remained rare within the AFFS as Kallon only made two production runs of the JM6-A.
It wasn’t until the rediscovery of Star League technology from the Helm Memory Core that the JagerMech received its first real upgrade. The JM6-DD replaced the AC/5s with quick-firing Ultra versions, upgraded the Medium Lasers to Pulse variants, added cellular ammunition storage for greater pilot survivability, and added Ferro-Fibrous armor for greater overall protection. This variant would see heavy fighting with both the FedCom armed forces and the DCMS as it was introduced just months before the Clan Invasion. The JM6-DD would become a rare symbol of cooperation between the Draconis Combine and the Federated Suns.
In the late 3050s, Kallon thought to redesign the JagerMech to make it far more like the ‘Mech it ostensibly replaced. The JM7-D mounts twin AC/5s and twin ER Large Lasers in the arms along with a pair of Medium Lasers in the torso for up-close defense. The JM7 chassis is also five tons heavier, although that weight is mostly taken up by three additional double heatsinks that keep the ‘Mech cool if not well-protected. The JM7-F mimics the RFL-8D with twin Mydron Rotary Autocannon/5s and two Medium Lasers but justifies its existence with ECM and a Targeting Computer.
Still not satisfied with the JM7 line, Kallon was ordered by the AFFS to produce yet another redesign as part of First Prince Victor Steiner-Davion‘s plan to rebuild national pride in its armed forces following the thrashing it received during the Clan Invasion. In 3058, Kallon introduced the JM6-D3 JagerMech III, armed with twin Ultra Autocannons, twin PPCs, and twin Medium Lasers. A VOX 325 XL propels the JagerMech III up to 86.4 kph–faster than any previous JagerMech–and 12 double heat sinks keep the ‘Mech relatively cool. Notably, the JagerMech III has nine and a half tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor, although a lack of CASE still leaves it vulnerable to ammunition explosions.
The prevalence of the JagerMech in the former Federated Commonwealth meant there were many machines to upgrade during the Word of Blake Jihad. The JM6-DDa brings the DD’s Ultra Autocannons back down to their standard versions and replaces the smaller autocannons with Light AC/2s. This allows for specialized munitions in CASE-protected ammo bays. A Targeting Computer ensures those rounds find their mark.
The JM7-C3BS, introduced in 3075, mounts four Light AC/2s (two in each arm) and twin Snub-Nose PPCs. A single ER Medium Laser in the center torso provides defense should the JagerMech‘s arms become disabled, while an experimental C3 boosted slave shares targeting data with lancemates.
In the modern age, the JM7-DD finally achieves adequacy through the use of Clan tech, CASE II, and more Ferro-Fibrous armor than any JagerMech has ever been protected by. It seems the JagerMech, much like the Rifleman, may have finally grown into the role of frontline fire support it had historically been thrust into against its designers’ will.
And as always, MechWarriors: Stay Syrupy.
