BattleAxe

BattleAxe
Production Information
Manufacturer(s)	Achernar BattleMechs (7K/8D) Hessen IndustrialWorks New Hessen WorkMechs
Production Year	2459
Model	BKX-7K
Class	Heavy
Cost	6,384,634 C-bills
Technical specifications
'Mech type	Inner Sphere BattleMech
Mass	70 tons
Chassis	Achernar Special Type 4
Armor	StarGuard-X
Engine	DAV 280
Comms	Achernar Electronics HICK-1
TTS	Federated Gatherer
Heat Sinks	15 single
Speed	64 km/h
Jump Jets	Rawlings 40-Beta
Armament	2x PPC 2x LRM 5 1x SRM 6
B.V. (1.0)	1,087
B.V. (2.0)	1,329

Description

The prototype of the BattleAxe originally appeared in 2459, and relied on the standard armament of the time: lasers and missiles. Over the next fifteen years, the speed was increased by a third and the mass of the cockpit and armor were reduced. In the late 2460s, unsure of the BattleAxe's maneuverability, the introduction of the WSP-1 Wasp inspired designers to mount experimental jump jets onto the upper legs, allowing it to vault over anything it could not run through. Unfortunately, MechWarriors had to go through training for the new jump jets and the landing process, as many died early on. The Federated Suns subsequently switched the Large Lasers in the arms for new Particle Projection Cannons. The BattleAxe only has nine tons of armor, which is comparatively light for a 'Mech of its size. Massive overheating problems, and the introduction of the Hammerhands, eventually ended the operational service of the BattleAxe. The last BattleAxes, considered ancient, were destroyed in a desperate defense of Robinson against conventionally equipped Combat Vehicle formations during the Second Succession War.

As with many ancient designs dating from the Age of War, the BattleAxe found new life on the battlefields of the Jihad. Inner Sphere powers, desperate to reinforce their ranks, turned to old 'Mech schematics and retooled their production lines to produce retrotech machines including the BXK-series. Though considered only subpar by modern standards, the heavy 'Mech filled a much-needed hole in Federated Suns regiments and continued to serve into the ilClan Era.

Weapons and Equipment

The original production variant of this 'Mech, the BKX-7K, utilizes two massive Donal Particle Projection Cannons, which were relatively new at the time. Supporting these massive cannons are two Federated 5-Shot LRM-5 launchers with one ton of ammo split between them, as well as a Harpoon-6 SRM-6. These secondary weapons give the BattleAxe something to hit with at all ranges.

Variants

• BKX-1X

  The prototype BattleAxe, developed under the guidance of supervising engineer Urgham St. Croix, uses a primitive engine, cockpit and armor. The weapons load is slightly different as well, with Large Lasers in the arms instead of the PPCs of the later variants. A pair of Machine Guns with a half-ton of ammunition defend against infantry units. It carries a single SRM-6 launcher as well as a pair of LRM-5s. The bulky engine is much less efficient than later models, limiting the BattleAxe to a top speed of 54 km/h. In addition, this version of the 'Mech lacks jump jets.

• BKX-7NC

  Due to the uncertainty of the BattleAxe's jump jets, many MechWarriors had technicians remove the jump jets in favor of two more LRM-5 launchers, one on each side of the torso. It was labeled the 7NC because of its nickname "No Crash". BV (2.0)= 1,252

• BKX-8D

  After digging around in their archives, the leaders of Achernar decided to redeem their design in the 3070s. They upgraded the armor to Light Ferro-Fibrous compounds, utilized CASE, and mounted a Light Fusion Engine. They swapped each PPC for a pair of Extended-Range Medium Lasers and the missile racks for three new MML 7. The heat sinks were upgraded to double heat sinks while the jump jets were retained. Rounding out this revamped design is a C3 slave unit. BV (2.0) = 1,592

• BKX-RISC

  A variant of the venerable BattleAxe designed by the Republic Institute of Strategic Combat, using 'Mechs recovered from New Hessen. This experimental variant was used as a testbed for various heat management technologies RISC was working on during the Blackout days. Retaining the overall profile of the classic BattleAxe by design, the BattleAxe-RISC replaces the paired PPCs of the original with extended-range versions instead, then mates these to PPC capacitors to achieve the same damage profile as its Clan-spec counterpart. The missile launchers of the original are replaced with Clan-designed versions of these same weapons. To aid the 'Mech's 13 double heat sinks in managing the heat of its weapons, the BattleAxe-RISC is equipped with a Radical Heat Sink System and a RISC-designed Heat Sink Override Kit. A targeting computer enhances the accurary of its lethal primary weaponry, while a Viral Jammer helps it cut through the interference from the myriad electronic warfare systems so common to the Dark Age-era battlefields. This variant comes with an extralight engine to free up weight for all of this equipment and weaponry.

Design Quirks

The BattleAxe has the following Design Quirk:

• Difficult to Maintain

The BKX-1X BattleAxe variant is subject to the following exclusive Design Quirks:

• Hard to Pilot
• Prototype
• Poor Performance

The BKX-RISC BattleAxe is subject to the following Design Quirks:

• Difficult to Maintain
• Non-Standard Parts

Related BattleMechs

• Hammerhands - The successor of the BattleAxe.
• Warhammer - The BattleAxe and the Hammerhands influenced the design of the Warhammer.
• BTX-7K Battleax - An apocryphal design that appeared in BattleTechnology magazine. Functionally almost identical to the BKX-7K, it had one less ton of armor and one more ton of LRM ammo; brand names of components are almost entirely different.

Notes

• In German products, the unit's proper name was translated to Streitaxt. The model code was accordingly changed to STX-7T.

Gallery

• 

  Original BattleAxe from TRO:3075
• 

  Experimental BKX-1X BattleAxe from XTRO:Primitives II
• 

  BattleAxe from Activity Book 3

Bibliography

• BattleMech Manual
• BattleTechnology, Issue #0203
• Era Digest: Age of War
• Experimental Technical Readout: Primitives, Volume 2
• Master Unit List
• Record Sheets: 3075
• Record Sheets: 3075 Unabridged
• Record Sheets: 3075 Unabridged - Age of War
• TechManual
• Technical Readout: 3075

• Experimental Technical Readout: RISC