First introduced in 2751 by the Terran Hegemony, the Extended-Range Particle Projector Cannon, or ER PPC for short, has a greatly increased range than that of a standard PPC. Capable of causing extreme damage at long range, it unfortunately generates fifty percent higher heat than the standard weapon, so can be difficult to use effectively. The ER PPC is also noteworthy for having no minimal range.[4]
After becoming lostech during the Succession Wars, the ER PPC was first reintroduced to the Inner Sphere in 3037 by the Draconis Combine. By this point the Clans had greatly refined the weapon, with slight reductions in size and weight, but most notably boosting its damage by fifty percent, making it capable of shaving off almost a ton of armor in a single hit.[4] Despite the best efforts of the Great Houses during the initial Clan Invasion period, none have been able to successfully replicate the improvements of the invaders, though these efforts have resulted in the Heavy PPC which matches the thermo-kinetic damage potential (and heat) of the Clan weapon albeit without the long reach, and even greater weight.[5] Similar research has also led to devices such as the PPC Capacitor that can emulate the damage increase and range when coupled with an Inner Sphere ER PPC, but at the cost of even greater strain on a BattleMech's cooling systems.[6]
The Fusigon Longtooth is a model of ER PPC common to the Free Worlds League. In the wake of the Outreach Summit, 90% of the Fusigon Longtooth ER PPCs manufactured at Campbelton were exported to the Federated Commonwealth, triggering a resumption of the League's near chronic shortage of PPCs during the early stages of the Clan Invasion. The situation was made even more galling given that many of these cannons were used on the Griffins manufactured at the Brigadier Corporation plant on Oliver taken from the League during the Fourth Succession War. By 3054 Fusigon's workers were especially outspoken on the matter, responding with riots and strikes, attempts to deceive FedCom officials about production volumes and sabotage of exported components, incidents that Captain-GeneralThomas Marik had largely chosen to ignore.[30]
Developed by Martinson Armaments for their SPT-N2 Spartan, the Kinslaughter H-Class was considered the apex of the ER PPC during the Star League era,[40] noted for its inclusion of special insulating cones that made the weapon both easier to maintain and ensured it generated less heat than many other models of ER PPCs.[41] During the Clan Invasion era only ComStar and the Word of Blake were capable of building the Kinslaughter H-Class.[42]
The Type DDS "Kingston" Extended-Range Particle Projection Cannon is one of the more modern and common types of Clan-spec ER PPCs in Clan and the Inner Sphere space following the FedCom Civil War. Debuted by Clan Cloud Cobra around 3059 in time for use on their new Four-Legged BattleMech the Stalking Spider,[67]Clan Star Adder and Clan Diamond Shark would secure the designs for the weapon for use on updated Phoenix updates of the venerable Glass Spider[68] and Warhammer IIC[69] manufactured in the Clan Homeworlds. The Diamond Sharks' forced evacuation from the Homeworlds would also result in the start of manufacture of the weapon in the Inner Sphere as well,[70] which the mercantile Clan Sea Fox would offer to Clan and Inner Sphere buyers such as the Capellan Confederation[71] and possibly the Federated Suns.[72]
