Meteor

Meteor Heavy Strike Fighter
Production information
Manufacturer	Jalastar Aerospace; Wingman Enterprises Limited
Equipment Rating
Use
Tech Base	Inner Sphere
Cost	1,499,461
Introduced	2665
Technical specifications
Mass	45 tons
Engine (Type)	GM 225 Atmo-fusion
Fuel	480 - 3 tons
Communications System	O/P R Janxiir
Targeting Tracking System	TargiTrak 700
Heat Sinks	10 single
Armament	1x Autocannon/10 2x SRM-4
Armor	StarGuard II
Crew	1
BV (1.0)
BV (2.0)	451 or 405 381 or

Description

The Federated Suns-designed Meteor, also called the Heavy Strike Fighter, is the standard against which all heavy conventional fighters in the Inner Sphere and Periphery are judged.

Seeking to claim a slice of the same military niche of for-export conventional fighters as Andurien AeroTech's Angel and Imstar Aerospace's Defender, rather than aggressive sales tactics Federated Suns-based Jalastar Aerospace of Panpour chose to focus almost entirely on planetary militias in the Terran Hegemony. Third-party sales during the Star League era, and examples captured as the Hegemony was sliced up after the League's collapse, made the Meteor the template for all heavy strike fighters across the human inhabited space.

While more expensive than turbine engine-powered designs, the wealthy and technologically advanced Terran Hegemony buyers welcomed Jalastar's choice of a GM 225 Atmo-fusion engine to power the Meteor, which gave the fighter both a respectable airspeed, heavy weapons loadout and two and half tons of armor. Three tons of fuel gave the design good endurance for its role.

Weapons and Equipment

The Meteor's primary weapon is a single nose-mounted Mydron Model B Autocannon/10 supplied with two tons of ammo, providing sustained medium range firepower. Backing this up are two wing-mounted Holly SRM-4 with two tons of ammo, ideal for ground attack.

Cargo

Often billed as a fighter-bomber, the Meteor frequently flew into combat with its nine external hardpoints laden with enough ordnance to threaten even the toughest foes.

Variants

• Inseki 

  Japanese for meteorite, the Inseki is a carbon-copy of the Meteor produced by House Kurita and introduced in 2683. BV (2.0) = 381

• Inseki II 

  An aftermarket upgrade of the original introduced in 2793, the Inseki II replaces the autocannon with a Hellstar PPC and swaps the SRM racks for Telos DecaCluster LRM-10 launchers. Retaining the ton of reloads for each missile launcher, a machine gun with half a ton of ammo guarded the fighter's rear. BV (2.0) = 632 or 610

• Bat Hawk 

  Introduced in 2916, the Taurian Concordat based Wingman Enterprises Limited's Bat Hawk variant replaced the fusion engine with a locally manufactured 225-rating turbine engine. While the autocannon was retained, the heavier engine forced both SRM-4 racks to be replaced with a single nose-mounted Harvester SRM-2, both weapons only supplied with a single ton of reloads each. BV (2.0) = 341 or 293

• Meteor-G 

  Manufactured by Gutierrez Aerospace in 3060, the so-called Meteor-G trades damage for range by swapping the autocannon for a Corean light Gauss rifle, retaining the two tons of reloads, and upgrading the SRMs to more efficient Guided Technologies Streak SRM-4 racks sharing a single ton of missiles. The more advanced but heavier weaponry forced Gutierrez's designers to drop one ton of fuel. BV (2.0) = 520 or 547

• Meteor-U 

  A FedCom Civil War-era Davion variant introduced in 3063, the Meteor-U upgraded the standard autocannon to Ultra model and replaced both SRMs with a pair of Intek medium lasers and two extra heat sinks. While able to inflict nearly double the damage of the standard model, the extra weight required reduced the U's fuel load by one ton. BV (2.0) = 794 or 716

• Seabuster Strike Fighter (Standard) 

  A five-ton heavier Magna 250 fusion engine-powered variant of the Bat Hawk intended to replicate the MechBuster-based custom built version, the mass-produced SeaBuster carries a nose mounted Pontiac Ultra 100 Ultra AC/20 to inflict massive damage on an enemy force. A Diverse Optics Type 2 medium laser in each wing provides supporting firepower. For additional tactical flexibility, the SeaBuster carries a recon camera in the nose. Finally, the SeaBuster uses a flotation hull to allow it to land or take off from waterways. Iron Halo 777 heavy ferro-fibrous armor protects the pilot from enemy fire. BV (2.0) = 856

Design Quirks

The SeaBuster strike fighter is subject to the following Design Quirks:

• Accurate Weapon (External Ordnance)
• Hard to Pilot

Notes

• The sourcebook Interstellar Expeditions: Interstellar Players 3 includes Random Assignment Tables for the Escorpión Imperio which contain the "Pride Conventional Fighter"; stats for this unit would supposedly be published in XTRO: Deep Periphery. However, XTRO: Deep Periphery was canceled and former BattleTech Line Developer Herbert A. Beas II stated that the "Pride Conventional Fighter" should be exchanged for the Meteor in the RAT. (See IE:IP3 Notes section for further references.)

Gallery

• 

  Original Meteor from TRO:3039

• 

  SeaBuster from TRO:Prototypes

Bibliography

• Master Unit List
• Objectives: Federated Suns
• Record Sheets: 3039
• Record Sheets: 3039 Unabridged
• Record Sheets: Prototypes
• Technical Readout: 3039
• Technical Readout: Prototypes