Yellow Jacket

Yellow Jacket Gunship
Production information
Manufacturer	Michaelson Heavy Industries
Production Year	3058
Mission	Assault
Type	VTOL
Cost	1,120,000 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass	30 tons
Armor	StarSlab/3
Engine	Michaelson-Omni 40 Internal Combustion
Speed	97.2 km/h
Crew	1
Communications System	Garret Supremesound
Targeting Tracking System	Garret D2j
Heat Sinks	None
Armament	1x Gauss rifle
BV (1.0)	1,110
BV (2.0)	782

Description

One of numerous VTOL designs produced by Michaelson Heavy Industries in response to the Clan threat, the Yellow Jacket Gunship provides one of the most mobile fire-support platforms in existence. Though it carries only one weapon, the Yellow Jacket is capable of sustained fire at long ranges, which makes a lance of these helicopters one of the most lethal forces an enemy can face. Field testing in the Chaos March sparked the interest of the Federated Commonwealth and Lyran Alliance who were quickly sold on the design's effectiveness against Clan and Inner Sphere enemies.

Though not as fast as most VTOLs, the Yellow Jacket still has greater speed than most BattleMechs and OmniMechs. The Gauss rifle's long range combined with the Yellow Jacket's respectable speed keep the vehicle relatively safe, as does its heavy armor. While a single shot can destroy the rotor, like the Cavalry VTOL, the Yellow Jacket can take a direct hit to its nose from a Clan ER PPC and keep flying.

Weapons and Equipment

The Yellow Jacket is built around the Poland Main Model C Gauss rifle. This massive weapon, which constitutes the bulk of the craft's weight, can hurl rounds at speeds up to Mach 2.2. The Yellow Jacket's two tons of ammunition allow it to remain on the field for extended sorties, wreaking havoc on enemy lines.

Variants

• Ammo 

  While not recommended by Michaelson and produced only upon customer request, this variant trades out a ton of armor for an extra ton of ammo, giving the Gauss Rifle 24 shots before it has to retire from the field. BV (1.0) = 1,202, BV (2.0) =

• Arrow IV 

  Another new variation, Michaelson remove the Gauss Rifle in exchange for an Arrow IV missile system with two tons of reloads, with half a ton of armor removed to allow CASE to be added. BV (1.0) = 556, BV (2.0) = 612

• PPC 

  This Jihad variant added a light fusion engine to push up the speed to 151 km/h, the Gauss Rifle is replaced with an ER PPC, and it is equipped with a C3 System to make the ER PPC more accurate. Protection is upgraded slightly by switching to Heavy Ferro-Fibrous Armor. BV (2.0) = 582

• RAC 

  A recent variant, Michaelson replaced the Gauss Rifle with a Mydron Tornado Rotary AC/5 mated to a Targeting Computer, carrying two tons of ammo protected by CASE with enough weight left over to add an additional one and half tons of armor plate. BV (1.0) = 1,024, BV (2.0) = 797

Related Vehicles

Hawk Moth - Developed by Michaelson Heavy Industries two years later, replaces the Gauss Rifle with a Light Gauss Rifle and is lighter and faster.

Notes

• In German products, the unit's proper name was altered to Stechinsekt, which roughly translates to Stinging Insect. This was presumably done because German doesn't have a common expression for yellowjackets.

• Unpublished but vetted errata for RS:3085u-ONN confirms the PPC variant's speed is increased to 9/14 (151 km/h) and notes the armor as heavy ferro-fibrous.

Gallery

• 

  Original Yellow Jacket Gunboat from Chaos March

• 

  Yellow Jacket from TRO:3058

• 

  Yellow Jacket in combat from CCG

Bibliography

• Chaos March
• Combat Operations
• Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Inner Sphere)
• Record Sheets: 3058 Upgrades
• Record Sheets: 3085 Unabridged — Old is the New New
• Technical Readout: 3058
• Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade