Bushwacker

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Bushwacker
Bushwacker
Production information
Manufacturer TharHes Industries[1]
Production Year 3053[2][3]
Model BSW-X1
Class Medium
Cost 9,807,366 C-bills
Technical specifications
Mass 55 tons
Chassis Earthwerk GRF
Armor Kallon Unity Weave Ferro-Fibrous with CASE
Engine Hermes 275 XL
Communications System TharHes Euterpe HM-14
Targeting Tracking System TharHes Ares-8a
Heat Sinks 11 Double Heat Sinks
Speed 86.4 km/h
Armament
BV (1.0) 1,073[1]
BV (2.0) 1,223[4]


Description

The Bushwacker was originally a failed BattleMech designed to have a smaller forward profile to make the 'Mech a harder target to hit. The Bushwacker's unique design caused problems with the engine shielding, the side-effects of which manifested themselves as various gremlins in the 'Mech's on board electronics on the prototypes fielded during the Clan Invasion. The 'Mech was redesigned after schematics for an OmniMech known as the Vulture were captured during a raid into Clan territory. Information gleaned from the schematics was used to overcome the aforementioned engine shielding problems. Finding the schematics had given the Bushwacker a second lease on life. Full production of the corrected Bushwacker began just after the Truce of Tukayyid, and the 'Mech has since become a favorite of MechWarriors in the Draconis and Capellan Marches of the Federated Suns.[3][1]

Armament

The Bushwacker has a top speed of 86.4 km/h and carries nine tons of armor. What the 'Mech lacks in armor it makes up for in range, using its speed to keep enemies at arm's length while using its slew of long range weaponry to slowly wear down enemies.[1]

In an attempt to keep the enemy at as long a range as possible, the Bushwacker carries two Federated 5-Shot LRM-5 launchers. The LRM-5s give it the capability to give some indirect fire support as well as laying down minefields with specialized munitions. These are backed up by a BlazeFire Sweetshot ER Large Laser and an eighty millimeter Mydron Model B Autocannon/10, which give the 'Mech a powerful long range direct-fire punch. A pair of Johnston Minigun Machine Guns are the only short range weapons carried by the 'Mech.[1]

Variants

  • BSW-X2 
    Based on the standard Bushwacker, this simple variant removes the ER Large Laser and replaces it with an additional LRM-5 launcher in the torso and a pair of Medium Pulse Lasers. It also drops one heat sink. BV (2.0) = 1,193[5]
  • BSW-L1 
    The L1 variant of the Bushwacker is a configuration that changes the 'Mech to a close combat unit. The only long range weapon on the L1 variant is an ER Large Laser. For close combat, the L1 carries an LB-X Autocannon/20 that can fire either standard or cluster ammunition, adding versatility to the crippling firepower of this extremely deadly close combat weapon. Two and a half tons of additional armor was added to the BSW-L1, giving excellent armor protection. The L1 saw its engine upgraded to a Light Fusion Engine for increased survivability. BV (1.0) = 1,342[6][7] (1,264)[8], BV (2.0) = 1,513[9]
  • BSW-S2 
    The S2 is a variant of the Bushwacker that makes the 'Mech more effective at short to medium ranges. The 'Mech carries an ER Large Laser to allow the 'Mech to engage an enemy at long ranges as it closes. The 'Mech carries an LB-X Autocannon/10, which can fire both standard and cluster ammunition for long to medium range engagement capabilities. For close combat, the 'Mech has two SRM-4 launchers, making it a powerful unit at any range. For added defense, the S2 carries an Anti-Missile System. BV (1.0) = 1,103[6][10], (1,123)[11], BV (2.0) = 1,293[12]
  • BSW-S2r 
    This variant mounts a Plasma Rifle and ammunition in place of one of the SRM launchers and the ER Large Laser of the BSW-2S.[13] BV (2.0) = 1,339[14]

Related 'Mechs

  • Mad Dog - TharHes's design of the Bushwacker had been complicated by space-constraints within the torso, leading to system glitches. When the Federated Commonwealth encountered the Clans' Mad Dog, the Bushwacker's torso was reorganized based on captured and salvaged samples. The resulting BattleMech was free of glitches, and quickly put into production.[3][1]
  • Barghest - TharHes, at the behest of Archon Katrina Steiner-Davion, constructed a new quad BattleMech based on the Bushwacker. The chassis was modified by moving the legs forward and adding a second pair of legs in the rear, followed by increasing the mass of the chassis by 15 tons.[15]

Gallery

  • Bushwacker in battle

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade, p. 136-137, "Bushwacker Profile"
  2. ↑ MUL online date for the Bushwacker
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Technical Readout: 3058, p. 114
  4. ↑ Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Inner Sphere), p. 247
  5. ↑ Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Inner Sphere), p. 248
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Combat Operations, p. 131
  7. ↑ Record Sheets: 3058 Upgrades, p. 239
  8. ↑ Record Sheets: Upgrades, p. 94
  9. ↑ Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Inner Sphere), p. 249
  10. ↑ Record Sheets: 3058 Upgrades, p. 240
  11. ↑ Record Sheets: 3060, p. 154
  12. ↑ Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Inner Sphere), p. 250
  13. ↑ Technical Readout: 3085, p. 190
  14. ↑ Record Sheets: 3085 Unabridged — Old is the New New, p. 82
  15. ↑ Technical Readout: 3060, p. 114

Bibliography

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