Ogedei Heavy OmniFighter.In the immediate aftermath of Operation REVIVAL’s halt after the Battle of Tukkayid, Clan Smoke Jaguar found itself in dire straits. Militarily the Clan was exhausted, the battles on Wolcott, Luthien and Tukkayid had all but shattered the Jaguar’s Tourman and despite frantic rebuilding efforts, including accelerating the latest Sibkin through training with Warriors as young as 16 being sent to reinforce the Jaguar’s holdings, they were barely keeping up with losses.
The Jaguar’s aerospace losses were just as heavy and the deaths of many of the more experienced pilots left a vacuum in training that needed to be filled. Rotating their surviving pilots back to the Homeworlds to have them help train the next generation just wasn’t possible as it would critically weaken the defences of key worlds. Even with accelerated training and a short lowering of standards to build up numbers the Jaguars needed to keep their pilots alive and their premier front line fighter, the Sabutai just wasn’t very good at this role.
The Sabutai was seen as the ideal heavy OmniFighter for the Clan way of war. Fast and agile for a 75-ton craft and supremely manoeuvrable in an atmosphere thanks to its large wing areas and control surfaces, the Sabutai could turn inside many hostile interceptors. Its huge firepower was enough to rival a DropShip and it could gut an opposing fighter in a heartbeat. But this all came at a cost. To save weight to make room for the engine and warload, the Sabutai’s fuel tank was tiny and even using Ferro-Aluminium, the protection of the craft was more suitable for fighters 10 or 20 tons lighter. But these flaws were not discovered during the trials prior to REVIVIAL. For Clan battles, it was perfect, it would go up, smash a target and return to base, a Trial won, an enemy defeated. But the Inner Sphere didn’t play by Clan rules and battles to control a world were rarely won within the tightly controlled and strictly regimented rules of Zellbrigen. And now the faults of the Sabutai showed themselves. With its short range it was dependent on the construction of forwards operating bases to land and refuel at, and these were vulnerable to attack by Spheroid forces or partisan attacks. Keeping them on DropShips in orbit wasn’t suitable as a Sabutai might only have 15 to 20 minutes of operating time over a battlefield before having to return to base to refuel. The fighter’s thin armour also made it worryingly vulnerable to ground fire and there was an alarming spike in casualties amongst Sabutai pilots once the House Lords started to respond to the Clans assault on their space.
Following the Truce of Tukkayid the badly mauled Jaguars were frantically rebuilding their forces and the Sabutai came under scrutiny. Whilst its firepower and effectiveness in a dogfight couldn’t be understated, the Scientists were tasked with improving the fighter’s survivability.
The base chassis was altered with a larger fuel tank capable of taking 5-tons of fuel which greatly increased its endurance and range, whilst the armour was increased to 13 tons of Ferro-aluminium. This did mean that the armament payload was somewhat diminished, but the fighter still had a lethal punch. Initially called the Sabutai II, the new design was renamed the Ogedei before it was rushed into production.
VariantsPrime – Retaining the paired ER PPCs and gauss rifle of the Sabutai, the Ogedei Prime gave up one large pulse laser, whilst the other was mounted in the nose. The pair of ER small lasers covering the tail were moved to the wings whilst one ER small laser would now cover the tail. The Gauss rifle also received an extra ton of ammunition. Some units with less experienced pilots replaced the ER PPC’s with large pulse lasers, making up for the weaker punch with far greater accuracy.
Ogedei Prime
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3145+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-D
Weight: 75 tons
BV: 3,114
Cost: 11,497,063 C-bills
Movement: 6/9
Engine: 300 XL
Heat Sinks: 21 [42]
Fuel Points: 0/400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 7
Armor: 249 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 71
Left Wing 60
Right Wing 60
Aft 58
Weapons Loc Heat
------------------------------
Gauss Rifle NOS 1
ER PPC LWG 15
ER PPC RWG 15
Large Pulse Laser NOS 10
ER Small Laser AFT 2
ER Small Laser LWG 2
ER Small Laser RWG 2
Ammo Loc Shots
-------------------------------------
Gauss Rifle Ammo [Clan] NOS 8
Gauss Rifle Ammo [Clan] NOS 8
A – Designed as a ground attack craft the A looses firepower but gains flexibility. The ultra 20 autocannon’s are replaced with a pair of LB-20 pattern autocannons, each with 2-tons of ammunition whilst it gains long range firepower from a pair of ER large lasers in the nose. An ER medium laser in each wing adds to the strafing firepower of the fighter whilst an ER small laser covers the aft. For anti-DropShip roles the LB-20’s are often replaced with paired Ultra 20’s and this is a common swap seeing as many Ogedei pilots are familiar with the Xerxes and the weapons mix is very similar to that second line fighter.
Ogedei A
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3145+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-D
Weight: 75 tons
BV: 2,653
Cost: 12,498,750 C-bills
Movement: 6/9
Engine: 300 XL
Heat Sinks: 16 [32]
Fuel Points: 0/400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 7
Armor: 249 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 71
Left Wing 60
Right Wing 60
Aft 58
Weapons Loc Heat
----------------------------
LB 20-X AC LWG 6
LB 20-X AC RWG 6
ER Large Laser NOS 12
ER Large Laser NOS 12
ER Small Laser AFT 2
ER Medium Laser RWG 5
ER Medium Laser LWG 5
Ammo Loc Shots
----------------------------------
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo LWG 5
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo LWG 5
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo RWG 5
LB 20-X Cluster Ammo RWG 5
B – Built for missile support the Ogedei B is armed with a sextuplet of LRM-15’s with three mounted under each wing. Each launcher has 2-tons of ammunition but it lacks the extensive and expensive electronics equipment of the Sabutai B, and has a more limited defensive armament focused around a pair of medium pulse lasers in the nose and a trio of ER small lasers for point defence.
Ogedei B
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3145+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-D
Weight: 75 tons
BV: 2,997
Cost: 12,521,438 C-bills
Movement: 6/9
Engine: 300 XL
Heat Sinks: 16 [32]
Fuel Points: 0/400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 7
Armor: 249 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 71
Left Wing 60
Right Wing 60
Aft 58
Weapons Loc Heat
-------------------------------
LRM 15 LWG 5
LRM 15 RWG 5
LRM 15 LWG 5
LRM 15 LWG 5
LRM 15 RWG 5
LRM 15 RWG 5
Medium Pulse Laser NOS 4
Medium Pulse Laser NOS 4
ER Small Laser AFT 2
ER Small Laser NOS 2
ER Small Laser AFT 2
Ammo Loc Shots
------------------------------------------------
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo LWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo LWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo LWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo LWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo RWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo LWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo RWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo RWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo RWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo RWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo RWG 8
LRM 15 (Clan) Artemis-capable Ammo LWG 8
C – Operating as a heavy interceptor and ground attack fighter the C’s main punch comes from a quartet of ER large lasers as well as enough heatsinks to fire all of them. Close in saturation fire is covered by a quintet of Medium pulse lasers, with one covering the rear and two in each wing. Able to engage targets beyond most return fire, the C is somewhat jokingly seen as too precise for a Jaguar design, but its efficiency cannot be denied.
Ogedei C
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3145+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-D
Weight: 75 tons
BV: 2,793
Cost: 11,386,031 C-bills
Movement: 6/9
Engine: 300 XL
Heat Sinks: 24 [48]
Fuel Points: 0/400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 7
Armor: 249 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 71
Left Wing 60
Right Wing 60
Aft 58
Weapons Loc Heat
-------------------------------
ER Large Laser LWG 12
ER Large Laser RWG 12
ER Large Laser NOS 12
ER Large Laser NOS 12
Medium Pulse Laser LWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser RWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser RWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser LWG 4
Medium Pulse Laser AFT 4
D – A multi-role fighter able to destroy ground and air targets the D is built to get in close and cripple targets. Paired large pulse lasers provide long range fire whilst an LB-10 autocannon with 2-tons of ammunition can cause heavy damage. At medium range the D’s missiles come into action, paired Streak 6 and paired Streak 4 launchers can unleash a wall of missiles which can weaken a targets armour or foul control surfaces and motive systems. Two ER small lasers cover the fighter’s rear whilst a third sits almost unnoticed under the nose.
Ogedei D
Base Tech Level: Standard (Clan)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced -
Standard 3145+
Tech Rating: F/X-X-X-D
Weight: 75 tons
BV: 2,597
Cost: 11,875,188 C-bills
Movement: 6/9
Engine: 300 XL
Heat Sinks: 15 [30]
Fuel Points: 0/400 (5.0 tons)
Structural Integrity: 7
Armor: 249 (Ferro-Aluminum)
Armor
-------------------
Nose 71
Left Wing 60
Right Wing 60
Aft 58
Weapons Loc Heat
------------------------------
LB 10-X AC NOS 2
Large Pulse Laser LWG 10
Large Pulse Laser RWG 10
Streak SRM 6 LWG 4
Streak SRM 6 RWG 4
Streak SRM 4 LWG 3
Streak SRM 4 RWG 3
ER Small Laser NOS 2
ER Small Laser AFT 2
ER Small Laser AFT 2
Ammo Loc Shots
----------------------------------
LB 10-X Cluster Ammo NOS 10
LB 10-X Cluster Ammo NOS 10
Streak SRM 6 Ammo RWG 15
Streak SRM 6 Ammo LWG 15
Streak SRM 4 Ammo RWG 25
Streak SRM 4 Ammo LWG 25
The Sabutai is one of the prittiest Clan fighters, the huge sweeping wings, the kind of blended nose/body section all come together to make it a very impressive looking fighter (much like the Xerxes) but the looks no way match the performance as it sacrifices range and protection for throat ripping firepower. So its got the range of a about 20 minutes and has beautifully crafted baking foil as protection. Fine for Clan trials, but seeing as the Clan's went 'How do I war?' and forgot that a single battle rarely decides the outcome of a conflict and something that has the endurance of this cat -
https://i.imgur.com/AIXlqVz.gifv is at a distinct disadvantage when you've barely got the fuel to get from your DropShip or airstrip, get to the battle, stay there for about 5 minutes and then go home on bingo fuel. Hence my changes for it.
I know this isn't technically a quicksilver capable craft but still!
Author
Topic: Quicksilver AeroFighter Challenge #3: High End Fighter Free for All (Read 26615 times)