On the Practicalities of Clan Tech Refits
Of course in the Inner Sphere after the Word of Blake Jihad, refitting Battlemechs with Clan Spec Technologies is significantly easier, thanks to a combination of 40 years of coming to understand the equipment, and becoming more widely available whether a power has a "pet" Clan akin to the exiled Wolves or Nova Cats, or through Trade/Trialing. in the first decade of the Clans arrival the story was much more different. initial popular fiction made it seem as though the AFFC, DCMS, and Kungesarmes were completely caught off guard by the technologies of the clans, whether it was a misunderstanding of the tactical assessments of popular memoirs, or presentations of children's propaganda, or arm chair blowhards on Tri Dee Editorial programs.
The truth is the Helm Memory Core solved almost 90% Of the problem with the Clans advanced technology, thanks to every single bit of it being largely derived from Star League designs.being able to identify an ERPPC, Pulse Lasers, or Double Heat sinks were easy. The exotic materials used in construction, such as harjel, Clan Copper and other "memory materials" and even nominally expensive but well known synthetics that were easily available because of the Clans economic systems (or lack thereof), made the large scale manufacture of replica equipment prohibitively expensive for the AFFC. one engineer likened it to having a military entirely made out of "project cars." Though a steady stream of small scale manufacturing and effort, repairs and even some replacements to damaged equipment was possible... but this resulted in a greater and greater concentration of clan technology in units. some like the 3rd Davion Guards, were able to deploy up to company scale forces. on the opposite end of the totem pole, the 4th Skye Rangers had a captured Loki that served as the personal mech of the warrior who downed it, and the 11th Fed Com Corps Commander (later 5th Alliance Guard) claimed a Thor as Salvage. in both cases these mechs are the sole pieces of clan technology in their regiments
Of course individual problems tended to arise. Clan LRMS, notorious for being able to arm at launch rather then when they reach peak acceleration, were a particular pain in the collective backside of the Rep Dep Corps.while launching software and targeting systems were half of it, the use of a more exotic explosive in the warhead, and some frankly unsafe munitions practices where what gave this advantage to the Clans.
On the flip side of ammunition concerns was the LB-X and Ultra Autocannons. being evolved from Star League designs, many of these weapons used the same caliber of rounds as inner sphere weapons, such as 120mm for the GM Whirlwind autocannon found on both Shadow Hawks and Marauders (Class 5 Autocannons) or the devastating 185mm round for the Pontiac 9000 on Victors or Defiance Mech Hunters from Atlases. the only reason LB-X autcannons became problematic was the lack of knowledge (albeit temporary) to manufacture Flak Rounds. this had the effect of making Ultra Autocannons more popular for refits, and forcing many pilots to forgo the Flak capabilities of LB-X Cannons if they had them
ERPPCs were a conundrum to Inner Sphere engineers, and remain one of the more closely guarded secrets of the Clans even to this day. no one quite understands how the Clan spec particle weapon is able to generate a 50% increase in firepower with no additional mass added to the weapon. the closest that has been able to be made to match this is Luthien Armor Works Lords Light Division, whose solution was simply "Add more cannon to the Particle Projection Cannon" the result was despite popularity, Clan PPCs were a closely husbanded resource within the AFFC, and rarely used for upgraded except for exceptionally elite Mechwarriors.
Double heat sinks as a rule were never used for the refit program. The more compact sinks and their much more efficient exchange fluids were a priority for reverse engineering, one of the things that allowed the AFFC to get Double heat sinks that did not use the mercury alloy coolant of 4th Succession War Freezers in the field so quickly. Yo compare, the DCMS, relying almost exclusively on Luthien Armor Works, was much less conservative with Double Heat sinks, bolting them onto whatever warriors were connected enough to get them, leading to a collection of ill fitting franken-mechs, and a strategic lack of home brew Double Heat sinks well into the 3060's
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Topic: AFFC Elite Clan Refit Kits- Circa 3052 (Read 1519 times)