If used in conjunction with TAG and Copperhead rounds, the Sniper Artillery Piece is much more versatile than the Arrow IV system, especially for Inner Sphere units (for whom it's a very manageable 5-ton weight 'tax') -- it has much greater range, more ammunition types as options, and is cheaper to purchase, maintain, and resupply with ammunition. As a direct-fire weapon, it's basically a (very) inaccurate AC-20 with effectively infinite range, but the threat is there at least if someone gets within tactical (battle map) range.
As for direct-fire support, the Thumper Cannon is decent, with range comparable to a standard Large Laser (-1 hex, for long range of 14 hexes), and does AOE 5 burst, which will mess up infantry formations that cluster up too much. As AOE weapons, they can clear woods hexes, wipe out infantry units trying to hide in buildings or terrain, and even catch multiple heavier units that have clumped up too much. With 20 shots per Cannon and arms that flip, it's worth throwing a few rounds at fast lights that wander too close, because Artillery Cannons target hexes, so effectively ignore TMM
They also will absolutely SHRED battle-armor. Both Thumpers on target will wipe out an entire Inner Sphere battle-armor unit in a single volley, and badly damage even Clan armor. Can you tell that I love Artillery Cannons? I'm really not sure why they haven't taken off in-universe (of course in RL, it's because game designers didn't design a lot of canon 'Mech variants with artillery cannons).
A Snake by comparison is pretty darn weedy at the same "anti-Battle Armor" mission. I hate losing the jumpjets, but my optimal Artillery Catapult would use Endosteel to get the weight savings to keep the jumpjets -- and I can't justify here that given that only the Combine is making new Catapults in the 3050s.
Type: CPLT-C1T and CPLT-C3S Catapult
Production: Capellan Confederation (Bithinia Refits)
Combat Value: 1208 BV (C1T), 1213 (C3S)
Total Cost: 5,647,401 C-Bills (C1T), 5,482,401 C-Bills (C3S)
Tonnage: 65t
Internal Structure: 6.5t
Engine (Magna 260): 13.5t
Walking: 4
Running: 6
Heat Sinks: 10(20): 0t
Gyro/Cockpit (Std): 6t
Armor (Standard): 12.5t
Head 3/9
Center Torso 21/30/9
R/L Torso 15/20/8
R/L Arm 10/20
R/L Leg 15/28
Quirks: Arms Flip (C1T only), No/Minimal Arms (both)
WEAPONS (Catapult C1T)
2x Thumper Cannon (14cr, 20t) RA/LA
2x Ammo (Thumper) (2cr, 2t) LT
1x CASE (1cr, 0.5t) LT
4x Medium Lasers (4cr, 4t) RT/2CT/LT
WEAPONS (Catapult C3S)
1x Sniper Artillery Piece (20cr, 20t) RA/RT
2x Ammo (Thumper) (2cr, 2t) LT
1x CASE (1cr, 0.5t) LT
4x Medium Lasers (4cr, 4t) RT/2CT/LT
The Catapult is a second-line fire-support BattleMech produced in record numbers over its initial three-year period from the company's brand-new, state-of-the-art factory. When the Star League fell, many of the remaining Catapults joined Aleksandr Kerensky on his Exodus. The Capellan Confederation collected most of the Catapults that remained in the Inner Sphere, and the Hollis factory on Corey briefly produced new models and spare parts. This renewed production ended when the Corey factory was destroyed at the onset of the First Succession War, ensuring the rarity of the Catapult outside of the Confederation during the rest of that bloody era.
With so many Catapults in service, and without the ability to repair and refit them with OEM parts, the CCAF ended up producing dozens of different variants, many of them unique or nearly so, but some designs gained sufficient popularity – and most importantly, could be repaired and maintained with the Confederation’s limited logistics capability. The Catapult-C1T is one such refit, originally created to provide close-range anti-infantry fire support for House Ma-Tsu Kai forces, stationed on Bithnia for many decades in the early 31st century. As one of the youngest Warrior Houses, Ma-Tsu Kai was relatively low on the CCAF priority list for resupply and procurement, so their techs got quite creative at utilizing local suppliers – in particular, long-time Capellan armaments firm Bithinian Ballistics, the primary reason the Warrior House was garrisoned in system.
With access to most of Bithinian’s wide range of autocannons, House Ma-Tsu Kai initially was hoping to fit “recovered tech” Mydron Excel LB10-X autocannons on their Catapults, but not only were the giant cannons a bit too large to pair up on a ‘stock’ Catapult without extensive structural modifications, but the LB10-X systems were in heavy demand, without much spare supply available to Ma-Tsu Kai. Instead, the Warrior House began testing the combat utility of the firm’s artillery weapons lines. The Warrior House fields a single modified C3 equipped with a Sniper Artillery Piece in place of the expensive (and logistically problematic) Arrow IV launcher, but has three others that use paired Thumper Artillery Cannons – a bit under-powered compared to other heavy ‘Mechs when used against ‘Mechs or conventional vehicles, but devastating against infantry formations – and quite effective, as it turns out, against battle-armor, particularly Inner Sphere battle-armor forces.
Both the C1T (with paired Thumper Cannons) and the C3S (equipped with Sniper Artillery Piece) are “stock” Catapults with the problematic Anderson 21 jumpjets removed, and the original heat sinks all removed and replaced solely with engine-mounted double heat sinks. The design retains the four Martell Medium Lasers of the original, retaining a credible short to mid-ranged bite, while relying on either a single Artillery piece, or paired Artillery Cannons for long-range firepower. A two-ton ammunition bin (designed to allow two separate types of ammunition, only really useful for the C3S) in the left torso is protected by CASE – produced in-system by Bithinian Ballistics and designed to be compatible with all popular armor brands in the Confederation.
Although fairly modest upgrades, the design has become quite popular with other CCAF units, particularly Periphery commands that regularly face large concentrations of infantry forces. Although the Vindicator-based Snake (produced by influential and politically connected Ceres Metals) has become the official anti-battle armor ‘Mech of the CCAF, the Catapult C1T has demonstrated it can be a cheaper and more durable alternative. Since the 3050s, Bithinian Ballistics has fielded dozens of requests for field refits, and it now has created a modestly profitable side business producing Artillery Pieces and Cannons for after-market modifications of various common Battlemechs.
