Based off of Bradshaw's proposal, but with the armor load tweaked a little to better protect the torsos. Although theoretically possible in Liao space, it's much easier to source the components (especially the fusion engine) in the Free Worlds League, so that's where my fluff took me.
Type: CP-11-SAP Cyclops
Production: Free Worlds League (Earthwerks Incorporated refit, Keystone)
Combat Value: 1354 BV
Total Cost: 7,849,660 C-Bills + 24k ammo (including x1.9 tonnage premium)
Internal Struc (Std): 9t
Engine: GM 270: 14.5t
Walking: 3
Running: 5
Heat Sinks: 10(20)
Gyro/Cockpit (std): 6t
Armor Factor (std): 14.5t (232 pips)
Head 3/9 (7 front, 10 sides/back)
Center Torso 29/34/11
R/L Torso 19/28/9
R/L Arm 15/24
R/L Leg 19/28
Quirks: Command Computer, Cowl, Difficult Ejection, Weak Head Armor (2)
2x Sniper AP (40cr, 40t) 8RA/12RT/12LT/8LA
4x Ammo (Sniper) 40 (4cr, 4t) RL/LL
1x Medium Laser (1cr, 1t) CT
1x Small Pulse Laser (1cr, 1t) CT
One of the few tactical advantages that House Liao possessed over the other Great Houses was that it fielded an Artillery BattleMech in 3050. The CPLT-C3 Catapult gave the CCAF a highly mobile fire support asset that no military in the InnerSphere could match. Terrain restrictions that could not be overcome by vehicle mounted artillery pieces gave the Capellans a noticeable edge in several raids. Then the Clans came with their own Artillery OmniMech called the Naga proving the concept more than sound. Other Successor States began crash programs to develop their own ‘Mech based Artillery designs, including the Free Worlds League as the Third Marik Civil War began to heat up. Engineers at the Keystone facility of Earthwerks Incorporated put together a prototype Cyclops refit that took advantage of the assault ‘Mech’s massive tonnage and spacious boxy frame to mount a pair of artillery piece, creating a natural command unit which could maintain distance from the frontlines but still contribute from up to 9 kilometers away.
The proposed CP-11-SAP design retained (and in many cases partially rebuilt) the Stormvanger HV-7 chassis, but replaces the original’s rather marginal ten tons of Starshield “Special” with a more respectable fourteen and a half tons of Durallex “Heavy”, closer to 5/6 maximal effective protection for the Command ‘Mech. Although Earthwerks lacks the ability to manufacture replacement electronics for the Cyclops’ famed B-2000 Tacticon Battle Computer, it does manufacture the HartfordCo COM 4000 for their Battlemaster lines, a quality command system on its own, and the refit assumes a new HartfordCo system in place of older jury-rigged electronics. A full set of lostech double-strength heat-distributing baffles are integrated into the GM 270 fusion engine – taken from Earthwerks’ inventory surplus, from their former Phoenix Hawk lines – is installed in place of the original Cyclops’ Hermes 360 fusion engine, which provides both the tonnage and the torso space for a pair of massive A2 (Austen-Armstrong) Sniper Artillery Pieces, one fitted to each shoulder and upper torso. The heavy-weight myomer-and-pneumatic aiming mechanisms fill out most of the remaining bulk in each side torso, and the ammunition feeds actually pull from two sets of two-ton ammunition bins fitted in the upper hips of the ‘Mech. Interesting, the weapons counterweight and recoil-reduction elements also fit neatly into the cavernous torsos, allowing the 11-SAP to retain the full use of its arm and hand actuators, giving this artillery ‘Mech design tremendous versatility in comparison to the Catapult and Naga designs that inspired it.
The 11-SAP carries only a modest set of backup weapons, a single Diverse Optics Type 18 medium laser, and an anti-infantry weapon – a Diverse Optics Type 10P small pulse laser was part of the initial design proposal, but Keystone cannot manufacture them – relying on imports from Irian, which are proving to be unreliable. The alternative proposal is an Olympian-brand Flamer, which can be sourced by Earthwerks-Asuncion, but is also sufficiently low-tech enough to be manufactured on Keystone if necessary. However, given that the aiming mechanisms of the A2 Snipers are capable of rapidly tracking line-of-sight targets and depressing to below zero degrees, the expectation is that in a pinch, 11-SAP pilots will be able to use their artillery weapons as direct-fire ballistic threats, capable of hitting as hard as an AC-20 at ranges of up to 500 meters, nearly double the effective range of an AC-20 cannon.
Although the 11-SAP is still technically in development, the spreading League conflict has already drawn one model into combat, and Marik ‘loyalist’ forces in the Civil War have already requisitioned all three prototype 11-SAP designs, and pressured Earthwerks-Keystone into beginning refits of the several dozen heavily jury-rigged and/or mothballed Cyclops chassis that have been stockpiled by the FWLM.
