TPH-1N Typhon
Overview:
The Typhon (named for the 'father of monsters' in Greek Mythology) is the
heaviest single BattleMech designed and placed into service by the Taurian
Defense Force as part of Project 3000. Based in large measure upon the ancient
Talos 'Mech fielded by the TDF during the Reunification Wars, the Typhon is
twenty tons heavier and much more capable than its primitive ancestor.
Capabilities:
Massing 70-tons, the Typhon is in the upper half of the heavy-weight BattleMech
scale, equaling the tonnage of the more famous Archers and Warhammers found
throughout the Inner Sphere. Like those two renowned 'Mechs, the Typhon
utilizes a 280-rate VOX fusion engine to acheive speeds of 43.2 kilometers per
hour (walking) and 64.8 kph (running). No jump jets were mounted on the design.
Taurus Territorial, which produces a limited number of Marauders each year,
actually listened to the complaints from the MechWarriors assigned to those
'Mechs when it designed the Typhoon . . . and the design engineers did their
best to correct those deficiencies. To start with, thirteen tons of Renault
Composites armor plating was added to the base frame, for more than ninety-five
percent of the maximum theoretical armor coverage, providing the same level of
protection as Archers and Thunderbolts in TDF service.
For long-range engagements, the design carries a High Energy Systems Corona PPC
in the right arm, supplemented by an Aurora Missiliers Monkshood LRM-10
launcher in the right torso (with two tons of ammunition for 24 missile
salvoes). The right arm forgoes a hand actuator in order to mount the PPC, but
the design team followed the general layout of the Talos in providing the 'Mech
with a fully functional left hand.
To ensure that the Typhon would have little problem engaging its opponents at
range, fifteen heat sinks were fitted to the design. This is sufficient for
the Typhon to walk and fire both the PPC and LRMs while generating zero net
overheat.
For close range engagements, TTI added an Aurora Missiliers Hemlock SRM-6 (with
one ton of ammunition for 15 missile salvoes) in the left torso, along with
three Martin-Gordan Rapier Medium Lasers mounted one each in the right torso,
left torso, and left arm. With the fifteen heat sinks carried, the Typhoon and
run and gun with all four of these weapons for no excess overheat production.
Caution must still be used however, for this war-machine cannot withstand the
heat stresses of an alpha from the forward guns without suffering severe
consequences.
Finally, having two tons of mass remaining, the Taurus Territorial engineers
addressed the average speed and rather low maneuverability of the design by
fitting two more Martin Gordan Rapier Medium Lasers to the center torso,
positioned to fire to the rear.
Hard-hitting, rugged, and capable of engaging in a protracted battle, the
Typhon is rapidly becoming one of the most sought after BattleMechs in the TDF.
Battle History:
In 3023, a band of former mercenaries turned pirates set off from the Tortuga
Domains to raid the worlds of the Concordat. Ignoring the warnings by their
fellow pirates that raiding the Taurian worlds were not for the faint of heart,
the cocky mercenaries (with prices on their head in Davion space), set out for
Charleston. They were not expecting to meet up with Foxtrot Company, 2nd
Battalion, of the Taurian Lancers.
Deployed on Charleston for a field training exercise with the local
Constabulary and TDF armor and infantry forces present, the dozen 'Mechs of
Foxtrot Company were able to respond at the first warning sirens over the
capital. Harried by aerospace and conventional fighters during the descent
through the atmosphere, the raiders believed that they could secure the
space-port and load up a shipment of goods from Pinard Protectorates scheduled
for delivery . . . they were not expecting the heavy BattleMechs of Foxtrot
company to be waiting for them on the tarmac.
Led by Captain Arthur Hall in his Typhon, the Taurian 'Mech company (with an
Archer, a Warhammer, two Thunderbolts, a Crusader, three Tornadoes, two
Fusiliers, and a Bandit) greeted the pirates with overwhelming firepower . . .
and then the local tanks and infantry joined the fray.
Within fifteen minutes, the surviving pirates were surrounded, their DropShip
disabled and calls for quarter were sounded out over the radios. Three
survivors (from the eleven pirates who made the landing) were taken into
custody and hung two weeks later.
Deployment:
Taurus Territorial Industries is in the process of converting all of its
Marauder production lines to the new Typhon BattleMech, as the current rate of
production is far too low to meet the demands for this chassis within the TDF
and amongst certain mercenary formations who maintain good relations with the
Concordat.
The handful of existing Typhons in service are largely concentrated in heavy
and assault companies within the senior Regiments of the TDF, but a rare few
have been distributed to such formations as the Taurian Lancers and Pleaides
Hussars. TTI has assured the Protector that production of the Typhon will
quadruple in the next five years, albeit at the expense of 75% of the
Concordat's annual Marauder production.
Variants:
To date the Concordat has offered no variants on the basic TPH-1N chassis,
although some officers are calling for the removal of one of the rear-mounted
medium lasers for an additional heat sink and repositioning the remaining
center torso Rapier to fire forward. TTI has so far resisted these calls,
insisting on the rear-mounted weapons as defense against highly mobile light
and medium-weight BattleMechs.
Notable 'Mechs & MechWarriors:
Captain Arthur Hall of Foxtrot Company, 2nd Battalion, Taurian Lancers is one
of the lucky few to have received a fresh from the assembly lines Typhon. The
commandering officer of the TDF company that repulsed the pirate raid on
Charleston in 3023, Captain Hall and his Typhon (named the Grey Ghost) are
rising stars within the rank and file of the TDF.
Typhon TPH-1N
Mass: 70 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Chassis Config: Biped
Rules Level: Tournament Legal
Era: Succession Wars
Tech Rating/Era Availability: D/X-E-D
Production Year: 3025
Cost: 6,052,453 C-Bills
Battle Value: 1,408
Chassis: Taurus Typhon Heavy Standard
Power Plant: VOX 280 Fusion Engine
Walking Speed: 43.2 km/h
Maximum Speed: 64.8 km/h
Jump Jets: None
Jump Capacity: 0 meters
Armor: Renault Composites 208 Standard Armor
Armament:
1 High Energy Systems Corona PPC
1 Aurora Missiliers Monkshood LRM-10
1 Aurora Missiliers Hemlock SRM-6
5 Martin Gordan Rapier Medium Lasers
Manufacturer: Taurus Territorial Industries
Primary Factory: Taurus
Communications System: Wintershaven Comm Mk XI
Targeting and Tracking System: Bell & Sun Phalanx Gold
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 107 points 7.00
Engine: Fusion Engine 280 16.00
Walking MP: 4
Running MP: 6
Jumping MP: 0
Heat Sinks: Single Heat Sink 15 5.00
Heat Sink Locations: 2 LT, 2 RT
Gyro: Standard 3.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Actuators: L: SH+UA+LA+H R: SH+UA+LA
Armor: Standard Armor AV - 208 13.00
Internal Armor
Structure Factor
Head 3 9
Center Torso 22 30
Center Torso (rear) 9
L/R Torso 15 24
L/R Torso (rear) 6
L/R Arm 11 20
L/R Leg 15 30
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Critical Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PPC RA 10 3 7.00
Medium Laser LA 3 1 1.00
LRM-10 RT 4 2 5.00
Medium Laser RT 3 1 1.00
SRM-6 LT 4 2 3.00
Medium Laser LT 3 1 1.00
2 (R) Medium Lasers CT 6 2 2.00
@LRM-10 (24) RT - 2 2.00
@SRM-6 (15) LT - 1 1.00
Free Critical Slots: 29
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 7 Points: 14
4 3 3 1 0 3 0 Structure: 6
Special Abilities: SRCH, ES, SEAL, SOA
