Technical readout 2866 Rise of the Scavengers

WSP-2B Wasp
History:
The Wasp is the oldest continuously produced
BattleMech in the Inner Sphere. It is also the most
common. First built by General Mechanics on Mars in
2464 only a scant 25 years after the introduction of the
MSK-5S Mackie, it was the first ‘Mech to mount jump jets
although the technology was fraught with problems at the
time.
By 2471, General Mechanics had largely resolved the
problems with the Rawlings jump jets, and rolled out the
now familiar Second Generation WSP-1A Wasp. Often
found in the role of scout or raider, the pilot must rely on
their jump capability to get them out of harm’s way given
the mediocre ground speed and light armor of the unit.
With the debut of their 55-ton KTO-19 Kintaro in 2587,
General Mechanics would go on to be the first company
to introduce another new revolutionary BattleMech
technology, the Narc Missile Beacon. The Kintaro was
built from the ground up with a single purpose: to tag
enemy units with a missile homing Narc Pod. Once
tagged, the Pod serves as a virtual missile magnet
drawing missiles to itself and significantly increasing the
number of both short range and long range missiles that
strike the target. The KTO-19 itself could fire a volley of
12 SRMs and 5 LRMs, but it was almost always
accompanied by heavier fire support units, such as
Archers or even tracked LRM carriers.
General Mechanics’ facilities on Mars were believed to
have been destroyed in 2767 during the fighting for the
Terra system, and in any case, the last munitions plant
capable of producing the highly specialized Narc Missile
Pods was gone by 2792.
The company’s legacy lives on, though. Given the age
of the Wasp and the sheer number that have been
produced over the centuries, anyone who was interested
has been able to reverse engineer its construction.
Archernar BatteMechs, Irian BattleMechs, Kali Yama
Weapons and numerous Periphery based manufacturers
all currently produce the Wasp.
In addition, General Dynamics recently resurrected the
Kintaro, building a new facility from equipment
decontaminated and salvaged and the ruins of the
famous Diplan ‘MechYards on Ozawa. Unfortunately
this version, the KTO-18, is a significant downgrade from
the original due to the loss of the Narc Missile Beacon.
Capabilities:
Weighing 20-tons and protected with only three tons of
Durallex Light armor, the Wasp is easy prey for just
about any other BattleMech it may encounter. Every
reconnaissance pilot knows the value of speed both for
covering vast tracts of territory as well as extracting
oneself from dangerous situations.
In 2632, Irian BattleMechs commissioned the HER-1S
Hermes for the Star League Defense Force. Weighing
30-tons with a top speed of over 150 kph, the Hermes
was the fastest ‘Mech ever made. Built on an advanced
lightweight chassis, the secrets of its manufacture fell
along with the Star League and Irian BattleMechs was
forced to end production, replacing it with its heavier and
much slower cousin, the HER-2S Hermes II beginning in
2798.
The WSP-2B Wasp brings back the legendary speed of
the HER-1S. Replacing the original GM 120 fusion
engine with the more powerful 180 found in the
Vindicator, the WSP-2B has a top sustained ground
speed of a blistering 151.2 kph. Its cruising speed
approaches 100 kph, equaling the top speed of the
original -1A. The troublesome Rawlings 52 jump jets
have been removed to make the space necessary for the
larger power plant.
Armed with two Diverse Optics Type 2 Medium Lasers
and backed up by an arm mounted Olympian Flamer, it
carries twice the firepower of its brother. The medium
lasers serve as a deterrent against other light ‘Mechs,
while the flamer is a strong defensive weapon, especially
effective against unarmored targets such as infantry.
Variants:
Engineers working for House Liao introduced the -1L
variant in 2799. It replaces both original weapons with a
single SRM-4 with one ton of ammunition.
The version used by the Draconis Combine Mustered
Soldiery, carrying the -1K designation, replaces the Bical
33
Twin-Rack with a machine gun and a half ton of
ammunition. This allows the armor to be upgraded to the
thicker 1/Star Slab commonly found on the Locust, giving
it a full 25% more protection than the original and
providing it with potent anti-infantry capabilities. It was
first seen in 2818.
The Federated Suns variant, introduced in 2823, also
replaces the Bical Twin-Rack. Twin small lasers and a
flamer are mounted in the left torso giving this version
significantly more firepower, albeit at a shorter range.
Current Manufacturers:
Achernar BattleMechs
New Avalon – Federated Suns
Irian BattleMechs
Shiro III – Free Worlds League
Kali Yama Weapons
Kalidasa – Free Worlds League
Model Cost BV PV
WSP-1A 1,614,240 384 14
WSP-1L 1,624,320 335 14
WSP-1K 1,614,240 376 14
WSP-1D 1,638,240 403 15
WSP-2B 1,582,440 504 ???
Alpha Strike Statistics
TP: BM SZ: 1 TMM: +3
MV: 18” Role: Scout
Damage S: 2 M: 1 L: 0
OV: 0
Armor: O O
Sructure: O O
Special: ENE