Technical readout 2866 Rise of the Scavengers

NTK-2V Night Hawk
History:
When the Star League called for a new light BattleMech
specifically designed to hunt down pirates, raiders, and
other elusive units, two Lyran companies were quick to
respond. The ‘Mech was to be as fast or faster then a
Wasp or Stinger and as heavily armed as possible.
Raids from Periphery based forces were becoming
increasingly common in the years following the bloody
Reunification War, and the SLDF was struggling to find
an effective defense against these small, nimble, and
fast moving raiders. While the traditional heavy
BattleMech forces of the SLDF were well suited for
planetary assaults and building strong defensive belts,
against raiders they were easily bypassed, rendering
them ineffective and allowing attackers access to critical
rear support areas. Star League ammunition dumps,
repair facilities, and parts stockpiles were often the
primary targets of these grab-and-go raids, along with
occasional food stores and fuel bunkers.
Predictably, the massive Defiance Industries was the first
to submit a design. Fresh from their success with the
40-ton STN-1S Sentinel in 2651, which was upgraded for
use by the SLDF just one year later and given the STN-
3L designation, it was the lightest ‘Mech Defiance
Industries had produced up to that point and gave them
confidence they could successfully built a truly light
‘Mech in addition to the heavier models they already
produced.
However, as it turned out, a young, emerging company,
Mountain Wolf BattleMechs, located on Vendrell, had
submitted a design as well. Their first attempt at
BattleMech design and production, the 35-ton NTK-2Q
Night Hawk was delivered for testing in 2655.
Powered by a state-of-the-art GM 210XL fusion engine, it
had a top speed of close to 100 kph and the seven tons
of ProTech light armor made it the most heavily armored
‘Mech in its class. Armed with a Maxell Extended-Range
large laser, a Defiance B3L large laser, and a Defiance
P5M medium pulse laser, it also carried far more
firepower than anything else in its weight class.
Equipped with an entirely energy-based complement of
weapons, the Night Hawk can operate for as long as
needed without having to worry about reloading, or a
possible ammunition explosion. A full dozen doublestrength
heat sinks easily dissipate even the massive
heat generated by its arsenal of lasers.
The design was far more ambitious than the one
submitted by Defiance Industries and during field testing
it outperformed the Defiance entry in every category,
including cost. The SLDF subsequently placed an initial
order for 700 of the new machines and Mountain Wolf
BattleMechs began delivering them in 2656.
Defiance Industries scrapped their design and returned
to focusing on heavier units and has yet to successfully
enter the market for light BattleMechs.
Capabilities:
With the loss of the advanced manufacturing facilities
and the engineers that made it possible, Mountain Wolf
BattleMechs was forced to downgrade their Third
Generation Night Hawk, refitting it with components they
still had the ability to produce.
The GM 210XL was replaced with its heavier and less
complicated brother, the increase in weight causing the
extended-range large to be replaced by a Defiance B3M
medium laser. The problem wasn’t unique to Mountain
Wolf BattleMechs either. Defiance Industries found itself
unable to continue production of their P5M medium pulse
laser, another component used on the -2Q model, and
Mountain Wolf was forced to change that to the standard
B3M model as well. The only weapon to remain
unchanged in the -2V is the B3L heavy laser mounted in
the right arm.
The loss of double heat sinks was another major setback
the re-engineering of the design. However, dropping the
second heavy laser provided significant relief to the
problem and another was added, giving the -2V a total of
13 heat sinks.
The armor was also reduced by a half ton, the -2V
switching to the readily available Maxmillian instead of
the original ProTech.
The last change involved the electronics suite.
Deepening their relationship with their former competitor,
43
Defiance Industries, Mountain Wolf contracted with
TharHes Industries, a subsidiary of Defiance, to use the
well regarded Crystal Flower RG-2 communications suite
and the Star Shark targeting and tracking system used
by the Commando.
The final result is a ‘Mech that only echoes the
effectiveness of the original design. Armed with a heavy
and two medium lasers, it has less firepower and less
range. While the overall speed and armor remain
roughly the same, the loss of Star League technology
has taken a significant toll on the design, and it remains
to be seen if there will be enough continued interest in
the design to sustain Mountain Wolf BattleMechs into the
future.
Variants: None.
Current Manufacturers:
Mountain Wolf BattleMechs
Vendrell – Lyran Commonwealth
Cost
NTK-2V 2,803,275 849 ???
Alpha Strike Statistics
TP: BM SZ: 1 TMM: +2
MV: 12” Role: Striker
Damage S: 2 M: 2 L: 0
OV: 0
Armor: O O O
Sructure: O O O
Special: ENE