BattleAxe

Description
The prototype of the BattleAxe originally appeared in Introduction Year::2459, and relied on the standard armament of the time: lasers and missiles. Over the next fifteen years, the speed was increased by a third and the mass of the cockpit and armor were reduced. In the late 2460s, unsure of the BattleAxe's maneuverability, the introduction of the WSP-1 Wasp inspired designers to mount experimental jump jets onto the upper legs, allowing it to vault over anything it could not run through. Unfortunately, MechWarriors had to go through training for the new jump jets and the landing process, as many died early on. The Federated Suns subsequently switched the Large Lasers in the arms for new Particle Projection Cannons. The BattleAxe only has nine tons of armor, which is comparatively light for a 'Mech of its size. Massive overheating problems, and the introduction of the Hammerhands, eventually ended the operational service of the BattleAxe. The last BattleAxes, considered ancient, were destroyed in a desperate defense of Robinson against conventionally equipped Combat Vehicle formations during the Second Succession War.

Weapons and Equipment
The original production variant of this 'Mech, the BKX-7K, utilizes two massive Donal Particle Projection Cannons, which were relatively new at the time. To support the massive cannons, it also has two Federated-5 Shot LRM-5 launchers with one ton of ammo to split between them and a Harpoon-6 SRM-6, giving it something to hit with at all ranges.

Variants

 * BKX-1X : The prototype Battleaxe uses a Primitive Engine, cockpit and armor. The weapons load is slightly different as well, with Large Lasers in the arms instead of the PPCs of the later variants. A pair of Machine Guns with a half-ton of ammunition defend against infantry units. It carries a single SRM-6 launcher as well as a pair of LRM-5s. The bulky engine is much less efficient than later models, limiting the Battleaxe to a top speed of 54km/h. In addition, this version of the 'Mech lacks jump jets.


 * BKX-7NC : Due to the uncertainty of the BattleAxe's jump jets, many MechWarriors had technicians remove the jump jets in favor of two more LRM-5 launchers, one on each side of the torso. It was labeled the 7NC because of its nickname "No Crash". BV (2.0)= 1,252


 * BKX-8D : After digging around in the Achernar archives, the leaders of Achernar decided to attempt to redeem their design in the 3070s. They upgraded the armor to Light Ferro-Fibrous compounds, utilized CASE, and mounted a Light Fusion Engine. They swapped each PPC for a pair of Extended-Range Medium Lasers and the missile racks for three new MML 7. The heat sinks were upgraded to double heat sinks while the jump jets were retained. Rounding out this revamped design is a C3 Slave Unit. BV (2.0) = 1,592

Related BattleMechs

 * Hammerhands - The successor of the BattleAxe.
 * Warhammer - The BattleAxe and the Hammerhands influenced the design of the Warhammer.

Design Quirks
The BattleAxe has the following Design Quirk:
 * Difficult to Maintain

The BKX-1X Battleaxe variant is subjected to the following exclusive Design Quirks:
 * Hard to Pilot
 * Prototype
 * Poor Performance