Winston

The Winston Combat Vehicle was a Republic of the Sphere frontline combat vehicle that began production in 3085. The vehicle was designed by Pandora 'Mech Works of Terra, part of that company's effort to produce a new line of products. The company wanted to produce a vehicle that was not associated with the Word of Blake, such as its ancient Puma Tank. Originally named the Stone Main Battle Tank, the vehicle's production was nearly aborted due to Devlin Stone not wanting a vehicle named after him.

The vehicle was intended to be able to handle a variety of combat situations, and for this reason it was equipped with 14.5 tons of Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor to provide sufficient protection for many different circumstances.

Weapons and Equipment
The Winston is a fire support type tank which generally uses its long range weaponry to hit its opponent. The vehicle's principle long range weapons include a pair of turret mounted 15-tubed Long Range Missile Launchers and pair of Light PPCs. The Light PPCs are guided by a Targeting Computer mounted in the hull of the tank. In close combat, the vehicle must rely on its front mounted 6-tubed Streak Short Range Missile Launcher. The LRMs have been allotted 3 tons of ammunition to allow for sustain fire, while SRM has only a ton. The vehicle also features an Anti-Missile System to protect from inbound missile fire. The ammunition bay equipped with CASE protection to prevent the vehicle from being completed destroyed from ammunition explosion.

Variants

 * LAC : Produced as an alternative design to, perhaps, act as a companion to the original version of the Winston developed in Introduction Year::3086 . The LAC variant exchanges the Light PPCs for a pair of Light Autocannons, while the LRMs are swapped for a pair of seven-tubed Multi-Missile Launchers . BV (2.0) = 1,314


 * Support : Introduced in Introduction Year::3107 this Winston variant carries the Targeting Computer and Light PPCs of the original. The two LRM-15s are replaced by Clan-built LRM-20s. A pair of SRM-4 launchers covers the front arc, and TAG is mounted in the turret to call in artillery strikes. Also present is an Angel ECM Suite to disrupt enemy electronics systems. BV (2.0) = 1,830


 * TSEMP : Another Dark Age variant developed in Introduction Year::3114, this model is powered by an XXL Fusion Engine. It is armed with two AMS, two Clan-built LRM-15s, and twin TSEMP Cannons. The Targeting Computer remains as well. BV (2.0) = 2,565


 * XXL : Late Dark Age variant, introduced in Introduction Year::3133, this variant is powered by an XXL Fusion Engine and is armed with a pair of Large Re-Engineered Lasers and a pair of Clan-spec LRM-15s sharing three tons of ammo. Front-mounted AMS adds to the tank's defenses. NOTE: This variant is two tons underweight due to re-engineered laser errata that reduced their heat generation. BV (2.0) = 1,621