Thumper (Combat Vehicle)

Description
The TAV-1 Thumper was created by Brooks Incorporated as a cheap knockoff of the SLDF's Thor Artillery Vehicle. The vehicle was mass produced and sold to the Successor States from 2735 to 3046. Sales of the vehicle fell off in the years following the Fourth Succession War.

The vehicle was put into production again and refitted for modern combat during the Jihad. During this chaotic time, Brooks Inc. used the advantage of defense spending increases to begin selling its vehicle to the Word of Blake. It is suspected that Brooks conspired with the fanatical Blakists to ensure that newly revised equipment and sales would go to them. Brooks Inc attempted to sell the vehicle to other powers, including Periphery realms, however had failed in their endeavors.

The current version of the vehicle is noted for its mobility, crew comfort, and electronic defenses. By the time of the Dark Age, it has become the most common mobile artillery platform used in that era.

Weapons and Equipment
The vehicle's primary weaponry is the Edward Industries Thumper Artillery Piece with two tons of ammunition. For close-in defense, the vehicle is armed with two Hellion c-II ER Small Lasers mounted in the turret. It also mounts a pair of Voelkers Machine Guns in the front and the back to protect from infantry. The Machine Guns share a ton of ammunition, which is stored in the main body with the artillery ammunition in a CASE protected compartment. The vehicle is also protected by a Guardian ECM Suite.

Variants

 * Internal Combustion Engine : The original version of the vehicle produced at the end of the Star League until after the Succession Wars utilized an Internal Combustion Engine power plant and slightly more armor. The vehicle was not equipped with turreted lasers, ECM, or CASE. It is equipped with four machine guns, mounted in pairs on each side of the vehicle. The vehicle was given one ton of ammunition for the Machine Guns. BV (2.0) = 568


 * TAV-2 : Second variant produced during the Jihad, this version simply swaps the Guardian ECM for a Beagle Active Probe. BV (2.0) = 682


 * Thumper Artillery Maxwell : Another product of the Maxwell Planetary Defense Consortium, this variant uses Experimental Technology to provide better performance. The largest change is the engine exchange. Instead of a Fusion or Internal Combustion Engine, Maxwell's engineers used a Fuel Cell engine. This engine trade allowed engineers to remove extra fusion engine shielding that was no longer needed. The engineers also used a pair of Sponson Turrets for the secondary weapons instead of the standard turret. Dropping the turret and heavy fusion engine provided the design team with enough room to double the Thumper Artillery's ammunition bay. The standard ER Small Laser was also removed. Secondary weapons on this version are now a single SRM-2 and Machine Gun mounted in each Sponson Turret. For additional protection the Thumper Maxwell employs an Angel ECM Suite and CASE. BV (2.0) = 758


 * Thumper Angel : This Thumper is the production version of the Thumper Artillery Maxwell. Maxwell Planetary Defense Consortium was having serious problems making production targets and then Brooks Incorporated filed suit for trademark infringement in court. A solution was found by having Brooks produce the "Maxwell" version of the Thumper for any client who wanted to pay for it. Aside from a few changes to component names, the Thumper Angel is identical to the Thumper Maxwell version. BV (2.0) = 758

Design Quirks
The Thumper Angel variant is subject of the following Design Quirks:
 * Rumble Seat
 * Trailer Hitch