Phalanx (Combat Vehicle)

Description
Billed as the Free Worlds League's answer to the Myrmidon, the Phalanx instead proved to be an overly expensive, lightly armored design mounting uncommon Experimental Technology.

Seeking extensive input from both mercenary and house military units from around the Inner Sphere and major Periphery states, Earthwerks unfortunately tried to fit too many conflicting requirements into a single design and produced an far too costly and ultimately mediocre tank. The Phalanx was quietly shelved after poor pre-production sales, four prototypes donated to the FWLM with the rest scrapped and used as technology test beds.

Sharing the Myrmidon's weight to allow the design to fit into a light vehicle bay with ten tons of supplies, Earthwerks responded to Great House requests for a supply-independent vehicle by fitting an XL Engine to free-up weight rather than boost speed, protected it with a relatively light six tons of standard armor. In an attempt to give the design greater mobility to take up the slack from depleted BattleMech forces, the Phalanx was built to be capable of surface level amphibious travel. The tank's buoyancy was only enhanced by squad sized Infantry Bay.

Weapons and Equipment
Responding to units forced to make do with novice crews rushed into combat thanks to the Jihad, Earthwerks equipped the Phalanx with a turret-mounted Sniper Artillery Cannon supplied with two tons of ammunition in CASE protected bins. While a powerful weapon that only needed to be aimed in the general direction of the target, it was far too short ranged and ammo-dependent for most potential buyers, with the design's only secondary weapon a single Machine Gun mounted in the body with half a ton of reloads. However, the infantry squad carried in the 1 ton bay provided additional protection against enemy infantry.

Variants

 * Phalanx Support Tank : The original Phalanx was re-cast as an infantry support unit after the poor showing in its intended role. Large infantry formations love the tank for its artillery support. The Infantry Bay of the original was deleted and replaced by armor. The Machine Gun formerly mounted on the turret was relocated to the forward hull of the tank. This in turn lightened the turret by a half ton, which the designers replaced with more armor. This version of the Phalanx sports seven and a half tons of armor. The amphibious equipment was left in place as it was too deeply integrated into the tank. BV (2.0) = 533

Design Quirks
The Phalanx Support Tank variant is subject of the following Design Quirks:
 * Difficult to Maintain
 * Inaccurate Weapon (Machine Gun)
 * Trailer Hitch