Mad Dog Mk IV (Vulture Mk IV)

Description
Manufactured by Clan Sea Fox and sold to every nation and Clan, the Vulture Mk IV OmniMech is largely unchanged from the original in basic design terms, incorporating self-contained missile pods in the torsos that are angled upwards to obtain the longest possible range and the projecting cockpit armored with heavily reinforced ferro-glass that provides a panoramic view of the battlefield while providing ample protection to the pilot, dispelling the illusion of vulnerability the Vulture Mk IV's appearance might suggest.

Intended to take and hold the high ground, the Vulture Mk IV lacks jump jets but is capable of moving at more than eighty kilometers per hour and has surprised many with its agility. Variants of this successful design largely restrict themselves to altering the configuration of the missile pods; to reduce the risk of pilots finding themselves defenseless once their ammunition is expended, every variant also incorporates at least one energy weapon. The Vulture Mk IV also mounts fourteen and a half tons of advanced ferro-lamellor armor for physical protection and is known as the Mad Dog Mk IV to the Clans.

Weapons and Equipment
The primary configuration of the Vulture Mk IV mounts three energy weapons - an Extended Range Particle Projection Cannon in the right arm and a pair of Extended Range Small Pulse Lasers in the center torso's chin turret, a visual quirk introduced in the Vulture Mk. II. A pair of SRM-6s are mounted in each of the left and right torsos along with a ton of ammunition in each side torso, and a single LB 5-X Autocannon with a ton of ammunition in the left arm rounds out the weapons load.

Configurations

 * Alternate Configuration A : This configuration retains the ER Small Pulse Lasers of the original but alters the remainder of the weapons load. A Large Pulse Laser replaces the ER PPC in the right arm, while the LB 5-X AC in the right arm is replaced with an Ultra AC/10 and two tons of ammunition. Each of the four SRM-6s is replaced with an LRM 5 although again each of the left and right torsos carries only a single ton of LRM ammunition. BV (2.0) = 2,177.


 * Alternate Configuration B : This configuration retains the ER PPC and the ER Small Pulse Lasers of the original. It replaces the autocannon with another energy weapon - a Medium Pulse Laser - and swaps out the SRM 6s, mounting a single Streak LRM 15 in each of the left and right torsos instead, each supplied with a single ton of ammunition. BV (2.0) = 2,649.


 * Alternate Configuration C : A radical departure from the prime configuration, this configuration strips out all of the weapons, replacing them with an Improved Heavy Large Laser in the right arm, a pair of ER Medium Lasers in the center torso and Gauss Rifle in the left arm. Two tons of ammunition are carried in the left torso, along with an additional Double Heat Sink. The C Configuration also mounts a Targeting Computer in the right torso. BV (2.0) = 2,584.


 * Alternate Configuration D : The D configuration replaces the weapons loadout of the prime completely; mounted in the center torso are a pair of Micro Pulse Lasers, while each arm mounts a single Improved Heavy Medium Laser. An ATM 12 is mounted in each of the left and right torsos, and the D configuration carries five tons of ATM ammunition in total - two in each of the left and right torsos and, in a variation unknown in the other configurations, a single ton in the right arm. This configuration also mounts two additional Double Heat Sinks, one in each arm. BV (2.0) = 2,346.