Marksman

The Star League-era Marksman was created as a fire support vehicle, specifically to carry the newly designed Sniper Artillery Piece. Initially, the vehicle was to use the older Thor Armored Fighting Vehicle's chassis, but the weight of the Sniper forced the designers to start with a new design.

As a successor to the Thor, the designers improved the design by trading the previous wheeled configuration for tracks. The tracks gave the Marksman more stability, as well as increased all-terrain capabilities. The short range of the Sniper means that the vehicle is more likely to be involved in direct combat than most artillery pieces. Correspondingly, a secondary combat computer was added to allow the Sniper to be used in direct-fire situations, as well as constructing the vehicle with seven and a half tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor, most of it concentrated on the front.

Star League & Succession War Eras
The vehicle entered service with the Star League Defense Force in 2702 and became its standard medium artillery piece. Unfortunately, the vehicle suffered from an early design flaw: due to faulty track locks, the vehicle tended to throw its tracks at flank speeds. The designers corrected the flaw, but over a thousand production units had been built before it was remedied. Although some of the original production vehicles were retrofitted, many never received the fix.

Because of their poor reputation many of these Marksman were stripped for spare parts through the Succession Wars. The vehicle faded from service by the end of the Third Succession War. Only one surviving vehicle was left in service of a planetary militia in the Magistracy of Canopus.

Late 31st Century
Grumman Industries, the original manufacturer of the Marksman, merged with CRI Mechanical becoming Grumman-CRI. One of its first actions was to redesign the Marksman chassis. Grumman-CRI built a new manufacturing plant on Melissia for service of the Lyran Alliance by the late 3060s, and Marksmans were being deployed to the borders adjoining the Clan Jade Falcon OZ.

Weapons and Equipment
The Marksman's primary feature is its main battery, the Sniper Artillery Piece. The vehicle carries 20 rounds of ammunition for the Sniper. For defensive purposes, it also has a turret-mounted Large Laser.

Variants

 * Marksman (Light PPC) : Armed with a Sniper Artillery piece, this Lyran-built 3068 variant swaps the original Large Laser for a Light Particle Projector Cannon. Enhancing its close-in defense, the vehicle is equipped with four Heavy Machine Guns, two mounted in the front and two mounted in the turret. The original Magnus-260 was replaced with a Light Fusion Engine. BV (2.0) = 684


 * Marksman (AC) : Similar to the Thor AC refit, this 2801 version of the Marksman replaces the Sniper Artillery piece with an Autocannon/20, three ten tube Rocket Launchers, and two fifteen tube Rocket Launchers. The large laser remains, and three tons of autocannon ammunition allow the Marksman to terrorize enemy forces. BV (2.0) = 976

Vehicles Notes

 * Fist of Justice - Part of the 1st Skye Rangers' artillery company, the Fist of Justice Lance has been in service since 3068. The lance is noteworthy for taking out sixty vehicles and 'Mechs over its brief history, without taking any serious injuries or damage. Part of their success is due to the use of VTOL spotter aircraft to home in on their targets. The lance is also known to close in on its enemies due to the Sniper's short-range. Two of the lance's commanders are former Mechwarriors.