Gossamer

Description
The Gossamer VTOL was created by the Raven Alliance for freeborn and solahma warriors in their touman. Capable of rapid movement, the Gossamer serves as a recon unit as well as a fast strike platform. The VTOL is protected by three and a half tons of Ferro-Fibrous armor, which allows it to survive being hit by a standard PPC at least once on every side. The only weak point is the rotor system, which cannot take much damage before it fails. To offset that possibility, the Gossamer's high speed makes it extremely difficult to hit.

The Gossamer was originally supposed to supplement standing garrison forces, but the craft proved so capable that the Ravens began using it offensively in anti-pirate operations. Clan Sea Fox also expressed interest in the design, and the Ravens have shared the design with them. The only restriction is the Ravens won't allow sale of the Gossamer to the Draconis Combine. Despite this, the Foxes have sold the design to the Republic of the Sphere, Free Worlds League, and Lyran Commonwealth.

Weapons and Equipment
The Gossamer's only armament is three Medium Pulse Lasers. These capable weapons inflict a good amount of damage while offsetting some of the targeting problems that occur when trying to hit a target at nearly 190 km/h. The fact that the firepower available exceeds that available to most older light BattleMechs is much appreciated by the pilots.

Variants

 * LB-X : This Gossamer variant is only used by the Raven Alliance. It removes the standard pulse lasers and fusion engine. In their place are an XL Engine and an LB 10-X with a ton of ammuntion. It retains the same armor and performance of the standard Gossamer. This design is apparently a dedicated anti-VTOL platform. BV (2.0) = 633