Osprey

Originally a rare and little-known urban combat 'Mech from the Star League era, the Osprey reached new levels of prominence thanks to the Jihad.

Designed by Hollis Incorporated to fulfill a Star League Defense Force contract for a mobile, medium-weight fire support unit, when Blue Shot Weapons' Lynx design won the bid the Osprey was relegated to a limited contract for the SLDF's Royal units in an urban defense role. Rendered virtually extinct during the Succession Wars, the Word of Blake commissioned Skobel MechWorks to revive the design to bolster its own militia forces, resulting in massive production runs at Skobel and later Achernar BattleMechs during the Jihad. Impressed by the durability and effectiveness of the design during the brutal fighting to take Achernar and Terra, both the Republic of the Sphere and the Capellan Confederation placed a priority on restarting production for their own armed forces after the Jihad.

Weapons and Equipment
The modern Ospreys main ranged weapon was its dorsally mounted M-7 Gauss Rifle supported by Holly Multi-Missile Launcher 7 Rack underneath. At closer ranges the 'Mech carried a pair of Diverse Optics ER Medium Laser and a single ER Small Laser, with the small laser and Beagle probe designed to fit into mountings identical to the medium lasers and giving the impression it mounts two medium lasers in each of its stubby arms. Two tons of ammunition for the Gauss Rifle and the Multi-Missile Launcher, allowing both LRM and SRM missiles to be carried, are carried in CASE protected ammo bays in the Osprey's torsos.

To allow the Osprey to carry a heavy weapons load-out for its size, the 'Mech was built using a weight saving Endo Steel chassis and DAV 220 XL Fusion Engine. Clad in eleven tons of armor and equipped with ten double heat sinks, the design also carried a Beagle Active Probe to weed out hidden units in the urban environment. To make up for the Ospreys low ground speed, four Anderson Propulsion 25 jump jets were mounted in its torso and legs.

Variants

 * OSP-15 : The original SLDF model created in Introduction Year::2738, the OSP-15 mounted the same M-7 Gauss Rifle as the modern models, but had an LRM 10 Launcher, three Medium Lasers and no special equipment . BV (2.0) = 1,564


 * OSP-15E : Functionally identical to Word of Blake's OSP-25 version, the OSP-15E was built by Holis Incorporated for the CCAF using one of its Catapult production lines on Corey.


 * OSP-25 : This was the original, revived version of the Osprey that the Word of Blake used prior to the OSP-26 in Introduction Year::3074 . This version updated the 'Mech's standard medium lasers with Extended Range versions . BV (2.0) = 1,630


 * OSP-36 : Developed in Introduction Year::3139, the OSP-36 was the first non-prototype Advanced Point Defense System-equipped BattleMech introduced by the Republic Armed Forces. To mount a APDS system and a ton of ammo in each arm, the OSP-36 drops the Beagle probe and ER Small Laser entirely, replacing the Gauss Rifle with an ER PPC supported by a Radical Heat Sink System to free up the required weight while allowing the variant to remain combat-effective. As a bodyguard unit the OSP-36 has been an astounding success, hampered only by the move of ER Mediums to the wing-tip positions causing them to aim off-target from time to time . BV (2.0) = 1,532

Custom Variant

 * OSP-26 Osprey Lawrence : A customized variant created in Introduction Year::3085 for Lawrence Sawyer of the Lamenkov's Liability, only the MML-7 and Beagle were kept, with the rest of the weaponry replaced with a Heavy PPC, two Medium Pulse Lasers, and a C3 Slave. For improved cross-country handling it also mounted five Improved Jump Jets. A Compact Gyro was also installed. BV (2.0) = 1,461

Design Quirks
The OSP-36 Osprey is subject to the following Design Quirks:
 * Inaccurate Weapon (ER Medium Laser)
 * No/Minimal Arms