Bulldog

Description
Bulldog Enterprises was a well-known manufacturer of civilian vehicles that tried to break into the huge market for military hardware by producing the Bulldog Main Battle Tank. As the market for heavy vehicles was already largely saturated with well-constructed tanks, the Bulldog was not the economic success the company hoped for, despite its more than adequate firepower. It is worth noting that Bulldog Enterprises developed the tank's main weapon all by themselves to keep costs down. This is quite remarkable, given that it was producing strictly non-military hardware prior to the Bulldog.

The Bulldog could be called a "Jack of all trades", featuring a classic layout of one main gun and a few secondary weapons. Its speed is not exceptional and its protection of 6½-tons of standard armor is anything but ample. On the other hand, it is easy to repair and said to be a reliable and cheap asset for any field commander that needs a backbone for his vehicle forces.

The tank's sales were poor initially, and the Bulldog was meant to take advantage of the Star League Defense Force's build-up in late twenty-sixth century to finally produce a richer cash flow. In 2700, Bulldog Enterprises licensed rights to produce the tank to Quikscell Company, hoping that interested royalties would boost their sagging sales.

It survived the Succession Wars due to its low cost and easily accessible replacement parts.

Weapons and Equipment
The Large Laser is the tank's main gun. It has decent range and striking power, but critics note that mounting such a large energy weapon on an ICE-powered vehicle is a waste of tonnage. Two SRM-4-racks, supplied with two tons of ammunition, are reliable back-ups and the Hovertech Quad is well-known throughout the Inner Sphere. The Machine Gun mounted in the vehicle's front was developed by Bulldog Enterprises as well and is operated by the driver.

Variants

 * AC : Discarding the laser, the 2812 AC-version mounts two Autocannon/2's with 45 rounds of ammunition. It addresses the Bulldog's lack of long-range firepower, but significantly reduces raw firepower. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 524


 * LRM : Again, in this 2793 configuration the Large Laser is removed, only this time a LRM-20 with 18 reloads takes its place, giving the tank indirect fire capabilities and a more powerful long-range punch than the AC-model has. BV (1.0) = 499, BV (2.0) = 748


 * Cell : Equipped with a Fuel Cell engine, this Bulldog variant was introduced in the Dark Age. It removes all the standard weaponry and carries a Snub Nose PPC, Machine Gun, and a pair of MML-5 launchers with Artemis IV fire control systems. BV (2.0) = 861