Manticore

Description
The Manticore is one of the best-designed and most powerful tanks ever created, built to combat BattleMechs in support of infantry formations. Although the Manticore mounts a variety of weapons to handle a variety of combat roles and ranges, and is heavily armored for a vehicle of its weight, it is not equipped to deal with the raw firepower of super-heavy vehicles such as the Demolisher or the Behemoth. Despite this, the popularity of the Manticore has remained high, even during the Succession Wars era with its use of an expensive and rare Fusion Engine.

Originally developed by TechniCorp during the Reunification War, the destruction of the company's head office on Terra during the Amaris Coup spread the Manticore across the Inner Sphere as other manufacturers absorbed their facilities.

Weapons and Equipment
The tank's main weapon is the Parti-Kill Heavy Cannon PPC, backed up by a SureShot Mk VI SRM-6 rack. The LRM is mounted on top of the main turret, just above and behind the particle cannon. It is mounted on vertical and horizontal swivel mounts, giving the pack a full 120-degree arc of fire independent of the turret. Both PPC and SRM are supported in their respective range brackets by a Far Fire Medium Missile Rack and OMI High Burn Medium Laser.

Variants

 * 3055 Upgrade : With the rediscovery of Star League lostech, Defiance Industries developed an upgraded version that focuses using advanced tech to improve the tanks weapon array, while retaining as much of original design as possible to ensure easy field upgrade of existing Manticores. The PPC was replaced with a Large Pulse Laser, trading a reduction in range for increased accuracy. The removal of the Medium Laser and associated heat sinks in exchange for a Streak SRM-2 rack frees up space and weight to add Artemis IV FCS to the original SRM and LRM racks. For increased survivability, Defiance increased the Manticore's protection by upgrading its armor to Durallex Super Ferro-Fibrous. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 957


 * LBX : Manufactured by NETC based on unproduced plans licensed from Defiance Industries in 3060, this new construction variant replaces the Streak SRM-2 from Defiance's upgrade with a Medium Pulse Laser, mounting a LB 10-X AC and Streak SRM-6 in the turret, making it an effective anti-Battle Armor support unit during the FedCom Civil War. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 964


 * C3 Master : Developed by Bulldog Industries in 3063, this variant replaces the SRM launcher with a C3 Master Computer and additional armor, also reverting the pulse laser back to the standard PPC. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 934


 * C3 Slave : A second C3 variant developed by Bulldog, this replaced the SRM with C3 Slave and a Streak SRM-4, again also using a PPC instead of large pulse laser. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 1,008


 * RAC : A experimental version developed in 3069 by Jalastar, this variant replaces the large pulse laser and LRM launcher with an RAC/5 and a Targeting Computer, also switching out the Streak launcher for two ER Medium Lasers. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 1,241


 * HPPC : Produced in 3074 during the Jihad, this variant uses a Heavy PPC mated to a Targeting Computer as its main firepower. A Light Fusion Engine freed enough weight to add an Anti-Missile System, and the existing missile systems have been replaced by an MML-7 and 2 tons of ammo. BV (2.0) = 1,149

Custom Variants

 * The Ballista : Developed on Galatea, The Ballista is equipped with Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor, CASE, and a Combat Vehicle Escape Pod to protect the crew. A 240 XL engine with a Supercharger gives it a top speed of 86 km/h. The C3 Slave module in the body allows the Ballista's crew to share targeting data with lancemates, which is very useful given the long range offered by the turret-mounted Hypervelocity Autocannon/5 and Extended LRM-10. All these experimental technologies improve the lifespan of the Ballista in combat. BV (2.0) = 1,135 (without active C3 network)

Related Vehicles

 * Manticore II - An updated, 70-ton version of the original produced by Defiance in the 32nd Century.