Groundhog

Description
The CEX-205 Groundhog was a Solaris VII produced exoskeleton designed for combat in arenas and on the battlefield in a support role. First developed in 3062 by Blue Shot Weapons, modular adapters added to the exoskeleton's manipulators allow it to switch to multiple roles.

It was unclear if the Groundhog continued in production after the Blake Invasion of Solaris VII of 3068. Later intelligence discovered that the Groundhog was discontinued in 3071 due to heavy damage to the Blue Shot Weapons factory.

There were persistent rumors that Blue Shot Weapons was experimenting with a Groundhog variant that mounted jump jets, but with their plant nearly destroyed, this "Leapfrog" suit never entered production.

Weapons and Equipment
The Groundhog is equipped with a pair of Modular Adapter type "hands". The Modular Adapters have two slots to accept a wide range of tools including: Armored Gloves, Basic Manipulators, Cargo Lifters, Industrial Drills, Mine Clearance, and Salvage Arm. The Cargo Lifter gives the Exoskeleton 1 ton lifting capacity. It features a Searchlight and Mission Equipment Storage unit with a capacity of 145 kilograms.

The skeleton is protected by 100 kilograms of Standard armor and is capable of reaching 30 km/h.

While equipped with Basic Manipulators and Armored Glove modules, the suit can conduct anti-'Mech swarm and leg attacks. The suit may use standard infantry weaponry and equipment only when using the Basic Manipulators.

The Groundhog has the equipment rating of D/X-X-C/C.

Custom Variants

 * Master Thief : This Groundhog reduces the armor protection by half and instead mounts a Battle Armor Myomer Booster. It has twenty kilograms of Mission Storage equipment, more than enough room to store the cash and precious stones sought by Frank Otega, noted thief and the armor's owner. BV (2.0) = 4

Design Quirks
The Groundhog is subject of the following Design Quirks:
 * Improved Communications
 * Obsolete (3071)

The Groundhog "Master Thief" variant is subject to the following Design Quirk:
 * Easy to Maintain