Striker (BattleMech)

The Striker was originally commissioned by the SLDF high command in Introduction Year::2571 for non-Royal SLDF units (those units originally donated by Great Houses to the SLDF). Along with the Stalker, the Striker became one of the most common 'Mechs in service. The Striker was built with the intent of being rugged and reliable, but more importantly, allowed House Lords to reserve their precious and limited numbers of assault BattleMechs for their own personal armies. In this way, the Striker may have been the show of good faith the House Lords needed to make the Star League work. In spite of the 'Mech's dependability, the Striker was marginal compared with later assault BattleMechs, and was eventually relegated to serving in militia units, with the highest concentration ending up on the rimward edge of the Terran Hegemony. After the destruction of the Stormvanger lines in Production Ceased::2867, fewer than 300 Strikers were known to exist in 3058.

Weapons and Equipment
The Striker is built using rugged, off-the-shelf technologies that allow it to stand up to a great deal of punishment and enable easy repair. The Striker has a top speed of 64.8 km/h, provided by Pitban's 320-rated Fusion engine. For protection, the Striker carries thirteen and a half tons of armor, solidly average for a 'Mech of the Striker's size. The Striker dissipates the heat from its arsenal with fifteen standard heat sinks.

The Striker has an arsenal that is capable of engaging an enemy at a variety of ranges. At maximum range, the Striker brings its HellStar PPC and a Class-5 Pontiac Autocannon to bear. As the enemy closes, it can also make use of its Defiance B3L Large Laser, though the unit's pilot will need to monitor their heat generation carefully. Finally, for close range defense, the Striker has three Hellion-b II Medium Lasers.

Variants

 * STC-2D : The 2D variant of the Striker is a very basic upgrade of the design used by the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces. The PPC has been upgraded to an ER PPC, the three Medium Lasers have been replaced with a pair of Medium Pulse Lasers, and the 'Mech has had three heat sinks removed. The remaining heat sinks have been upgraded to double heat sinks. The remaining available space has been used to add two tons of armor to the 'Mech. BV (1.0) = 1,329, BV (2.0) = 1,644


 * STC-2S : In order to make the Striker more heat-efficient, the House Steiner variant removed the Large Laser and autocannon to incorporate an Autocannon/10 with a two-ton magazine. The result is a 'Mech that has less damage potential, but easier heat management. BV (1.0) = 1,158, BV (2.0) = 1,466


 * STC-2L : Introduced by the Capellan Confederation in the Dark Age, this version replaces the weaponry with Plasma Rifles and is protected by Heat-Dissipating Armor.