Ursa

Description
A product of TharHes Industries' defense plants on Tharkad, the quadrupedal Ursa was a jack-of-all-trades often paired alongside the Scourge to perform risky escort duties or to go on heavy recon missions. Introduced during the third decade of the thirty-second century, the Ursa was popular with mercenary units and with those forces fighting along the border between the Lyran Commonwealth and Clan Jade Falcon.

Key to the Ursa's design is its revolutionary gyroscope, which renders the 'Mech exceptionally stable - even in comparison to other quad BattleMechs. The MASC system built into the Ursa in combination with the VOX 325 Extra-Light Fusion Engine that powers the 'Mech results in a ferocious quadrupedal design that can run at speeds of over one hundred kph; this, combined with the gyro and twelve and a half tons of Durallex Medium armor meant that the Ursa can not only survive full-speed collisions but can do so without falling or the pilot losing control. This led to MechWarriors nicknaming the Ursa "the Rhino" because of the brutal charges it can perform.

Weapons and Equipment
The suite of offensive weaponry carried by the Ursa is divided between the left and right torsos. On each side are a brace of Martell-X Medium X-Pulse Laser, popular with those who regularly fought the Clans; mounted into the right torso is a Thor 40mm Rotary Class 2 Autocannon supplied with a ton of ammunition, while mounted into the left torso is a Defiance 1001 Extended Range Particle Projection Cannon.

Variants

 * URA-2C : A Clantech variant of the Ursa. In addition to being constructed with lighter materials, the URA-2C replaces the Spheroid Medium X-Pulse Lasers with ER Medium Pulse Lasers and adds a fourteenth double heat sink. BV (2.0) = 2,570.

Design Quirks
The Ursa was subject to the following Design Quirks:
 * Exposed Weapon Linkage (Rotary AC/2)
 * Stable