Crane (VTOL)

''This article refers to the Crane VTOL. For the Luthien district, see Crane (district).''

Description
Debuting in 3128, the Crane Heavy Transport was Michaelson Heavy Industries latest transport VTOL. Fast, maneuverable, and with a hefty transport capacity, the Crane proved to be an excellent way to rapidly move troops over difficult terrain. Many Cranes were bought by the Republic of the Sphere to improve their logistics network. It is also popular with other Inner Sphere militaries as well.

The Crane's most prominent feature is the eight ton Infantry Compartment that allows the Crane to carry multiple squads of battle armor or platoons of conventional infantry. It can reach a top speed of 120km/h, and seven tons of armor provides protection from heavy weapons. Despite this, the Crane isn't intended for front-line combat and should avoid it whenever possible.

Weapons and Equipment
Lightly armed, the Crane relies on four ScatterGun Machine Guns mounted in two Sponson Turrets for protection. These are provided with a half-ton of ammunition. These machine guns are sufficient to scatter conventional infantry, but armored units will find them little more than an annoyance.

Variants
No known variants of the Crane are known to exist.