Spindrift

Description
The Spindrift was an Experimental undersea SecurityMech which was produced by Bowie Industries’ prototype fabrication line on Carlisle at the beginning of the Jihad. The initial design used the chassis of a heavily modified Iroquois Harvester AgroMech as a base. The idea for the design began from the company taking suggestions from its employees.

By 3077, Bowie had deployed two lances of the Spindrift for evaluation. The 'Mech was designed to combat opponents underwater. On land, it is nearly defenseless. Changes would be made due to the results of the tests conducted with these prototypes. The experimental armor was dropped, as welll as the exceedingly difficult to obtain Harjel. The Spindrift production model design would enter production in the Lyran Commonwealth in 3083 as an aquatic type SecurityMech.

Weapons and Equipment
The Spindrift is armed with a right torso-mounted Six-tube Short Range Torpedo launcher with one ton of ammunition. In the left torso, the 'Mech has an Extended Range Small Laser. These weapons are tied into an Advanced Fire Control system to allow military-grade precision in targeting opponents.

Bowie employed a patchwork of different types of armor for protection and evaluation. While normal Heavy Commercial Armor is employed on the rest of the 'Mech, the side torsos had been fitted with a half-ton of Laser Reflective Armor. A half ton of Reactive Armor had been fitted on each arm to test its use underwater. The pilot and the 'Mech's core systems are fitted with Environmental Sealing and BattleMech HarJel in its center torso.

A 120-rated fusion engine powers the 'Mech and allows for its experimental UMU propulsion units to drive the 'Mech to speeds of up to 43.2 km/h underwater.

Variants

 * SDT-1A : The production Spindrift developed in Introduction Year::3083 replaces the patchwork armor configuration with five and a half tons of Heavy Industrial Armor. The armament remains the same, as does the underwater maneuvering capability offered by the four UMUs. Procurement problems mean that the BattleMech HarJel system of the prototype has been removed as well. BV (2.0) = 449

Design Quirks
The SDT-1A Spindrift variant is subject to the following Design Quirks:
 * No Ejection System
 * Multi-Trac