Cronus

Description
The Cronus was designed by Angus Gilmour to be a cost-effective 'Mech for use by mercenaries and small Periphery units using scrapped military equipment. After retiring from service with the Free Worlds League Military in the 3rd Succession War, Gilmour and many ex-technicians he recruited began working for the family business, Gilmour MilTech, on his home planet Talitha. While Gilmour MilTech would spend much of its time rebuilding/restoring wrecked equipment, technicians with free time constructed small numbers of the Cronus. An inexpensive, hand-built design, the Cronus combines design aspects of many different 55-ton BattleMechs seen on the modern battlefield.

Weapons and Equipment
The upgraded Cronus is built on a lightweight Earthwerk SHD II Endo Steel chassis that carries a VOX 330 XL engine, providing a top speed of 97.2 km/h. The Cronus has enhanced mobility with six Northrup 12000 jump jets that allow the 'Mech to jump up to one hundred and eighty meters. It is protected with ten and a half tons of Maximillian 43 armor, with CASE. The Cronus is able to handle the heat from its weapons with fourteen double heat sinks and is fitted with a C3 slave unit, allowing it to be integrated into a C3 unit.

The Cronus has a Magna Sunspot ER PPC as its primary long ranged weapon. The ER PPC is capable of delivering consistent damage at all of its range brackets. For close combat, the Cronus has two Diverse Optics Type ER Medium Lasers and a single Diverse Optics Type ER Small Laser. Finally, to seek out weak points in an enemy's armor, the Cronus carries a Harpoon-4S Streak SRM-4.

Variants

 * CNS-3M : An older variant of the Cronus, the 3M uses all standard technologies that have been available to the Inner Sphere in Introduction Year::3031 . As its primary weapon, the 3M has a Large Laser which is backed up by three Medium Lasers and a SRM-4 launcher. The 3M is slightly slower than the 5M, with a top speed of 86.4 km/h and it carries a price tag of 4,896,656 C-Bills, which is less than the 5M by of 7,754,522. BV (1.0) = 1,070 BV(2.0)=1,339


 * CNS-TD9 : This Cronus variant was apparently built for the Word of Blake in Introduction Year::3072 . It carries an Improved C3 Computer, Targeting Computer and Guardian ECM Suite. The Guardian ECM powers the Stealth Armor. The Cronus-TD9 is equipped with three Small Variable Speed Pulse Lasers, and each hand has been replaced by a Claw. A MASC system allows the Cronus to reach 120km/h for short bursts. BV(2.0)=978