Hornet

The Hornet debuted in Introduction Year::2760 as an urban recon 'Mech, but lack of interest forced the design to be shelved two years later. In 2990, Kallon Industries rediscovered the blueprints and resumed production. The upgraded HNT-171 started production in 3051. The production line was destroyed by the Capellans in Production Ceased::3069. The 'Mech is designed around the concept of being able to swiftly move through an urban environment with relatively heavy armor. Overall, because of its eclectic mix of weapons and relatively slow speed, the Hornet is only somewhat effective when inside of a city. When caught outside an urban environment the 'Mech is hard pressed to defend itself.

Weapons and Equipment
Kallon had a hard time selling the Hornet to the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns, so most of these 'Mechs initially went to the mercenary market. A major user of the initial runs was Wolf's Dragoons, who demonstrated its effectiveness on Misery. This caused the Federated Suns to take renewed interest in this 'Mech.

Since then, the Hornet has been deployed by March Militias as a replacement for Wasps and Stingers, as well as by the Ceti Hussars and Deneb Light Cavalry. It is also still popular among mercenaries.

Armament
The Hornet carries as its primary long-range weapon a Holly LRM-5 launcher. This allows the Hornet to strike at an enemy at a distance of over six hundred meters. In an urban environment the LRM launcher becomes more of a liability than an asset. As a secondary weapon the Hornet carries a Martell Medium Laser, and finally the 'Mech is armed with a MainFire Point Defense Anti-Missile System to defend against missile attacks.

Variants

 * HNT-151 : The version of the Hornet that debuted in 2990, the 151, has standard armor and a standard internal structure. It also lacks the advanced Anti-Missile System, CASE, and a ton of LRM ammunition, though the jumping capacity is one hundred fifty meters and the weapons also include a small laser. BV (1.0) = 429, BV (2.0) = 488


 * HNT-152 : A fairly common field modification of the 151, the 152 replaces the LRM with a Holly SRM-4. BV (2.0) = 475


 * HNT-161 : Wolf's Dragoons fields this variant, which eschews the Anti-Missile System in favor of a full one-hundred fifty meters of jumping and the Small Laser. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 511


 * HNT-181 : Based on the 161, and produced by Coalition Armory Inc. this Hornet variant was produced by using a 100 XL engine with ten Compact Heat Sinks. It is protected by three and a half tons of Ferro-Fibrous Armor, and uses an Endo Steel chassis. It carries a Small Re-Engineered Laser, Small Laser, and an MML-5 with two tons of ammunition in a CASE protected bay. It is most frequently seen in the service of AFFS and Filtvelt Coalition militias. BV (2.0) = 394


 * HNT-182 : A field refit of the 181 Hornet, this model replaces the small lasers with standard Medium Lasers. BV (2.0) = 505

Design Quirks
The Hornet has the following Design Quirks:
 * Narrow/Low Profile
 * No/Minimal Arms
 * No Torso Twist

The HNT-181 Hornet variant is subject the the following Design Quirks:
 * Narrow/Low Profile
 * No/Minimal Arms
 * No Torso Twist