Pochonbo

The Pochonbo was comissioned by the Social Republic of Periphery People to aid in stealth contruction work.

The IndustrialMech carries a Searchlight for night work, the Null Signature System permits to avoid the demolishing patrols of blockading powers. There is a shoulder turret-mounted Machinegun in order to deal with infantry and spies while not interrupting the work.

Most notably, a Bombast laser shooting from the inside of the claw, intended for heavy welding, can also be used against battlemechs and vehicles.

A moderate amount of Ablative armor protects the fragile Industrial TSM. This was also a consideration in installing CASE II for the machinegun ammo.

The Fission Engine means that energy emissions are much less noticeable, and it also aids in constructing this 'mech with lower technology levels.

Command role
The Pochonbo carries a Command Console to direct the work of other IndustrialMechs and support vehicles. Usually there is just one per site.

Partial replacement
The Pochonbo didn't have a bad performance but its advanced systems were high manteinance for a unit that had to be constantly working. Eventually the Social Republic of the Periphery People decided to stop building it and instead concentrate in a simpler, cheaper design. Such was the Araceibo industrialmech. The somewhat lighter 'mech (at 65 tons) lacked stealth but used a cheap Combustion Engine and had enviromental sealing by default. A big sacrifice was foregoing the Bombast Laser as heat capacity was insufficient. The only weapon is an improved one-shot SRM-4.

Pochonbos weren't decomissioned but the difficulty in finding spares and doing the repairs meant their numbers started decreasing, and most could be encountered a decade or two later with several non-functional systems including the Null Signature, as using the Null Signature and the Bombast laser at once was basically a certain way to overheat the 'Mech.

Pochonbo PCHB-ST2
A Chameleon Light Polarization Shield provides the possibility to use optical camouflage. Some of the myomer and armor distribution has been switched around to make this possible. This variant is relatively rare.

Pochonbo PCHB-STEV1
The designers originally overlooked that many of the stealth construction sites would be in places without a breathable atmosphere. This model foregoes the Heavy MG, Turret and CASE II as well as sacrificing some speed, in favor of two JumpJets and Enviromental Sealing.