Kyudo

Description
The Kyudo was developed by Martinson Armaments early in the history of BattleMechs, having been unveiled in Introduction Year::2443. The Terran Hegemony purchased the design that was intended to support the Mackie, as it was cheaper than that 'Mech. Martinson was destroyed during the Amaris Civil War and the Kyudo eventually faded into obscurity.

Weapons and Equipment
The 45-ton Kyudo tops out at 86 km/h, thanks to its VOX 225 fusion engine. It's Chariot Type E endo steel chassis and internal machinery is protected by eight tons of Armorscale ferro-fibrous armor, and has CASE to protect the MechWarrior in the event of an ammunition explosion. 10 double heat sinks make heat a secondary concern.

As a support 'Mech, the Kyudo mounts a Conan/20 LRM-20 that is guided by an Artemis IV FCS, which enables it to provide accurate direct and indirect fire support. To back it up, the Kyudo has a single Sorenstein ER large laser that is as effective in close as it is downrange.

Variants

 * KY2-D-01 : The earliest version of the Kyudo was designed by Brian May using the technology that was available at the time, but was primitive compared to the -02. It could only manage 64 km/h and had inferior armor protection that lacked CASE, despite carrying nine and half tons of it. It used a standard large laser and an LRM-10 that lacked advanced guidance. These two weapons built less heat, but the 'Mech only had 12 single heat sinks . BV (2.0) = 748 This version of the Kyudo served with the Hegemony Armed Forces throughout the Reunification War. Gradually it was reassigned to various militia and reserve forces before being destroyed in the Amaris Civil War.


 * KY2-D-03 : The rediscovery of the Hegemony Memory Core led to the resurfacing of the Kyudo. Irian BattleMechs Unlimited upgraded a maintenance facility on the planet Lopez to be able to produce an upgraded variant of that 'Mech in Reintroduction Year::3079. The missile launcher is replaced with a pair of Artemis-guided MML-7s, though they only have two tons of ammunition. BV (2.0) = 1,167

Design Quirks
The Kyudo is subject to the following Design Quirks:
 * Easy to Pilot
 * Exposed Actuators