This lance of heavy vehicles is part of the command structure for the 149th and are assigned to the 149th HHT with 20 battlemechs.
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| 149th HHT Command Vehicle Lance. |
The rather large super heavy tank in the back is a Marksman Tank [not to be confused with the Marksman Artillery piece!].
The nintey-five ton Marksman Main Battle Tank was developed by Pandora 'Mech Works as the M-series assault tank in the mid 3060s. After procuring the Winston Combat Vehicle, the Republic of the Sphere put out a tender for a main battle tank with a heavy gun in the vein of the Challenger series. Pandora submitted their design, and it was accepted without in part because they already had begun prototype trials. The Republic Armed Forces named the design the Marksman, both due to the accuracy of its main gun, but as a nod to the older artillery platform. The planners were well aware that there could be a benefit to any confusion between the two vehicles, with it helping obfuscate deployment of the newer M1A.
The Marksman M1A is built around its M-7 Gauss rifle, fed by two tons of ammunition. It is supported by a pair of 9-tube multi-missile launchers, four medium lasers, and a quartet of machine guns, all mounted in the turret. The two tons of missile ammunition and one of machine gun reloads are protected by CASE.
The Marksman utilises a 285 rated light fusion engine, giving it a top speed of 54 km/h. Its hull is protected by fifteen and a half of heavy ferro-fibrous armor.
The vehicle to the right of the Marksman MBT is a Typhoon Urban Command Vehicle.
The main gun of the Typhoon is a Luxor Devastator-20 autocannon, capable of threatening even the heaviest 'Mechs or vehicles. Also mounted on its turret is a Harpoon-6 SRM launcher, a pair of Holly Streak launchers, and a pair of Sutel Precision Line medium pulse lasers. Another pair of Streak launchers are fixed onto the vehicle's front. A Sutel Precision Line small pulse laser covers the rear of the Typhoon. Finally, a Beagle active probe makes it easier to detect enemies in urban combat situations.
The vehicle front and center is the Partisan C3 Tank.
Kallon Industries, famous for designing some of the most popular anti-aircraft 'Mechs in the Inner Sphere, designed the Partisan to bring those same capabilities onto a cheaper, more easily produced vehicle. Dedicated to destroying aircraft, its targeting system can track up to 200 targets at once, compute the optimal target, and link to the targeting systems of other Partisans in the unit. The targeting controls are even removable, allowing its crew to work from a safer distance.
While slow and lightly armored, its role tends to keep it in rearward locations, where this is less of a liability. The Partisan is deployed throughout the Inner Sphere, although the bulk of them are found in the Free Worlds League and the Federated Suns.
There are 2 variants that the 149th utilizes depending on battlefield requirements:
Lance command
The 3058 lance command variant of the Partisan Air Defense Tank upgrades the C3 slave unit to a C3 master unit. To make room for this upgrade, the twin Imperator Code Reds were replaced with a pair of Ultra AC/5s.
Company command
The company command variant of the Partisan Air Defense Tank fits two C3 master units inside its hull. It drops the twin Smoothie ACs to make room for these complex systems.
The large armored truck is a Mobile HQ with the medium laser dropped in favor of a large laser and stripping 3 tons of communications gear.
Mobile Headquarters vehicles were first developed by Star League Defense Industries of Mars for the Star League Defense Force. These vehicles were utilized for large scale planetary operations, compiling data reported in by various means to coordinate their assigned forces during operations.
Since the destruction of the Mobile HQ's manufacturing plant in 2767 during the Amaris Coup, the vehicle's numbers have declined. With the lack of replacement parts and the Succession Wars' brutal fighting, the vehicle's equipment became irreplaceable. Mobile HQs were prime targets for capture or destruction, and those that survived often suffered damage to their equipment. By the time of the early thirty-first century, many of the few Mobile HQs still remaining in service to the Great Houses are only partially operational, with most of the equipment replaced by more conventional means of tracking and coordinating forces. Some vehicles were gutted of their remaining functional equipment, which was installed in smaller command vans.[3] Despite the drop in capability, these remaining Mobile HQs are still prized by military organizations, with many commands attempting to capture them intact when the opportunity arises. When Wolf's Dragoons first appeared in the Inner Sphere, they were notable for possessing five seemingly brand new and fully operational Mobile HQs.
