BattleMech Technical Readout
Name/Model: Mosquito MSQ-3T
Designer: master arminas
Source(s): Custom Mordel.Net Units
Technology: Inner Sphere
Technology Rating: D
Tonnage: 25
Configuration: Biped BattleMech
Era/Year: Succession Wars / 3025
Rules (Current): Introductory
Rules (Era): Introductory
Rules (Year): Introductory
Total Cost: 1,911,250 C-Bills
Battle Value: 516
Chassis: Standard
Power Plant: 150 Fusion
Walking Speed: 64.8 kph
Maximum Speed: 97.2 kph
Jump Jets: Standard
Jump Capacity: 180 meters
Armor: Standard
Armament:
1 Medium Laser
1 SRM 2
2 Machine Guns
Manufacturer: Unknown
Primary Factory: Unknown
Communications: Unknown
Targeting & Tracking: Unknown
================================================================================================
Overview:
NOTE: THE SUBMISSIONS PAGE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ABLE TO LET ME ADD A HALF TON OF SRM AMMO, SO
THE CT MG AMMO LISTED IS ACTUALLY 25 SHOTS OF SRMS.
In 3019, Michael Lawton began his career with Ceres Metals Industries on the planet Capella
in the Capellan Confederation. A sixteen year veteran of service in the CAF, Lawton's
injuries while serving with the 1st Ariana Fusiliers had necessitated leaving behind his
previous life as a MechWarrior. Graduating at the head of his class at one of Sian's most
prestigous universities, Lawton was quickly offered a posistion with Ceres as a junior
design engineer working with their Advanced Projects Directorate.
Lawton's field experience with 'Mechs and what the Capellan soldiers truely wanted out of
their equipment was a godsend to the other, more senior, members of Project 39-D--the lab to
which Lawton was assigned. Tasked by the Chancellor with developing a new BattleMech to
complement the soon-to-be finished Raven and Cataphract, the design engineers of 39-D had so
far been unable to agree on even the basis for a new unit. After having seen the members
of the project argue for three years about theoretical advantages and disadvantages (and
still having not even a preliiminary schematic on their drawing board!), the board of Ceres
selected Lawton specifically to work with 39-D in order to provide the think-tank with a
member grounded in reality.
The CEO and other senior execs at Ceres were concerned that despite their past success with
the Vindicator, the new designs by Hellespont Industries and Earthwerks Incorporated might
cause some of Chancellor Liaos displeasure to be directed on them--especially if those other
companies produced a successful design and Ceres did not.
Lawton was amazed and more than slightly angered when he discovered that his new team had
spent the past three years arguing over the proposed designs tonnage--and had never once
gone beyond that point. Sharing with the other scientists and engineers his background,
Lawton argued that what the Confederation most desperately needed was a light unit that
could perform recon and strike operations. When the remainder of Project 39-D replied that
Hellesponts Raven prototype was intended for that role, the experienced former Captain
responded that the Raven was intended for service as an electronic warfare 'Mech--and that
it would prove far too expensive for general service as the standard light BattleMech of the
Confederation Armed Forces.
Lawton--drawing upon his years of service--then outlined exactly what he believed the CAF
truely needed: a light-weight and jump-capable design able to replace aging Stingers and
Wasps, neither of which were produced within the borders of the Confederation. Yet, each
year the Confederation spent tens of millions purchasing new and refitted Stingers and Wasps
from factories in the Free Worlds League to replace units destroyed in action versus the
Federated Suns. That annual expenditure, Lawton
Capabilities:
In the first six months of being named as head of Project Mosquito (formerly known as
Project 39-D), Lawton and his new team ran dozens of different design schematics through
computer simulations in an effort to find the best possible replacement for the
Confederations fleet of Stingers and Wasps. Design 39-D 14/2 proved the most
successful--on paper and in computer simulations, at least.
Massing 25 tons--five tons more than either of the ancient scout 'Mechs--this new design
would require both a chassis and engine that had never before been built by Ceres or by
anyone else in the Capellan Confederation. Using schematics for a COM-2D Commando and
MON-67 Mongoose Ceres had on file, the industrial giant rapidly designed and developed a
25-ton chassis specifically for the Mosquito, which they designated as the Ceresplex II.
Meanwhile, a sub-division of CMI (Ceres Power Production, Limited) began gearing up to
produce the Omni 150 fusion core used by the Davion Valkyrie, many examples of which the
Capellans had captured and salvaged over the centuries. The Omni 150 would provide more
than adequete power for the Mosquito, allowing the new 'Mech to run at speeds of up to 97.2
kilometers per hour. The efficiency and low cost of the power plant also pleased the Ceres
accountants who finally began to believe that Project Mosquito might someday become a major
cash cow for the industrial comglomerate.
Lawton and team then adapted the standard two-ton gyro CMI already produced for the 45-ton
Vindicator to fit the housing in the Mosquito's torso just beneath the fusion plant.
Turning to yet another CMI subsidiary (Anderson Propulsion Systems), Team Skeeter (as
Lawton's design engineers had begun to jokingly refer to themselves as) installed six
Anderson 21 jump-jets in the right and left torsos of the chassis. These all-important
jets would give the Skeeter the mobility and manuverability of the pair of bugs that the
design was intended to replace, along with the capacity to leap 180-meters in a single
bound.
Not wanting to be left in the cold, the head of Ceres Metalworks--the primary producer of
armor composites for CMI--offered to make the newly developed Ceres Lamellar armor composite
available to Team Skeeter. This light armor composite was based on the highly successful
Duralex Light and would provide the new BattleMech with more than 66% greater armor
protection than either the Stinger or the Wasp; 25% greater than that featured on the Lyran
Commando.
Team Skeeter installed the same C-Apple Churchill targeting & tracking gear mounted on the
older Vindicator with only minor software changes made to handle the change in effective
range of engagement. Similarly, the brand-new CeresCom Recon Model 12K communication and
electronic warfare suite was selected for installation. The Recon 12K provided enhanced
sensors and comms in comparison to the communications and EW gear present on the Stinger and
Wasp and incorporated the latest in
Deployment:
Over the past two years, some eighty MSQ-3T Mosquitos have been produced by Ceres. These
'Mechs have all been assigned to the Northwind Highlanders, replacing their Stingers and
Wasps on a one-for-one basis. The CAF is using the experienced veteran Highlanders to
fully test these new 'Mechs in the field, under actual combat conditions. So far, results
have been favorable and many senior officers who doubted the Skeeter are now slowly changing
their opinions of the design.
It is expected that the St. Ives Armored Cavalry will be the next parent formation in the
CAF to begin to receive the Skeeter in volume, although it will probably take three or four
years of production to fully replace all Stingers and Wasps in their ranks. Several
Warrior Houses have also experienced interest in the design, although at the moment Ceres
cannot produce enough Mosquitos to fill their requests.
McCarron's Armored Cavalry is also wetting their lips to get their hands on the new scout.
A directive from Chancellor Liao in late 3025 has instructed Ceres to make available for the
Big Mac a full ten percent of their annual production. Beginning next year, McCarron and
his merry band will start to receive newly finished Skeeters direct from the Capella
factory.
Variants:
Introduced a little more than two years ago, the MSQ-3T Mosquito so far has had no
modifications made to the basic model. One suggestion from MechWarriors of McCormick's
Fusiliers is the removal of the twin Ceres Vulcan machine-guns and their ammunition in
exchange for mounting an additional Sian/Ceres Lynx SRM-2 and a half-ton missile bin in the
left arm. This change would make the Mosquito better able to engage heavier BattleMechs,
but would also leave the machine far more vulnerable to infantry and add additional stress
to the heat elimination system.
As of today, it is not known whether or not Ceres will produce this variant model.
Notable MechWarriors:
MechWarrior Fiona Stuart of Hall's Lance, Light Company, 2nd Battalion, Marion's Highlanders
piloted one of the MSQ-3T Mosquitos during the raid on New Avalon. She and her 'Mech (The
Big Bad Bug) were assigned as part of the screening force which engaged the Davion scouts.
Hall's Lance (consisting of a Phoenix Hawk, a Falcon, and two Mosquitos) successfully
repulsed an effort by the Aragon Borderers to break through their lines. The Davion forces
(consisting of a Shadow Hawk, two Stingers, a Valkryie, and two Wasps) were unable to to
penetrate the screen and had to withdraw after losing both Wasps and a Stinger. The Shadow
Hawk and Valkyrie were relatively unharmed in the meeting engagement, as both stayed at
range, adding only minor LRM and autocannon fire to the engagement. After suffering the
loss of fifty percent of their scout force, the Davion leftenant commanding the unit decided
to withdraw--the Highlanders did not pursue.
During the withdrawal from New Aragorn, Hall's Lance was once again at the forefront, but
this time they were facing off against much heavier forces--including T-bolts, Crusaders,
Archers, Warhammers, and Marauders. However, these slow heavies were screened by the
remainder of the Borderers lights and mediums and Lieutenant Hall decided to slug it out
with the screen and not the heavy 'Mechs in the distance. Using his superior mobility and
jump-capacity, Hall managed to pull the Davion forces into a chase for three kilometers,
away from the grounded DropShips. A lucky hit on Hall's cockpit from a Borderer Rifleman
left Stuart in command and she wisely decided to disengage and speed back to the DropShips.
She and the other two survivors were the last of the Highlanders to board ship and lift for
the jump back to Capellan space.
Camera recordings reviewed afterwards awarded Stuart with five confirmed kills during the
raid: a Stinger, a Wasp, a Javelin, a Hornet, and a Rifleman. She and Big Bad Bug
assisted in an additional seven enemy 'Mechs that were disabled during the engagement.
Stuart was promoted to lieutenant and command of the lance (now Stuart's Lance) was given to
her upon the Highlanders return to Capellan territory.
================================================================================================
Equipment Mass
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 2.50
Engine: 150 Fusion 5.50
Walking MP: 6
Running MP: 9
Jumping MP: 6
Heat Sinks (Single): 10 0.00
Gyro: Standard 2.00
Cockpit: Standard 3.00
Armor Factor: 80 5.00
Type: Standard
Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head: 3 8
Center Torso: 8 10
Center Torso (rear): 2
R/L Torso: 6 10
R/L Torso (rear): 2
R/L Arm: 4 8
R/L Leg: 6 10
================================================================================================
Weapons and Ammo Location Critical Tonnage
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Machine Gun (Ammo 100) CT 1 0.50
SRM 2 CT 1 1.00
3 Jump Jets RT 3 1.50
3 Jump Jets LT 3 1.50
Medium Laser RA 1 1.00
2 Machine Guns LA 2 1.00
Machine Gun (Ammo 100) LA 1 0.50
================================================================================================
Alpha Strike Statistics
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Point Value (PV): 16
TP: BM, SZ: 1, TMM: 2, MV: 12"j
Damage: (S) 1 / (M) 1 / (L) 0, OV: 0
Armor (A): 3, Structure (S): 2
Specials:
Distribution
Name/Model: Mosquito MSQ-3T
Technology: Inner Sphere
Tonnage: 25
Configuration: Biped BattleMech
===============================================================================================
Left ArmHeadRight Arm
1. Shoulder 1. Life Support 1. Shoulder
2. Upper Arm Actuator 2. Sensors 2. Upper Arm Actuator
3. Lower Arm Actuator 3. Cockpit 3. Lower Arm Actuator
4. Hand Actuator 4. Roll Again 4. Hand Actuator
5. Machine Gun 5. Sensors 5. Medium Laser
6. Machine Gun 6. Life Support 6. Roll Again
1. Machine Gun (Ammo 100) 1. Roll Again
2. Roll Again 2. Roll Again
3. Roll Again 3. Roll Again
4. Roll Again 4. Roll Again
5. Roll Again 5. Roll Again
6. Roll Again 6. Roll Again
Left TorsoCenter TorsoRight Torso
1. Jump Jet 1. Fusion Engine 1. Jump Jet
2. Jump Jet 2. Fusion Engine 2. Jump Jet
3. Jump Jet 3. Fusion Engine 3. Jump Jet
4. Roll Again 4. Gyro 4. Roll Again
5. Roll Again 5. Gyro 5. Roll Again
6. Roll Again 6. Gyro 6. Roll Again
1. Roll Again 1. Gyro 1. Roll Again
2. Roll Again 2. Fusion Engine 2. Roll Again
3. Roll Again 3. Fusion Engine 3. Roll Again
4. Roll Again 4. Fusion Engine 4. Roll Again
5. Roll Again 5. SRM 2 5. Roll Again
6. Roll Again 6. Machine Gun (Ammo 100) 6. Roll Again
Left LegRight Leg
1. Hip 1. Hip
2. Upper Leg Actuator 2. Upper Leg Actuator
3. Lower Leg Actuator 3. Lower Leg Actuator
4. Foot Actuator 4. Foot Actuator
5. Heat Sink 5. Heat Sink
6. Heat Sink 6. Heat Sink
0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
Rating:
3.00
Comment:
Considerable armor, good mobility and a diverse weapon load. Firepower isn't really powerfull but as long as this mech is used for recon and not for shooting down armored things. As SRM-2 ammo can only be mounted in full ton lots it needs to drop an MG or half a ton of armor.
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Member Review - Sleeping Dragon : 27-Sep-2011 19:58
0 out of 0 users (0.00%) have found this review useful
Rating:
3.00
Comment:
Verall a somewhat better armed and armoured Wasp/Stinger (perhaps there was something between the two at night...). It has both the advantages and flaws of both 'Mechs with slight advantage of being able to withstand a PPC hit, which is commendable. I can see this thing appearing in scout lances or acting as a nuisance, but it's by far not vicious enough to be anything more. Beter average rating from me.
The submissions page didn't allow allocation of half ton of SRM ammo correctly. Only MG ammo can be allocated in less than full ton lots under standard rules, perhaps if you tried to submit the 'Mech as lvl 3 it would work.
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"Things do not change; we change." - Henry David Thoreau