BattleMechs
"Imagine a war machine fifteen meters tall, armed well enough to level a city should it come to it, and armored enough to be able to withstand a full minute of weapons fire from a counterpart in the field. That is an assault-class BattleMech, and when you see one you should be running the other way as fast as you can."
The BattleMech (often abbreviated as 'Mech) is the signature and premiere war machine of the Inner Sphere since the first one was developed by the Star League in the early 25th century. Driven by myomer muscles and powered by a fusion reactor, they have been the centerpiece of most advanced battle forces since the designs began to diversify in the following centuries. After the fall of the Star League at the end of the 28th century, no truly new designs had been produced until the 31st century began and technological bases began to recover across the Inner Sphere. The most which was done were alterations to weapons payloads or armor profiles.
The basic form of a 'Mech is a bipedal machine ranging from eight to fourteen meters in height, and massing anywhere from twenty to a hundred tons. Their leg designs may be made with the lower leg actuators either standard or reversed (the "bird walking" design), and they may have full arms to no arms other than weapon pods. The sheer variety of designs has produced roughly 75 different known chassis, each with a distinctive appearance and effective mission profile.
There are four distinct classifications of BattleMechs, dependent on their total mass:
Light BattleMechsLight BattleMechs range from 20 tons to 35 tons in mass, and are generally considered the scouts, flankers, or harassment units of choice. Due to their relatively low mass they do not have the same longevity when it comes to a protracted battle; the longer a battle goes on, the more likely a Light Mech will not be leaving the battlefield intact. But those who can use them for their designed tasks will find Light 'Mechs invaluable.
Medium BattleMechs - Medium BattleMechs range in mass from 40 tons to 55 tons, and are generally the more commonly-used assets used to fill out a Lance for any particular mission profile. They are generally less agile than Light 'Mechs, but have more arms and armor. Because the weight class allows a great deal more equipment and weapons to be employed, Medium 'Mechs can fill a variety of battlefield roles.
Heavy BattleMechs - When you reach Heavy BattleMechs, you find yourself looking at expensive and hardy equipment more often than not. Massing between 60 and 75 tons, these 'Mechs are often devoted to one particular role and equipped specifically for that role; generalist Heavy 'Mechs are often found lacking in armor, or firepower, or management of their waste heat. However, there is no argument about the necessity of Heavy 'Mechs if you plan on a serious battle.
Assault BattleMechs - Assault-class BattleMechs range from a mass of 80 tons to the maximum of 100 tons, and are generally regarded as the centerpiece of forces large enough to support them. From the humble Victor to the incredible Atlas, Assault 'Mechs are defined by their ability to define the battlefield. An Assault 'Mech present on the battlefield usually changes things, forcing strategies to deal with them or be dealt with in turn.
Utility
"Look, nobody's denying a BattleMech is a fantastic and imposing piece of machinery. But tanks don't trip over power lines. Watch your step."
As a weapon of war, the BattleMech is exceptional at its task. It can handle nearly any terrain and climate (including, for a certain value, hard vacuum) while combat vehicles may not always be able to operate in those environments. The fusion engines render them mostly self-sufficient in many cases, waste heat from combat behavior not included in this calculation. Many 'Mechs can take absurd amounts of punishment and still be capable of being ready within a week, while comparative vehicles will only be able to survive a fraction of the same punishment. The main limitation of BattleMechs are trained and reliable pilots, and whether critical systems become damaged in battle.
A few designs are built with hands, allowing said 'Mech designs to carry cargo in an emergency situation. There are known reports of WorkMechs having specialized civilian equipment such as fire-suppression gear mounted on them so they can respond quickly to wildfires in rough terrain, or mining drills so more mobile equipment can be used in the process of harvesting ore and minerals.
Manufacturing
As noted above, very specific factories are needed to assemble BattleMechs in their full forms; while it can be trusted to smaller, less-advanced facilities to produce the parts and equipment the full assembly must be done at a site capable of handling the complex procedures. Most of the time this is entrusted to automated systems and the only human interaction is for quality control or assembly-line maintenance; rare are the people who actually understand every step of the process.
Access & Availability
"Sure, you can afford to buy an Atlas. Let's see you afford to keep it fully operational and in good repair."BattleMechs are both ubiquitous and hard to acquire; when it comes to most major military forces they form the heart of the offensive forces, while on the Periphery they are harder to find in good repair and used more as show pieces. There are a fairly limited number of fully-operational factories producing 'Mechs (the exact number of factories and volume of production a closely held secret to each major power), but most of them are within the five Successor States. Furthermore, the leadership of said Successor States is not entirely keen on such war machines existing in private hands; finding replacement weapons or parts in a timely fashion can often be a difficult (if not impossible) task. Certain types of repair tasks may even be nigh-impossible without access to specialized equipment or machines to do the work, making a 'Mech unfit for service.
Even so, for those persistent or well-connected it is certainly possible to find a 'Mech and ammunition enough to arm it. Such as it is, many planetary militias in the Inner Sphere have at least one in service with support from a much greater number of combat vehicles or foot infantry. Mercenary outfits tend to have at least four 'Mechs (referred to as a "Lance") in service, though greater numbers than that have been noted by larger and successful outfits.
Complexity
A BattleMech is sometimes said to be so complex it's a wonder they don't break down more often, owing to several different technologies having intersected in their creation. As mentioned before, routine maintenance and repair tasks often can take an exceptional amount of time and have significant chances of either not fixing the problem or exacerbating it. This is primarily due to the limited technical training available in the current era. Something as simple as replacing a broken arm assembly can sometimes take days to properly manage without error, and if the central torso section is significantly damaged it may be impossible to return the 'Mech to service.
There are a number of components which must be fully functional for a 'Mech to be useful on the field. A fusion engine serves as the power source and analogous heart of the machine, with heat sink systems being needed to prevent waste heat from overtaxing the systems (or pilot). A carefully and precisely balanced gyroscope in the center torso is required in concert with the pilot's neurohelmet connection to maintain stability. Significant damage to this gyro can make balance impossible and result in a 'Mech being a sitting target on the field. Lastly, there are sensors and targeting systems which are integrated into the head of the 'Mech which must be at least partially functional for obvious reasons. Every weapons system is complex, with even apparently minor damage resulting in the weapon being severely limited in function at best and a dangerous liability at worst. Repairing these weapons is not quite as complex as serious repairs to the 'Mech itself, but there is a good chance technicians will be unable to fix the problem and require a replacement weapon.
While it is theoretically possible to customize a 'Mech with different weapons, armor, and equipment profiles, this is an expensive and time-consuming process which runs a real risk of permanent degradation of combat performance. Certain tasks simply cannot be performed in the field reliably, or at all. The interior structure of a 'Mech simply cannot always be expected to universally mount any piece of equipment, and the fire control systems might not always be capable of being updated properly to handle radically different loadouts.
There are a number of components which must be fully functional for a 'Mech to be useful on the field. A fusion engine serves as the power source and analogous heart of the machine, with heat sink systems being needed to prevent waste heat from overtaxing the systems (or pilot). A carefully and precisely balanced gyroscope in the center torso is required in concert with the pilot's neurohelmet connection to maintain stability. Significant damage to this gyro can make balance impossible and result in a 'Mech being a sitting target on the field. Lastly, there are sensors and targeting systems which are integrated into the head of the 'Mech which must be at least partially functional for obvious reasons. Every weapons system is complex, with even apparently minor damage resulting in the weapon being severely limited in function at best and a dangerous liability at worst. Repairing these weapons is not quite as complex as serious repairs to the 'Mech itself, but there is a good chance technicians will be unable to fix the problem and require a replacement weapon.
While it is theoretically possible to customize a 'Mech with different weapons, armor, and equipment profiles, this is an expensive and time-consuming process which runs a real risk of permanent degradation of combat performance. Certain tasks simply cannot be performed in the field reliably, or at all. The interior structure of a 'Mech simply cannot always be expected to universally mount any piece of equipment, and the fire control systems might not always be capable of being updated properly to handle radically different loadouts.
Discovery
BattleMechs are a military application of existing technology as of the 24th century, as there had already been "WorkMechs" designed to use myomer technology. However it took several decades to solve many design issues with integrating heavy energy-based weapons with the structure frame. However, once the first 'Mech had been developed and it became more widely understood by the Inner Sphere, the design challenges changed from the question "how do we build this?" to "how do we prioritize firepower, maneuverability, or protection?". As such the proliferation of designs began, often trying to solve for certain purposes.
Currently, the resurgence of technological development after the Third Succession War has allowed new designs to begin entering service. Four of the five Successor States have developed new 'Mech designs since, each one devoted to a particular niche.
Currently, the resurgence of technological development after the Third Succession War has allowed new designs to begin entering service. Four of the five Successor States have developed new 'Mech designs since, each one devoted to a particular niche.
Very informative article on 'Mechs. I'd suggest a few things in the way of formatting in order to really make the article pop.