When a number of Star League personell were issued the
WH-1PL-O Whiplash Omnimech, they were ecstatic about
the abilities of the versatile medium mech. However when
the Star League Defense Quartermaster Corps voiced the
need for an assault omnimech that expanded on the
Whiplash's abilities, Pheonix Armaments Limited submitted
the BF-1-O Battle Fury. Sharing many similarities in
appearance to the Whiplash, the Battle Fury differs by its
additional 25 tons to its total weight and a slower top
speed. With 31 tons of Pod space available, the Battle
Fury is prepared to face all comers. With ammo on board
the pilots often worry about ammo detonation. To remedy
this dual CASE systems were installed in the Right and
Left Torso, respectively.
Variants:
The Primary variant of the Battle Fury is a beefed up
version of the venerable PTR-4D Penetrator. Like the
Penetrator, the Primary variant is able to jump. It carries
the same armament as the Penetrator, however it mounts
2 additional Double Heat Sinks and 2 Streak-6 Missile
Packs.
The Alpha variant carries a SRM6 system with
one ton of ammo with 6 medium lasers. A Dragon's Fire
Gauss Rifle is mounted in the right arm with 3 tons of
ammo. The Left Arm mounts two Extended Range Large
Lasers.
Variant Bravo mounts a LRM-15 and a SRM-6 system in
each arm. Each LRM launcher is equipped with 2 tons of
ammo apiece while the SRM launchers are equipped with
1 ton apiece. To augment the missile armament, 2 Large
Lasers and 3 ER Medium Lasers are mounted in the torso.
The Charlie variant takes advantage of the Draconis
Combine Medium Range Missile Launchers. A MRM-30 is
mounted in the left arm. The left arms greater pod space
allows it to carry an Ultra-Autocannon 10. 6 Medium
Lasers and 1 Medium Pulse Laser are installed for short
Range Protetion. Also added to this variant is the jumping
ability of 120 meters.
The Delta Variant is the C3 equipped variant. Carrying
one C3 Master Computer in the Left Torso, the Delta
variant is designed to act in conjunction with large C3
networks. To take advantage of the C3 network benefits,
a PPC, an ER Large Laser, and a 10 Class Lighter Ballistic
Autocannon (LBX-10AC) are mounted in the arms. Short
Range firepower is found in the form of 6 medium lasers
and one medium pulse laser.
Echo variant is a Mobile Artillery System meant to give
Company level battlemech forces an artillery system. An
Arrow IV Artillery System is mounted in the Right Arm and
Torso. Two tons of Arrow IV ammo are mounted in the
Left Torso. While designed around the Arrow IV
Launcher, the Echo Variant is far from unarmed. 2 ER
Large Lasers and 6 Medium Pulse Lasers. This armament
is equal to the venerable PTR-4D Penetrator in use
throughout the Federated Commonwealth.
Deployment.
The Battle Fury has seen service in many conflicts from
the Chaos March to the vicious Clan warfare on the
Coreward side of the Inner-Sphere. While quite costly for
an Inner Sphere mech and an Omnimech to boot, critics
are quick to complain at the price tag. However, users of
the Battle Fury get what they pay for to the last cent. True
the use of the XL engine paired with the CASE seems
pointless, it prevents the complete destruction of the mech
in the event of an ammo explosion, sparing the pilots life
and allowing the mech to be more or less salvage from the
battle field to be rebuilt. In addition when an XL engine is
disabled when the torso collapses, it can still be repaired
and used again if the magnetic safety interlocks prevents
an uncontrolled fusion reaction (Meltdown/Explosion)
when the shielding is compromised. Since there is plenty
of weaponry, enemies are easily dispatched before the
armor is breached and the delicate engine and even
worse, the ammo storage bins are exposed to enemy fire.
In all combat situations the BF-1-O has encountered it has
excelled with flying colors suffering little more than missing
limbs and severly damaged internal structures. In all
events where the mech was destroyed or disabled from
ammo explosions or a collapsed torso from weapon fire,
the pilot walked away with scrapes and bruises along with
a blinding headache from neural feedback. Also as an
added benefit, the same mechs were recovered and
rebuilt when the Chest was not completely destroyed.
However, if buyers are still skeptic about the abilities of the
Battle Fury, they are encourage to try the Battle Fury's
slower, more conventional cousin, the SHIR-O-1T
Shirotachi equipped with a standard engine. The
SHIR-O-1T is virtually identical in appearance yet it carries
with it an extra 5 tons of mass.
Development
The initial prototypes faced numerous problems. The
CASE systems built in had compatibility problems with the
XL engines. As a result ammo explosions in the prototypes
spilled into the engine compartments which in turn caused
an uncontrolled detonation of the fusion reactor resulting
in the death of the test pilots. Many prototypes later the
problem was solved and subsequent ammo explosions
were vented through the rear of the torsos, the way
designers had hoped in the first place.