SPXH-1O Super Phoenix Hawk

From TRO42

BattleMech Technical Readout

Mass

55 tons

Chassis

Endo Steel

Power Plant

SearcyWorks 330 XL

Cruising Speed

64.8 km/h

Maximum Speed

97.2 km/h

Jump Jets

Pitban 9000

Jump Capacity: 180 meters

Armor

SearcyWorks Plate Medium

Armament

18 tons of pod space

Manufacturer(s)

SearcyWorks

Communications System

Tek BattleCom II

Targeting & Tracking System

Tek Tru-Trak II

Overview

The Super Phoniex Hawk has its roots in the earliest days of the Pesht Armored Cavalry, all the way back to 2695 when the unit purchased forty PXH-1s to serve as the core of their new BattleMech arm. (And gave the Star League and House Kurita units stationed on Pesht a heart attack by fielding them unannounced.) Since then, the Phoniex Hawk has been a favorite 'Mech of the Cav, and SearcyWorks has something of a speciality in PXH repair, refit, and modification. The design's easily traceable origin, aside from the original PXH-1, is the PXH-CAV Phoenix Hawk Cav, the refit given to all Pesht Armored Cavalry Phoenix Hawks during the 3052 Unit Overhaul. This is where it draws most of the design basics from. The origins of the OmniMech part, however, can be traced back to 3056, when the Draconis Combine began to test its own OmniMech designs. The SR1-O Strider recieved uniformly poor reviews, yet it continued to be produced and distributed because no one had something better. SearcyWorks came up with the the 'something better' in 3058 by 'Omniizing' their planned SPXH-1. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the design is upgraded Tek communications and targeting/tracking gear. The Tek line has been known since the fall of the Star League for its quality and excellence. While no longer considered to be cutting-edge, Tek electronics are better than most. The new SearcyWorks-produced Mk II versions return the Tek line to the posistion of being arguably the best in the Inner Sphere. Capablities The SPXH-1O reproduces the look and feel of the original Phoenix Hawk even better than is the norm with a 'Super' -series redesign, even fooling Clan and ComStar Warbook systems 87% of the time. Few people will ever assume that a PXH-1 is what it appears to be after having faced a Super Phoenix Hawk. The SPXH-1O has ten tons more to devote to weaponry than its parent, moves just as quickly, and jumps just as far. To top it off, it mounts the maximum possible amount of armor, 11.5 tons of SearcyWorks Plate Medium, making it exceedingly tough for a 'Mech of its weight class. The Primary variant is simply an upgraded version of the PXH-CAV, mounting an ER-PPC, two medium pulse lasers, two machineguns, and a medium laser. This gives the 'Mech respectable firepower, and the addition of four extra double heatsinks reduces heat buildup to nil, even if the pilot constantly fires all his weapons and runs at the same time. If the 'Mech remains still, then even Inferno missiles and large fires will have little effect on the Prime version, even while it fires all its weapons! Even jumping the full distance and firing all weapons will have a minimal effect on the 'Mech, although doing it repeatedly will start to build up heat fairly quickly. The Alpha variant mounts a SearcyWorks Railgun-Lite light Gauss rifle and two tons of ammunition, giving it excellent range and punch, along with a pair of medium pulse lasers. The light Gauss has gotten SearcyWorks in trouble, however: Imperator Automatic Weaponry of the FWL is screaming patent infringement. Theodore Kurita is not very inclined to listen to them, however, and this is contributing to a general cooling of Kurita/Marik relations. The Beta variant mounts an Ultra AC/10 along with three tons of ammunition, giving it reasonable staying power. The weapon is backed up by two SearcyWorks HardLight Advanced-2 ER medium lasers. The UAC-10 is in fact purchased from the FWL in this case. SearcyWorks is looking into producing a knock-off of the weapon, should Imperator Automatic Weaponry decide to stop selling them to the Draconis Combine over the light Gauss issue. They have reverse-engineered the weapon and estimate that they could retool an unused line in the SearcyWorks weapons plant and be producing them in roughly five weeks. Deployment The SPXH-1O is highly valued as a replacement for the mediocre Strider. Consequently the Combine has snapped up close to 200 of them, and has another 200 on order. The Pesht Armored Cavalry has 35 of the new Phoenix Hawks, mostly used to replace PXH-CAVs or older medium 'Mechs. Almost every regiment in the DCMS has at least one Super Phoenix Hawk, and most have several. To date, SearcyWorks has been so busy filling orders from the Combine it has yet to take any orders from outside the Combine. Only two SPXH-1Os are known to be in the hands of a non-Combine unit. The Kell Hounds have them both, donated to the Tharkad invasion force as replacements (and in trade for) for a pair of damaged Verfolgers.

Type

SPXH-1O Super Phoenix Hawk

Technology Base

Inner Sphere Level 2 Custom

Tonnage

55

Fixed Configuration
BV : 636 Cost : 14013550

Primary Configuration
BV : 1408 Cost : 14958761

Alternate Configuration A
BV : 1289 Cost : 14842511

Alternate Configuration B
BV : 1510 Cost : 14999448