[ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]

Battletech ® is a Registered Trademark of FASA Corporation. Original Battletech material Copyright © 1994 by FASA Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used without permission. Any use of FASA Corporation's copyrighted material or trademarks in this archive should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. Battletech ® is a registered trademark of FASA Corporation.

Athena

Armament:

2 Series 2h ER Medium Lasers

2 Type AP40 Machine Guns

2 Type AA4 Gauss Rifles

1 Type Xa LRM 10

Manufacturer:    Niles Industriplex Alpha

   Location:    (Unknown)

Communications System:    Build 1690/2 Tacticom

Targeting & Tracking System: Consolidated Type VII TTC

Overview:

         Another example of Clan Hell's Horses' unClanlike infatuation with conventional forces is the unconventional Athena combat vehicle. Like the Epona, which uses modular technology to obtain its battlefield edge, the Athena also claims a distinction the Clans normally reserve for their BattleMechs: the advanced targeting computer system. Able to deliver massive destructive potential at long range with uncommon accuracy, the Athena can threaten even the heaviest BattleMechs.

Capabilities:

         The Athena is a "sniper" tank, capable of delivering serious damage to hostile units while staying beyond the range of most return fire. It carries twin Gauss rifles, fixed in the forward compartment for stability and backed up by a 10-rack LRM launcher. With this firepower, the Athena possesses the potential to cripple a light or medium 'Mech with a single, well-placed volley. In an effort to make such a shot possible, the Horses took the extraordinary step of equipping the Athena with a sophisticated targeting computer system. This system is exactly like those carried by some of the most deadly Clan 'Mechs. The targeting computer aids in bringing the Athena's main guns to bear on enemy units, and even allows more experienced crews to place their slugs where the damage can be most effective.
         While this emphasis on offensive capabilities suits the Athena for joining heavy forces in assault operations, its defenses are achingly limited. It possesses only enough speed and maneuverability to keep pace with the heaviest and slowest elements in today's armies, and its armor protection is significantly weaker than that carried by Inner Sphere vehicles of the same mass. In what appears to be a half-hearted attempt to mitigate these flaws without sacrificing the primary weapons array and targeting computer requirements, the Athena's designers added smaller, shorter-ranged weaponry in a semi-independent turret assembly. A secondary, "defensive" gunner mans this turret, which carries two medium lasers with computer-enhanced targeting and a pair of machine guns for defense in close-quarters combat. Despite the importance of this system, the defensive gunner usually is the lowest-ranked warrior in his crew, as the Athena's primary role tends to keep his contributions to a minimum.
         Despite the defensive drawbacks of the Athena, Clan Hell's Horses have made successful use of this design for more than fifty years. In the last battle for Niles Industriplex. Alpha against Clan Ghost Bear, a Trinary of Athenas, freshly manufactured and attached to Alpha Galaxy, helped to turn the Bears' advance by crippling nearly two full BattleMech Binaries.

Deployment

         Athenas appear in the heavy and assault vehicle Stars of almost every front-line Cluster and Galaxy in Clan Hell's Horses. Deemed too valuable by the Horses' command to risk their loss, these potent vehicles are rarely deployed without some form of BattleMech or Elemental support.

---

Type/Model:	Athena Combat Vehicle
Mass:	75 tons

Equipment:		Items	Mass
Internal Structure:	40 pts Standard	0	7.50
Engine:	225 Fusion	0	10.00
Shielding & Trans Equip:		0	5.00
Cruise MP:	3
Flank MP:	5
Heat Sinks:	10 Single	0	.00
Cockpit & Controls:		0	4.00
Crew:	5 Members	0	.00
Turret Equipment:		0	.50
Armor Factor:	144 pts Ferro-Fibrous	1	7.50