compiled overview of the 20
ton Hornet 'Mech, from various
BattleTech novels and game sourcebooks:
The Hornet is a light 'Mech designed in the 2990s for urban
reconnaissance. The earliest models were used on
Davion/
Capellan and
Davion/
Periphery border worlds to hunt down
subversives before demonstrations could get out of hand. This lightly armed but (for a recon 'Mech) heavily armored machine is good for little else.
The
Federated Suns' government had ordered far fewer
Hornets since the advent of the
Fourth Succession War.
Jaime Wolf, meanwhile has always deployed the
Hornet in greater numbers than did
House Davion, applying
his legendary tactical brilliance to finding legitimate combat uses for the
Hornets in his light and
recon lances.
The
Hornet was one of the first
'Mechs to use
recovered technology in the hope of improving its performance. The modifications were made at the high-security
Kallon BattleMech Factory on the planet
Talon in the
Wernke system. The HNT-171 model shown has appeared in limited numbers in
Federated Commonwealth units, mostly in the
Sarna March, apparently as part of a field test.
Wolf's Dragoons may be using a different model, but
ComStar has been unable to confirm that.
The
Federated Commonwealth version is far more effective than the old HNT-151. It incorporates the lighter
endo steel construction, combined with
ferro-fibrous armor and
Cellular Ammunition Storage Equipment. The 171 model carries half a ton less armor than the 151, but has virtually the same amount of external
protection and significantly more protection against an ammunition explosion.
The HNT-151's
MainFire Point Defense anti-missile system gives the
Hornet better defense against enemy missiles at the cost of an ineffectively small
laser. It remains to be seen, however, whether the improved
Hornet will prove more valuable on the battlefield than its predecessor.
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