Battletech The Taurian Navy Timeline

Doomsought

Well-known member
Do you have any flat out limits on the development of technology since there won’t be an Exodus?
I want a baseline so I can basically remove a century or two from it. Right now I'm planning on them using Federated Suns money to pay for the development of clan missile tech.

I'm planning on giving the Taurians Clan CASE though. In the next stretch of the timeline, I'm planning to have some intermediate steps appear for some of the more broken Clantech.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
If you download Megamek labs, it includes the exact year every piece of equipment was introduced. But as @namar13766 says, just about everything 'mech except Enhanced Imaging showed up in the golden century and after that the clans quit inventing anything new aside from chassis designs. Common fanon is that there was no to minimal actual innovation, just the clans learning to mass produce Star League next-generation prototypes that were already in the pipe when Kerensky split.

Around the late 3050s after the invasion stalls, new clan technology starts developing again. That's when Protomechs, Heavy Lasers, microlasers, and ER Pulse lasers start showing up.
 

namar13766

Well-known member
Common fanon is that there was no to minimal actual innovation, just the clans learning to mass produce Star League next-generation prototypes that were already in the pipe when Kerensky split.
The only true revolutionary developments I can recall offhand were genetically engineering the various phenotypes (mechwarrior, aerospace, elemental), iron wombs, and making various Battle Armor designs from the Nighthawk.

though I suppose an important question is who will develop stuff from the Word of Blake and/or the Society? Because their toyboxes were filled with some of the more nastier things in the setting.


Around the late 3050s after the invasion stalls, new clan technology starts developing again. That's when Protomechs, Heavy Lasers, microlasers, and ER Pulse lasers start showing up.
So since there Won’t be the same amount of stagnation, I’m betting they’ll show up in the mid to late 2900s, if not sooner thanks due to the need for new tech in what is the OTL Golden Century.

BTW, if you want to develop some Post-Clan technology, here’s a good link.

 
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namar13766

Well-known member
I would like to throw out an idea which could be developed in this AU.

Aerodyne small craft turned into Super-heavy ASFs. Considering that in OTL, we got super-heavy Battlemechs, this doesn’t seem that crazy.
 

SuperHeavy

Well-known member
So like taking something like the canon Vampire and swapping the infantry bays for more armor and weapons? The standard design only weighs 400 tons so it would not be a total whale in atmosphere.
 

Adventwolf

Well-known member
So like taking something like the canon Vampire and swapping the infantry bays for more armor and weapons? The standard design only weighs 400 tons so it would not be a total whale in atmosphere.
Small craft are only up to 200 tons. A super heavy ASF would be like a more optimized versions of the attack craft ones the TC used in OTL.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
I would like to throw out an idea which could be developed in this AU.

Aerodyne small craft turned into Super-heavy ASFs. Considering that in OTL, we got super-heavy Battlemechs, this doesn’t seem that crazy.
These already exist. The Aquarius is a nice aerodyne small craft to bring to an ASF fight and makes a good light escort. The Tigress trades a bit too much firepower for being able to go for weeks without resupply to be competitive, but it's job as a tripwire kind of requires it.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
Aerospace maneuver drives are more weight efficient than XL engines. So I don't see a point in those super-heavy fighters, especially once you get so the 2000-5000 ton range of dropships where you can mount a few subcapital weapons and still have fighter thrust ratings.
 

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
Aerospace maneuver drives are more weight efficient than XL engines. So I don't see a point in those super-heavy fighters, especially once you get so the 2000-5000 ton range of dropships where you can mount a few subcapital weapons and still have fighter thrust ratings.
This is true, since tech like XL engines doesn't ever become available to small craft, as technology advances they get left behind, they're much more viable at introtech levels than once you've got all the bells and whistles. They're a bit like LAMs that way, which have the same problem.

The biggest advantage to Small Craft over DropShips is that they don't take a collar, so you can transport them without needing to use your collars up. Because of how collars multiply costs, you can get an enormously cheaper set of options with a no-collar carrier.

Scout JumpShip + Union CV DropShip
389,542,980 + 213,426,080 = 602,969,060 C-Bills

An Invader-sized JumpShip with 12 Small Craft bays, no collars, standard quarters for all bay personnel, and a decent-sized grav deck:
376,591,917 C-Bills

However that tends to only work because FASAnomics so not much of a reason. I only did that thought experiment because of toying with the idea of a periphery nation that never developed the KF-Collar and did everything without DropShips, using Small Craft and LAMs since they had no droppers.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
This is true, since tech like XL engines doesn't ever become available to small craft, as technology advances they get left behind, they're much more viable at introtech levels than once you've got all the bells and whistles. They're a bit like LAMs that way, which have the same problem.
Aerospace maneuver drives are around the same efficiency as XL engines at the 300 rating, but manuever drives are linear while standard engines are slightly quadratic.

The collar efficiency is not as big of an issue in this timeline since they are using technology based on Naval Repair facilities to be able to hole multiple small dropships in enormous bays.
 

namar13766

Well-known member
Maybe, but perhaps it could be an example of varying technological developments, like how there were unique advances made by the Great Houses in response to the Taurians remaining independent?
 

namar13766

Well-known member
I found something simple which the OWA could end up making, given their ASF fetish.



have never been 100 percent happy with ASF design and how it handles maneuverability and overall thrust.

Why is it that in order to gain maneuverability a fighter MUST also move faster?

Well with my idea this is no more.


Maneuvering Thrusters

These small thrusters are of the same design as those presently found on Aerospace fighters for use in trans-atmospheric operations. Using a simple nozzle array at select points on the units exterior surfaces that fire small bursts of propulsion that push the unit in the direction desired these maneuvering thrusters allow a unit improved maneuverability during combat or in times when greater degrees of control are needed. Engineers and designers can elect to increase the number, frequency, and capabilities of these thrusters to gain improved agility at the expense of the units overall weight.

Weight: 2 percent of mass, rounded up to 0.5.
05-25 ton: 0.50t
30-50 ton: 1.00t
55-75 ton: 1.50t
80-100 ton: 2.00t
Crit: None

Rules: A conventional or aerospace fighter may mount a number of Maneuvering Thrusters equal to it Thrust Value. Each Maneuvering Thruster provides 1 mp worth of thrust to the unit mounting them that may be used ONLY for the purpose of supplying thrust for a maneuver that involves some type of direction change. Maneuvering Thrusters do to their smaller size consume half the normal amount of fuel per MP. Maneuvering Thrusters follow all rules that effect normal thrust including critical hits to flight surfaces. Every even critical that affects a units Thrust value is reduced from the Maneuvering Thrusters total value. When a unit with Maneuvering Thrusters carries bombs externally half of the units speed reduction, round down, is subtracted from the units maneuvering thrusters thrust value up to 1/2 (round up) the units total maneuvering thrusters. (ie: a unit carrying 6 tons of bombs that mounts 3 maneuvering thrusters would subtract 1 from the units thrust value and 1 from it maneuvering thrusters. if the same unit was carrying 16 tons of bombs it would subtract 2 from its thrust value and 2 from it maneuvering thrusters.)

What do you guys think? Now you can build low-speed high-maneuverability fighters. Sure a 6/9/6 fighter could not outrace a 12/18/0 fighter but it could maneuver in a low-speed dog fight like one. AND the 6/9/6 would carry more weapons and armor but not unbalancing so me thinks.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
I've decided to break up interwar period preceding the first succession war (several decades at least) into different segments based on location.

So which do you want first, Canopus or Out World's Alliance?
 
Late Starleague Era: OWA

Doomsought

Well-known member
Following its newly regained sovereignty, the Outworlds Alliance faced two main issues which while not quite bad enough to be called crisis, would each become one if not dealt with.

First was the loss of the supply of terriforming equipment from the Terran Hegemony. Many of their planets were barely habitable if not outright inhospitable and required the regular import of terriforming equipment to grow and survive.

Thankfully the Terran Hegemony was not the only supplier for Terraforming equipment. Much of the supplies they needed to maintain already existing terraforming installations were already being bought from the Federated Suns and Draconis Combine. Convincing their neighbors to increase production of these materials would be easy, but not cheap.

Growth was more difficult, the only other supplier for the terraforming equipment that they needed to expand was the Taurian Concordat. While the Taurian Concordat was not expanding onto new world at this time, they were still expending terriforming equipment to expand habitable areas of newly settled worlds. There was still enough surplus that the Outworlds Alliance could buy some, but it was only barely within their budget before factoring in the cost of shipping. Trade back and forth from the Periphery to the Terran Hegemony followed well established trade routes with jumpship circuits established for much of the trade lanes, making the cost relatively low for the distance. However trade between the Out Worlds Alliance and the Concordat was sporadic and relied mainly on commissioned jumpships.

The Outwolds Alliance was forced to make some hard decisions as to where to focus their limited ability to grow and for other planets they could only subsidize emigration to more habitable worlds. The only permanent solution was the domestic production of terraforming equipment, something that was decades away for even the relatively simple components needed for maintaining their existing terraforming.

The other major issue facing the Outworlds Alliance was far more pressing, the SLDF was no longer present to deal with deep periphery pirates and limit Great House raiding. As much as the OWA relied on their neighbors to survive, their neighbors were still a threat to their prosperity if not their survival. They needed a way to deter raiders that was both within their budget and able to deal with long ranged attacks such as those made by the Federated Sun's Dart Missile Launchers.

While the Outworlds Alliance had a modern laser weapon industry, they were for the most part licensed contractors and did not have the budget for research into cutting edge laser technology where the Terran Hegemony and Taurian Concordat were both making strides.

The Alliance Military Corps instead decided to focus on acquiring as much conventional Tube Artillery as possible. Tube artillery could strike directly at raiding dropships, whose repair bills would far outweigh any profit made form piracy even if the drop ship was not destroyed.

This focus on artillery weapons prompted Alliance Mining and Geology to risk a venture into the munitions market be redeveloping armor piercing shells for conventional tube artillery. While nothing new, artillery scale armor piercing ammunition had long been abandoned since the warship went from the sea into space. Despite this, Alliance Mining and Geology believed that Armor Piercing ammunition would make for more effective anti-air fire against dropships. However this venture was a gamble, while Alliance Mining and Geology were experts in making explosives, mining charges were far different from munitions.

When they demonstrated a few prototype rounds against an armored mock-up dropship, they got far more than they expected. The not only were granted a procurement contract, they were provided with grants to produce munitions plants on multiple planets.

The auto-cannon research and design team within the United Outworlders Corporation had desired an attempt to replicate Lubalin Ballistic's armor piercing ammunition since it appeared during the Ameris Civil war, but were unable to get funding for it in the corporate budget until United Outworlders Corporation saw that the Alliance Military Corps was willing open large contracts for experimental artillery munitions. When the design team found out they were designing artillery shells rather than munitions for autocannon, they were at first disappointed However they soon realized that it was a blessing in disguise, tube artillery barrels were far more forgiving on exotic munition types than auto-cannons.

When United Outworlders Corporation showcased their new Armor Piercing Flachette ammunition as a way for artillery platforms to defend themselves from battlemechs, they got an even bigger payout than AMG. The Lyran Commonwealth had at that time begun research into fielding ultra-heavy mechs armed with light artillery rather than auto-cannons, and the United Outworlders Corporation's new product neatly covered many of their design flaws.

The taxes on exports of both ammunition types were provided a welcomed expansion to the Outworlds Allience's military budget. Enough for them to create a state sponsored research project: the Alliance Military Corps wanted a new generation of tube artillery that were lighter, more accurate and easier to fit into a mech. More than half of the Periphery State's major weapon's manufacturers cooperated on the Mech Howitzer project. Arenthir Electronics dusted off the blueprints for mech mortar fire control systems to use as a use as a basis for lighter and more accurate artillery fire control. Alliance Motors Limited developed a new myomer based recoil compensation system that was not only lighter but designed from the ground up to be easily integrated into a mech's arm actuators. Mountain World Battlemechs focused on developing a cooling sleeve that would reduce the stress placed on a mech's cooling system from firing an artillery shell by a third. Some projects were rejected because they were too expensive or incompatible with other improvements, such as an attempt to make use of an endo-steel barrel which was not only more bulky but amplified recoil.

The first MH-15 factory began production in 2791, and soon came to the attention of the Taurian Concordat's own modernization efforts. The Talos TLS-2 and all of its variants would use the MH-15 as a replacement for the original Talos's Autocannon. Rather than rely on military imports through Federated Suns' space, the Taurian Concordat opted to buy a production license and blueprints for both the MH-15 and its ammunition at the cost of one hundred and fifteen thousand tons of tooling for the manufacture of terraforming equipment and a full regiment of Talos battlemechs. The chief diplomat negotiating the deal with the Concordat, Antonio Sassari, received a hero's welcome and multiple civil commendations when he returned to the Out World's allience with the signed treaty. The MH-15 would also be used as a replacement for Gauss Riffles on Alliance Military Corps Alicorn tanks, giving them both more ammunition and better effective range than standard Alicorn tanks.

The sniper variant of the Mech howitzer, the MH-20, would not see production until 2798 and did not see much fanfare. Its first platform, the Jackalope Mobile Howitzer produced by the United Outworlders Corporation, was extraordinarily well designed. Only a few years later the first factory for the Long Tom variant of the Mech Howitzer would begin production, though this weapon would see even more limited deployment and was mainly used by Out Worlds Alliance assault dropships and warships.

Artillery technology was not the only place where the Out Worlds Alliance manage novel technological development. When the blueprints for the Guardian ECM were leaked in 2786, the Out Worlds Alliance found they were the only major Periphery state without the manufacturing technology to replicate it. While Arenthir Electronics attempted to improve their microelectronics tooling with limited success, they were far more successful at compensating for missing technologies using a brute force approach. The Priest ECM suite launched in 2795 as a stopgap was half a ton heavier, required a fusion engine to function and produces as much heat as a small pulse laser while active, but has the unintended benefit of being able to boost its range by increasing the voltage supply to its amplifiers. While this feature drastically increased both its heat production and maintenance requirements, the Alliance Military Corps considered a half ton increase in weight worth the extra option and closed the military research grants for replicating the Guardian ECM with the Priest ECM being considered a success.

Lushann Industries Limited also developed more durable variants of standard lasers under the trademark of Lushan Reinforced Lasers which could survive a critical hit and still remain functional in 2788. These laser variants failed to secure any military contracts, but where popular enough as a component for custom mech refits, especially in battlemech arenas, that they would still see a modest profit from the production lines. They would later start production of pulse lasers with the same improvements in 2805, but with a better understanding of the market, these lasers would be produced in small batches all from the same production line rather than having individual production lines.

AP Artillery Ammo
Target's units rather than hexes dealing damage as if an auto-cannon. After a marking off the armor damage from the attack, roll on the determining critical hits table with a -1 penalty. When fired in direct fire mode from standard artillery AP artillery ammo has a -2 penalty to hitting units under 500 tons, and can only target units over 500 tons when fired indirect artillery attacks; Artillery cannons and other artillery with hex based range bands do not have this penalty.

Armor Piercing Flechette
Artillery APF ammunition was developed to replicate the effectiveness of LBX ammunition using the more forgiving format of conventional tube artillery.
APF ammunition can only be fired in direct fire mode, and follows the same rules as LBX auto cannons using pellet ammunition. An artillery weapon firing APF ammunition does not have minimum range.

Mech Howitzers
Mech Howitzers improved version of conventional tube artillery with improved direct fire capability at a minor cost to its maximum range.
Game Rules: MEch howitzers may make direct fire attack at a range no further than their long range rather than 17 hexes. When making direct fire attacks, they use the normal rules for autocannons using the short medium and long range bands listed bellow rather than artillery direct fire attack rules.

ModelHeatDamageMinShortMedium Long ExtremeTonsCritical slotsAmmo Per ton
MH/302030/20/1049182722 maps26265
MH/201320/1027142112 maps181810
MH/151015/5310203014 maps141320

Priest ECM
While the Out World's Allience was able to get their hands on the full blueprints for the Guardian ECM, they did not have the industry in place to produce many of its more sophisticated components. However with several years of effort, OWA engineers were able to design replacement components that compensated for their lack of sophistication with a brute force approach.
Priest ECM weighs 2 tons and occupies 2 crtical slots. It provides the same benefits as a Guardian ECM but also produces 2 heat each turn. As a side effect of its brute force approach, the range of Priest ECM can be improved by feeding it more power. When boosted, priest ECM has a range of 9 hexes, but produces 6 heat each turn.
The ECM suit will require additional maintence after any battle where it was boosted.

Lushan Reinforced Lasers are laser weapons with the Armored Component modification (TO 283).
Jackalope Mobile Howitzer
55 ton Wheeled CV
Structure: 5.5 tons
Engine: class 255 Fuel Cell 16 tons (5 cruise, 8 flank)
Control Systems: 3 tons
Armor: 7 tons
Case: 0.5 tons
MH-20 ammo: 3 tons
Turret equipment: 2 tons
1 MH-20, 18 tons
Quirk: Stabilized Weapon System, Powered Reverse


Alicorn MK V - Type A
95 ton Tracked CV
Structure: 9.5 tons
Engine: 285 XL 13 tons
Control Systems: 5 tons
Armor: 14.5 tons
CASE 0.5 tons
MH-15 ammunition, 6 tons
Turret Equipment: 4.5 tons
3 MH-15, Turret, 42 tons, (15 heat)


Talos
TLS-2
50 ton mech
Structure: 5 tons
Engine: Class 200 fusion 8.5 tons
Gyro: 2 tons
Cockpit: 3 tons
Heat Sinks: 8 DHS 0 tons
Armor: 124 AF Fero Fibrous (C) 6.5 tons
MH-15, 9 RA/ 5 RT, 14 tons, 10 heat
MML-7+Artemis, 5 LT, 5.5 tons, 5 heat
Case, RT, 0.5 tons
MH-15 Ammo (24), 2 RT, 2 tons
MML Ammo, 2 RT, 2 tons
While the revised Talos was originally intended to have an MML-9 installed, testing found that an MML-7 with Artemis fire control could consistently land more missiles hits than an MML-9 without Artemis while also being half a ton lighter.
 
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