The Wildcat is the first VTOL designed and produced by the United Outworlders Corporation (UOC), a combat vehicle and AeroSpace Fighter manufacturer in the Periphery state of the Outworlds Alliance (OA). With limited BattleMech forces, the OA's land forces depended heavily on combat vehicles which also lead to the development of their own designs.
After the acquisition of a few Warrior VTOLs, the OA's armed forces could prove the value of VTOLs in quick strike missions, using a combination of speed and long-range weapons with good results against small enemy units.
Instead of the Warrior's complex double counter-rotating rotors with a tail rotor for propulsion, the option was for a more conventional design with a single main rotor and a small tail rotor in an enclosed ducted fan. This arrangement is cheaper to produce and maintain but also means lower cruise and flank speeds. Based on a civilian VTOL, the Wildcat is a reliable and affordable helicopter moved by a single small conventional turbine for a maximum speed of 119kph, faster than most land vehicles and BattleMechs.
Initial versions were armed with a single Autocannon class 10 acquired from the Taurian Concordat and 3.5 tons of standard armor, but for the final production version adopted a Large Laser from Lushann Industries Limited, less powerful than the AC/10 but not dependent on ammunition and produced within the OA. The weight allocated to heat sinks and the power amplifier also further reduces the thin armor of this VTOL.
The Wildcat is an efficient hunter-killer machine against small enemy units like pirates and raiders that constantly land on OA's worlds. Due to the inherent fragility of the VTOLs, in special to rotor hits, it depends on the speed and surprise to attack from unexpected directions.
VARIANTS
The first variant developed for the Wildcat was a fire support LRM version armed with 6 LRM5s and two tons of ammo, further sacrificing the armor. It became a usual companion to the standard version and is capable to fire in indirect fire mode.
The second variant is more radical and controversial, armed with a massive AC/20 and just 5 shots of ammo. It is most effective when used against slower and heavier mechs, in surprise ambush attacks targeting the rear arcs of those mechs. It is used in smaller numbers and tend to not be much appreciate but its crews, beside the positive battle results.
Later, the Wildcat was complemented by the heavier Hellcat and both were successfully exported to Inner Sphere States, mainly the Draconis Combine.
| Type/Model: | Wildcat |
| Mass: | 25 tons |
| Equipment | Mass | ||
| Int.Struct.: | 15 pts Standard | 2.5 | |
| Engine: | 35 I.C.E. | 2 |
| Cruise MP: | 7 | ||
| Flank MP: | 11 | ||
| Jumping MP: | 0 | ||
| Heat Sinks: | 8 Single | 8 |
| Cockpit & Controls: | 1.5 | |
| Crew: 2 members | 0 | |
| Rotor Equipment: Main/Tail Rotors | 2.5 |
| Armor Factor: | 48 pts Standard | 3 |
| Critical | Internal | Armor Points |
| Front | 3 | 20 |
| Left/Right | 3/3 | 10/10 |
| Rear | 3 | 6 |
| Rotor | 3 | 2 |
| Weapons & Equipment | Loc | Heat | Ammo | Crits | Mass | |
| 1 | Large Laser | Front | 8 | 1 | 5 | |
| TOTALS: | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Calculated Factors: | |
| Total Cost: | 734`403 C-Bills |
| Battle Value 1: | 411 |
| Battle Value 2: | 388 |
| Cost/BV: | 1468 C-Bill/BV |
Type: Wildcat LRM
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
(Introductory)
Tonnage: 25
Battle Value 2 : 647
Cost: 769,236 C-bills
| Equipment | Mass | |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Structure | 2.5 | |
| Engine | 35 ICE | 2 |
| Cruising MP: | 7 | |
| Flanking MP: | 11 | |
| Heat Sinks: | 0 | 0 |
| Control Equipment: | 1.5 | |
| Lift Equipment: | 2.5 | |
| Power Amplifier: | 0 | |
| Armor Factor: | 40 | 2.5 |
|
Internal Structure |
Armor Value |
|
|---|---|---|
| Front | 3 | 20 |
| R/L Side | 3/3 | 8/8 |
| Rear | 3 | 2 |
| Rotor | 3 | 2 |
|
Weapons and Ammo |
Location | Critical | Tonnage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 LRM 5 | Front | 6 | 12 |
| LRM 5 Ammo (48) | Body | 2 | 2 |
Type: Wildcat
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
(Introductory)
Tonnage: 25
Battle Value 2: 461
Cost: 879,236 C-bills
| Equipment | Mass | |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Structure | 2.5 | |
| Engine | 35 ICE | 2 |
| Cruising MP: | 7 | |
| Flanking MP: | 11 | |
| Heat Sinks: | 0 | 0 |
| Control Equipment: | 1.5 | |
| Lift Equipment: | 2.5 | |
| Power Amplifier: | 0 | |
| Armor Factor: | 24 | 1.5 |
|
Internal Structure |
Armor Value |
|
|---|---|---|
| Front | 3 | 10 |
| R/L Side | 3/3 | 5/5 |
| Rear | 3 | 2 |
| Rotor | 3 | 2 |
|
Weapons and Ammo |
Location | Critical | Tonnage |
|---|---|---|---|
| AC/20 | Front | 10 | 14 |
| AC/20 Ammo (5) | Body | 1 | 1 |
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