Aromatic Pose

For my Battletech friends. Note: I haven't seriously designed a Battletech vehicle in probably 30 years, and this uses Level 3 rules, so if something doesn't track, I apologize. At any rate, I give you: the 3060 A10 Thunderbolt. A-10 "Warthog" Close Air Support Conventional FighterTech Base: Inner Sphere (Advanced / Level 3 Rules, 3060-era) Tonnage: 25 tons Engine: ICE (Turbine) — 8 tons (rugged, stall-resistant atmospheric powerplant — no fusion nonsense) Movement Safe Thrust: 5 Max Thrust: 8 Cruise Speed: ~750 kph Fuel: 0.5 tons (80 fuel points) Armor: Ferro-Aluminum 4 tons (64 total armor points) Armor Layout: Nose (Cockpit / Gun Bay): 24 armor points Left Wing: 16 armor points Right Wing: 16 armor points Aft (Tail / Engine): 8 armor points Weapons & Equipment Nose 7 × Machine Gun (3.5 tons)Level 3 Burst-Fire Strafing Weapon: Always fired as one integrated system. Damage: 7d6 (minimum 7 damage). Heat: 0 Ammo: 1 ton shared. Wings — Maverick Missile Hardpoints Left Wing: 1 × Thunderbolt-10 Launcher (7 tons) — one-shot (10 damage) Right Wing: 1 × Thunderbolt-10 Launcher (7 tons) — one-shot (10 damage)Heat: 0 Electronic Warfare Guardian ECM Suite (1.5 tons) External Hardpoints 5 free hardpoints Weight Breakdown (exact 25 tons) ICE Engine: 8 Fuel: 0.5 Ferro-Aluminum Armor: 4 7 × Machine Guns: 3.5 2 × Thunderbolt-10: 14 Guardian ECM: 1.5 MG Ammo: 1 Total: 25 tons Developed in the early 3060s by the Rim Collection's struggling aerospace industry on the contested border worlds near the Lyran Commonwealth and Circinus Federation, the A-10 Warthog is a no-frills, low-cost conventional fighter designed explicitly for counter-insurgency (COIN) and close air support (CAS) missions. Periphery manufacturers, lacking access to advanced fusion plants or high-performance aerospace lines, opted for a rugged internal combustion turbine engine paired with simple, reliable weaponry. The Warthog draws clear inspiration from ancient Terran atmospheric attack aircraft, emphasizing survivability, loiter time, and devastating low-level firepower over speed or space capability. Produced in small numbers at scattered Rim Collection facilities (with knock-off production rumored in the Marian Hegemony and independent Periphery worlds), it fills a vital niche in mixed-force operations where 'Mechs and tanks dominate the ground but insurgents, pirate bands, or light armor require precise, persistent aerial suppression. Priced for militia budgets and easy to maintain with local parts, the Warthog has become a favorite among Periphery pilots who value "coming home alive" over flashy dogfighting prowess. Its unofficial nickname, "the Flying Bathtub," stems from the heavily armored nose section that protects the pilot during treetop strafing runs. Capabilities The Warthog is built around a simple philosophy: survive long enough to deliver maximum pain to ground targets. Its ICE turbine engine provides reliable power without the cost of a fusion engine, allowing unrestricted use of its primary armament: a nose-mounted battery of seven machine guns fired in sustained burst mode, arranged in a rotating Gatling style array. This integrated strafing weapon delivers similar damage to heavier autocannons, turning low-altitude passes into nightmares for infantry, light vehicles, and even the flanks of lighter 'Mechs. Ammo is limited to one ton, forcing pilots to exercise trigger discipline. A single prolonged engagement can consume a significant portion of the bin, mirroring the constraints of heavy autocannon systems. Flanking the gun are two wing-mounted Thunderbolt-10 launchers (one-shot each), delivering AC/10-class precision strikes ideal for cracking armored targets or armored fighting vehicles. A Guardian ECM suite is carried as standard, providing a jamming bubble that disrupts enemy probes, C3 networks, and guided munitions: crucial in low-intensity conflicts where sensor superiority can mean the difference between life and death. The airframe mounts 4 tons of ferro-aluminum armor, concentrated heavily in the nose to emulate the legendary "titanium bathtub" survivability of its inspirational design. Wings and aft receive lighter but respectable coverage. Five external hardpoints allow flexible mission loads, including one-shot LRM-5 Swarm pods for area saturation, Inferno SRM-2 pods for cooking overheated 'Mechs, or high-explosive "Snakeye" retarded bombs for danger-close strikes. The Warthog excels at nap-of-the-earth loitering rather than high-altitude interception. Zero heat generation from its ballistic and missile loadout means pilots can strafe, ripple missiles, and egress without thermal management worries. Battle History The Warthog first saw combat in 3064 during Rim Collection border skirmishes against Circinian-backed pirate raiders and local insurgent groups operating stolen IndustrialMechs and technicals. In the dense jungles and badlands of worlds like Dante and Gillfillan's Gold, squadrons of Warthogs proved devastating in COIN operations. Their ability to loiter at low altitude, deliver sustained gunfire on exposed infantry, and follow up with Thunderbolt strikes on armored targets allowed small Periphery garrisons to punch well above their weight. Notable actions include the defense of a key mining outpost on Mica, where three Warthogs broke a pirate lance's assault by shredding supporting infantry and vehicles in repeated strafing runs while the ground militia held the line. During the chaos of the FedCom Civil War spillover, several Warthogs were pressed into service supporting Lyran or mercenary units in low-intensity security missions, where their cheap availability and ruggedness earned quiet respect from Inner Sphere liaison officers. While never a factor in major Succession Wars-style battles, the Warthog has earned a fearsome reputation in "dirty little wars" across the Periphery. Pilots report that the mere sound of an approaching Warthog often causes bandit formations to scatter. Variants Because the base design is already weight-constrained and optimized for simplicity, official variants remain limited and mission-specific. Most "variants" consist of field modifications rather than factory reworks. The most common change is swapping one or both Thunderbolt-10s for reloadable Thunderbolt-5 launchers plus extra ammo, trading single heavy hits for sustained missile support at the cost of some anti-armor punch. Another popular field refit removes the Guardian ECM to free weight for additional fuel (extending loiter time) or a second ton of MG ammo for prolonged gun runs. Bomb-heavy configurations replace the internal Thunderbolts entirely with more external hardpoint capacity, turning the aircraft into a dedicated "stick-and-nape" delivery platform using clusters, infernos, and high-explosive ordnance. A rare "stealth" experiment in the Rim Collection adds improved sensors at the expense of one MG, though most pilots prefer the raw firepower of the full seven-gun battery. All variants retain the core heat-free, nose-heavy, low-and-slow CAS identity; attempts to turn the Warthog into a faster interceptor or space-capable craft have universally failed due to the limitations of its ICE powerplant and airframe. Notable Fighters and Pilots "Papa Rattler" – Captain Elias "Rattler" Voss A former Rim Collection militia pilot from the backwater world of Huntress (not to be confused with the Clan world), Voss earned his callsign after surviving three separate ground-fire hits that should have downed his Warthog. Flying the personal aircraft Papa Rattler, Voss perfected the "snake and nape" danger-close run: inbound low with Swarms for suppression, Infernos to spike 'Mech heat, and a Snakeye bomb stick for the final punch, all while calling "keep your heads down" to friendly ground forces. In the 3065 Mica incident, Voss led a flight of four Warthogs in repeated passes that broke a pirate assault, personally accounting for two light 'Mechs and over a company of infantry. His laconic radio chatter and refusal to abandon wounded ground troops have made him a folk hero among Periphery grunts. Voss still flies, claiming the Warthog's armored nose has saved his life more times than he can count. "Buzzsaw" – Lieutenant Mara "Buzzsaw" Kade Assigned to a mixed COIN task force along the Circinus border, Kade is known for her aggressive nap-of-the-earth tactics and near-fanatical focus on protecting infantry. Her Warthog, painted with a stylized circular saw blade across the nose, has become a psychological weapon: enemy forces reportedly break contact when they hear the distinctive BRRRRT! of her seven-gun battery. During a 3066 night operation against insurgent technicals, Kade conducted six separate strafing runs in one sortie, exhausting her MG ammo while her ECM suite jammed enemy communications and guided rockets. She then used her remaining Thunderbolt-10s to finish a fleeing hovertank. Kade's aircraft bears visible patchwork repairs from small-arms and light autocannon hits, each one a badge of honor. She is credited with training an entire generation of young Periphery pilots in the art of "low, slow, and lethal" CAS. The Warthog may never grace the pages of prestigious Inner Sphere technical readouts, but in the Periphery it has earned its place as a reliable, terrifying guardian of the dirt-side trooper. When the sky fills with the sound of sustained machine-gun fire and the whistle of incoming missiles, the ground pounders know The Flying Bathtub delivers.