Nazgul Mk XIV

Nazgul Mk. XIV

Although the Nazgul proved to be an effective design for a LAM, Irish Dragoon engineers felt there were areas for improvement. So they teamed up with designers at Novelty Iron Works. The people at N.I.W. were just coming off the very successful Narwhale design program and were anxious to take on another project.

One of the first issues to be addressed was the revamping of the aerodynamic properties of the original Nazgul. The fuselage was elongated and streamlined for better in-flight handling characteristics. Also the external gun pods were eliminated in favor of the more traditional design with the weapons embedded in the wing itself.

The original long legs of the Nazgul resulted in a high center of gravity. For better ground handling and stability the legs were shortened. Additional myomer was added to make the transition into flight mode easier. Armor was also increased on the legs to protect this vulnerable part of the LAM.

Armament was beefed up as well. The streamlining efforts mandated the removal of the nose guns so a medium laser was added to the arm. A Streak 4 SRM was mounted on top of the nacelle for close engagements. Louvers were installed over the front of the launcher to improve streamlining. This also kept debris out of the launch tubes. The louvers snap open prior to missile launch. It was admittedly a return to dorsal mounted weapons, but it still represented a net, aerodynamic gain over the original gun pods.

The wing structure was maintained mostly intact with the exception of embedding the main weaponry in the wing root. One problem that plagued the original Nazgul however, was poor lateral control when airborne. The improved streamlining of the new design greatly exacerbated the problem. As a result rudder fins were added to the ventral side of the wings at their midpoint. This small addition rectified the last of the instability issues.

When the new design was “rolled out” of the hanger for the first time; it bore only a moderate resemblance to the original progenitor. There was some discussion of coming up with a completely new name for the design, such as the Uruk-hai. This talk was short lived however. All those who were involved in the work on the new LAM agreed that the project owed much of its success to the ground breaking advances made by the designers of the first Nazul. They also agreed that the LAM was to far removed from the original for it to carry the simple designation of Nazgul 2. So to honor its heritage and yet denote its extensive evolution, they dubbed the revolutionary and exciting new design the Nazgul Mk XIV.

BattleMech Technical Readout

Type/Model: Nazgul Mk XIV LAM NXG-15
Tech: Mixed Tech / 3067
Config: Land Air BattleMech
Rules: Level 3, Standard design

Mass: 55 tons
Chassis: Endo Steel (C)
Power Plant: 385 XXL Fusion (C)
Walking Speed: 75.6 km/h
Maximum Speed: 118.8 km/h
Jump Jets: 7 Standard Jump Jets
Jump Capacity: 210 meters
Armor Type: Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
7 ER Medium Lasers (C)
1 Streak SRM 4 (C)
Manufacturer: (Unknown)
Location: (Unknown)
Communications System: (Unknown)
Targeting & Tracking System: (Unknown)

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Type/Model: Nazgul Mk XIV LAM NXG-15
Mass: 55 tons

Equipment: Crits Mass
Int. Struct.: 91 pts Endo Steel (C) 7 3.00
(Endo Steel Loc: 1 HD, 3 LT, 3 RT)
Engine: 385 XXL 14 14.50
Walking MP: 7
Running MP: 11
Jumping MP: 7 [21]
Heat Sinks: 14 Double (C) [28] 0 4.00
Gyro: 4 4.00
Cockpit, Life Supt., Sensors: 5 3.00
Actuators: L: Sh+UA+LA+H R: Sh+UA+LA+H 16 .00
Armor Factor: 144 (C) 7 7.50
(Armor Crit Loc: 4 LA, 3 RA)

Internal Armor
Structure Value
Head: 3 9
Center Torso: 18 20
Center Torso (Rear): 7
L/R Side Torso: 13 15/15
L/R Side Torso (Rear): 5/5
L/R Arm: 9 14/14
L/R Leg: 13 20/20

Weapons and Equipment Loc Heat Ammo Crits Mass
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1 ER Medium Laser (C) RA 5 1 1.00
3 ER Medium Lasers (C) RT 15 3 3.00
3 ER Medium Lasers (C) LT 15 3 3.00
1 Streak SRM 4 (C) LT 3 25 2 3.00
(Ammo Locations: 1 RT)
7 Standard Jump Jets: 7 3.50
(Jump Jet Loc: 1 LT, 1 RT, 1 CT, 2 LL, 2 RL)
LAM Conversion Equipment: 0 5.50
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TOTALS: 38 69 55.00
Crits & Tons Left: 9 .00

Calculated Factors:
Total Cost: 85,666,536 C-Bills
Battle Value: 4,113
Cost per BV: 20,828.24
Weapon Value: 1,857 / 1,789 (Ratio = .45 / .43)
Damage Factors: SRDmg = 37; MRDmg = 22; LRDmg = 2
BattleForce2: MP: 7J, Armor/Structure: 4/2
Damage PB/M/L: 4/3/-, Overheat: 3
Class: MM; Point Value: 41