Jagatai Prime

         The Wolf Clan’s Jagatai heavy OmniFighter has participated extensively in the recent invasion of the Inner Sphere, in both ground-attack and air-superiority roles. First fielded in 3016, the prototype Jagatais proved their worth in several Trials of Possession, with the Smoke Jaguars and Nova Cats falling victim. The Wolves’ victims underestimated the versatility of the new fighter in these initial trials, and the Khan was sufficiently impressed to order the commencement of full-scale producti on in 3019. The Jagatai has since become the standard heavy fighter of the Wolf Clan, but is also distributed throughout the rest of the Clans, save for the Ghost Bears who prefer the heavier Jengiz.

         Though only average in maneuverability for its size, the 70-ton Jagatai serves extensively as an air-superiority fighter. It mounts more armor than its nearest rivals (the aging Visigoth and new Sabutai), and its larger fuel tanks allow it to linger on-station for longer periods. It suffers, however, from the same flaw as many OmniFighters – poor heat dissipation. The Clans seem to prefer not to modify the basic chassis, but instead create a careful mix of efficient weapons and pod-mounted heat sinks to prevent overheating.
         The primary configuration mounts an ER PPC weapons-pod on the inner pylon of each wing. A large pulse laser is also mounted upon each wing, though these are usually mounted on the outer wing pylons to minimize the likelihood of a single shot damaging both weapons. Directly below the cockpit is a large long-range missile system, the back-blast of which caused visibility problems on the early Jagatai. An aft-firing large pulse laser provides a means of discouraging pursuit, as few enemy pilots will risk its deadly accuracy.
         The A variant swaps the accuracy of pulse laser weaponry for the sheer stopping power of an Ultra-20 autocannon. This nose-mounted cannon, together with its four tons of ammunition, provides the fighter with the potential to destroy an enemy fighter with a single volley. Due to the range limitations of the autocannon, however, the designers have mounted an ER PPC in the space between the autocannon and the cockpit, forcing the installation of additional heat sinks to prevent an ammunition explosion. Almost as an afterthought, the designers added a Streak missile launcher in each wing, providing a wider arc of fire, and a rear-firing extended range laser.
         The B variant of the Jagatai carries two huge Gauss cannon mounted along the fuselage, with their muzzles in the nose of the fighter. These provide a huge damage potential, while generating considerably less heat than a PPC or laser, and without risking an ammunition explosion. A reasonable store of ammunition is kept for each cannon, but even this can be exhausted during a prolonged engagement, forcing the pilot to fall back on the extended range large lasers mounted in each wing.
         The Jagatai C looks superficially like the A, with a large autocannon in the nose (this time an LB 20-X). However, rather than a single energy weapon, the cannon is backed up by two extended range large lasers. The lasers, when combined with the wing-mounted missile launchers, give the C a good ranged-attack ability, though most pilots prefer close in engagements that permit use of the autocannon. The knowledge that the Jagatai C carries two large lasers firing into the aft arc (one pulsed, the other extended range) discourages most pilots from using the “slot” when attacking this variant.

         The largest concentration of Jagatais is in Clan Wolf, its original manufacturer, although the other Clans (with the exception of Ghost Bears) have a fair number. In many Clans the Jagatai is replacing older fighters such as the Visigoth, although the pace of this upgrade varies from Clan to Clan.