Thunder Hawk TDK-7X

       The Thunder Hawk is a Star League-era design developed and built for the SLDF by Norse Technologies during the final six years of the Amaris Civil War. General Aleksandr Kerensky is believed to have taken all the remaining Thunder Hawks with him on the Exodus. However, Norse-Storm BattleMechs Inc. recently announced its intention to produce and sell new Thunder Hawks to mercenary units as well as Successor State militaries.

       The Thunder Hawk was designed as a fire support ‘Mech for assault lances and companies, and it performs that role extremely well thanks to the devastating firepower of its three Norse Gauss rifles. One salvo from these weapons is enough to destroy a light or medium ‘Mech and seriously damage a heavy or assault ‘Mech. Each Gauss rifle is equipped with two tons of ammunition. Four Defiance B3M medium lasers round out the weapons array, providing the pilot with backup weapons in case the Thunder Hawk runs out of Gauss ammunition. To allow the Thunder Hawk the greatest possible staying power in combat, the design team at Norse Technologies gave it ArcShield Heavy BattleMech armor for maximum protection.
       To make room for the third Gauss rifle, the design team used the newly developed, lightweight Vlar 300 XL engine. The Thunder Hawk is a slow ‘Mech with a top speed of only 54 kph, but the engineers felt that the tremendous range and striking power of the Gauss rifles more than made up for the ‘Mech’s lack of speed.

       Norse Storm BattleMechs is developing two variants of the Thunder Hawk. The first variant removes all four medium lasers and replaces them with two medium pulse lasers. The second variant, known as the 7KMA, replaces the Gauss rifle and ammunition mounted in the left torso with a Katyusha Arrow IV missile artillery system in the left torso and arm. Two tons of missile reloads are stored in the left leg.

       The Lyran Alliance is the only Successor State that currently fields Thunder Hawks; the Alliance military has stationed several lances of them along its border with the Jade Falcon occupied zone. Thunder Hawks have also been spotted in the ranks of three mercenary units in Alliance employ–Storm’s Metal Thunder, the Blackstone Highlanders, and the Regiment Wreckers. All of these units are long time employees of House Steiner, and reportedly each fields at least two lances of this deadly BattleMech.