Panther II

==Description==
The Panther II, having a clear namesake, was inspired by the original Draconis Combine Panther. While some variants do exist of the Panther that may have similar layouts, the seekers of this model wanted something a little more than those provided. This sleeker, meaner model is the result of that.
==Capabilities==
To be simple, it's an advancement off of the previous design created by an independent think tank. In the process it was first looked at what could be done to remove 'wasted tonnage,' or tons lost to little things. The first item identified was the heat sinks. Five tons that could be freed by switching to double heat sinks while improving the heat efficiency for little increased cost. The next item identified was the frame. The 'Mech had plenty of internal space, and for a small sum, that space could be turned into additional tonnage, resulting in a change to Endo Steel. Armor was also considered, but was left relatively unchanged. The next step the think tank was to find what could be done with the additional tonnage. The first thing that came to the table was increasing the speed (including jump height), followed by increasing the weapons payload. In the end though, rather than expand the weapons payload, it was attached to a Targeting Computer to improve its deadliness.
The result of the think tank was something quicker than the original while retaining equal (although more accurate) firepower. With a max speed of 86.4 km/h, it was more capable of keeping pace with other lights of its class, and with a jump height of 150 meters, it could get to more places. The combination of increased firepower and maneuverability provide it with more options such as a heavy scout, city defender, or fire support as originally intended
==Deployment==
So far the PNTII-3E has been seen very rarely. Mostly in trial runs. Recently, it has seen some actual combat to see how it performs under stress.
==Variants==
There are rumors the think tank that created it are considering a pulse variant for higher accuracy. There are also rumors of one of the test models having either rockets or (like the original) SRMs as an armament in place of the lighter lasers.
Category:BattleMechsCustom