Eradicator Assault BattleMech (ECotS)

==Description==
The Eradicator is a Assault class BattleMech built by the Royal Federation, which itself was built of Atlas parts and new weaponry during the desperate battles against the Terran Union invasion of 3050.
This unique variant design was created by Big Steve for his fan story Emergence - The Concert of the Sphere. The content of this mech profile was written by him with his permission.
===Overview===
"The BattleMech that saved Hesperus II" is the name the ERD-4C has borne since 3050, when it was hastily slapped together on the old assembly lines for the original AS7-D when Defiance found its warehouses running bare of the weapons regularly mounted to the Atlas. Built using the same engine, chassis, armor, and electronic hardware as the Atlas, the Eradicator was mounted with the one weapon system that Defiance still had in abundance; its relatively new "BulletStorm" rotary autocannons. While lacking the thick and heavy armor of the Atlas or most other assault designs, the sheer murderous firepower of four of these chainguns firing in unison, and the psychological effect upon the Terran invasion troops, made the Eradicator critical to the defense campaign and ensured it would be seen on battlefields across the Inner Sphere for the decades to come.
===Battle History===
The Eradicator made its name in the 3050-3052 Siege of Hesperus, where it replaced lost assault machines in the ranks of the DISC regiments holding the line against the Terran invaders. Its limited battlefield durability aside, the raw damage potential and the psychological effect of its appearance on the battlefield were cited by Terran POWs as a major factor in numerous tactical defeats. DISC and later other Successor State armies fielded the design through the rest of the Terran War and Operation SERPENT. Defiance ended up dedicating its former AS7-D production line entirely to ERD-4C orders during the painful years after the Terran War, though production was reduced when the AS7-3D Atlas III came into use and proved more popular. The number of Eradicators in service declined sharply up through the Fourth Succession War, where it briefly peaked again due to war-time emergency orders.
===Deployment===
Due to battlefield salvage over the decades as well as orders, the ERD-4C can be found in numerous Successor State armies. It remains popular with the Skye Rangers and the Wraiths as well as a number of AFRF regiments. The Federated Suns has the next highest number of confirmed ERD-4Cs and ERD-4Ds in service, with Tikonov and the Oriento-Capellan Empire likewise known for fielding it in some number with defensive assault-weight formations.
==Armament and Equipment==
Using Defiance's local fabrication means, the Eradicator mounts the same basic equipment as the AS7-D Atlas. Foundation Type 10X structural members, Durallex Special Heavy armor plate (scaled down to fifteen tons from the Atlas' nineteen), a Vlar 300-rating fusion engine, and Angst Discom and Accuracy electronic hardware give the Eradicator the same trustworthy performance as the legendary Atlas. But its weaponry is both more fearsome while lacking the diversity and range of the older machine. As the BulletStorm and ammunition of its caliber were a system still in abundance during the siege, the Eradicator mounts four of these chainguns, each carrying two tons of ammunition. This provides the Eradicator the ability to theoretically strip the armor off an Atlas' torso in just ten seconds of firing, provided the weapons do not jam and the shots are good. Yet this also limits the range of the Eradicator given the BulletStorm's reduced accuracy at ordinary long ranges for AC/5s. Furthermore, even eight tons of ammunition provides for just over a minute of full-rate firing from all four mounts, after which the 'Mech will be forced to withdraw from combat for a reload while having only its fists for self-defense.
Defiance's engineers, anticipating this issue, provided easy access to the ammunition bins and faster reload times, but it remains a tactical limitation and a significant logistical restriction. The Eradicator is therefore often considered a defensive 'Mech first and foremost and is not often used on the offense.
==Variants==
*;ERD-4D : With the renewal of warfare against the Oriento-Capellan Empire and the Azami Confederation in 3078, Defiance funded a new production line on Skye for an updated ERD-4D Eradicator design. It employs Campbell Protective's Royal Ferro-Fibrous armor plate to give superior, near-Atlas levels of protection to the design. It also places bulkier, but longer-ranged MetalStorm rotary autocannons in the place of the BulletStorm models used on the ERD-4C, allowing the -4D to strike accurately from even further out. This did require placing the ammunition bins within the 'Mechs torso due to the lack of volume in the arms.Wiki Note: ERD-4D uses Clan Tech/Terran Union Tech level RAC/5 Autocannons and Clan Ferro-Fibrous Armor.
==Notable 'Mechs & MechWarriors==
One of the first ace pilots of the ERD-4C, Lieutenant Tobias Richards of the Brewer Life Guards received his after his Atlas was destroyed in a battle with
the Terrans in 3051. Richards took to the machine with gusto and proved a crack shot, laying on accurate fire from the maximal effective ranges that his
comrades rarely met while showing a propensity to ignore the brutal Terran counter-fire he often attracted. After scoring confirmed kills in six straight
engagements in May 3051 a Terran Marauder pilot finally managed a penetrating shot with a PPC that set off his ammo stores, badly wounding Richards and
destroying his 'Mech. After his recuperation and the end of the siege, Richards transferred to the rebuilding Fourth Skye Rangers and piloted an
ERD-4C in the campaigns to liberate Glengarry and Skye. He was one of the leading pilots in kills within the ranks of the DISC when he was killed in
action during the liberation of New Glasgow in 3056. In 3059, the HCS Tobias Richards, a Calamity-class picket warship, was named in his honor, as was the
AFS Tobias Richards, an Overlord II-class combat transport commissioned and assigned to the Fourth Skye Rangers in 3118.
==Technical Notes==
*Technology/Rule Level: Experimental (3050) - RAC/5 are earlier than in [Canon]]
*Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-E-D
*Total Cost: 10,552,000 C-Bills
*Battle Value: 2,390 BV2
==Links==
*Original Eradicator EDF-1 by Big Steve on Bg.Battletech Forums
==References==
== Bibliography ==
* Emergence - The Concert of the Sphere
Eradicator, ERD-4C
Eradicator, ERD-4C
Eradicator, ERD-4C