The Pathfinder is one of the oldest battlemechs in the Earth Federation military arsenal. A development of the ill-fated EAL-03, the Pathfinder was found to be a rugged if simplistic design, easy to field and maintain. It is now the standard light BattleMech of the Earth Federation and is used mostly for patrols, although its heavy armor and speed make it a useful member of a combat team. Most newcomers are assigned a Pathfinder since the operating interface and onboard computer are very user-friendly. Armament is light because frontline combat was not the primary design requirement. The Pathfinder carries a Jovian Optic 652A particle cannon to deal with any threat it might encounter.
The cannon is mounted on a modular rack on the right arm, which enables the technicians to easily replace it with another weapon (although this is rarely done). As with other Earth Federation weapon designs, it is made up of modular sections for easy repair and upgrade capacities. In case of unexpectedly strong opposition, two medium missiles are mounted on the left shoulder; two plasma lances are also available for close-in fighting, stored in thigh flip-open compartments. Long range sensors are standard issue on all models. An interesting characteristic is the blast shield, which can be lowered to protect the main sensor array in case of a massive explosion nearby. A medium-range radar and EWAC system is mounted on the right shoulder to enable the Pathfinder to find any intruder using either standard radio communication or a search radar near its patrol trajectory. The EWAC array is replaced on the Pathfinder4 (Strike) by a cluster missile launcher for raid and light assault purposes
Variations
The Pathfinder has been used as the basis for several specialized battlemechs. In addition to the aforementioned S version, the Pathfinder B, LRS and ML are also commonly seen in the Earth Federation arsenal. The B version is the bomber, carrying several heavy warheads to use against large, slow moving targets. It is equipped with large shoulder pods to accommodate some extra thrusters and the missiles. The ML is very similar in appearance, but has mine-laying equipment instead of missile launchers. Few of these have been built. The Long Range Support version is also quite rare, chiefly because it is expensive to produce. It replaces the EWAC array and the twin missiles with shoulder-mounted beam cannons
Service Record
The Pathfinder is the Earth Federation battlemech that has seen the most combat use to date. This is because its scouting missions often bring it in contact with pirates and illegal scavengers, which will oppose the Federation forces with small ships and dated spacefighters
The cannon is mounted on a modular rack on the right arm, which enables the technicians to easily replace it with another weapon (although this is rarely done). As with other Earth Federation weapon designs, it is made up of modular sections for easy repair and upgrade capacities. In case of unexpectedly strong opposition, two medium missiles are mounted on the left shoulder; two plasma lances are also available for close-in fighting, stored in thigh flip-open compartments. Long range sensors are standard issue on all models. An interesting characteristic is the blast shield, which can be lowered to protect the main sensor array in case of a massive explosion nearby. A medium-range radar and EWAC system is mounted on the right shoulder to enable the Pathfinder to find any intruder using either standard radio communication or a search radar near its patrol trajectory. The EWAC array is replaced on the Pathfinder4 (Strike) by a cluster missile launcher for raid and light assault purposes
Variations
The Pathfinder has been used as the basis for several specialized battlemechs. In addition to the aforementioned S version, the Pathfinder B, LRS and ML are also commonly seen in the Earth Federation arsenal. The B version is the bomber, carrying several heavy warheads to use against large, slow moving targets. It is equipped with large shoulder pods to accommodate some extra thrusters and the missiles. The ML is very similar in appearance, but has mine-laying equipment instead of missile launchers. Few of these have been built. The Long Range Support version is also quite rare, chiefly because it is expensive to produce. It replaces the EWAC array and the twin missiles with shoulder-mounted beam cannons
Service Record
The Pathfinder is the Earth Federation battlemech that has seen the most combat use to date. This is because its scouting missions often bring it in contact with pirates and illegal scavengers, which will oppose the Federation forces with small ships and dated spacefighters
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