Gladiator 4R medium mech

Description

The first homegrown BattleMech produced by the Draconis Combine was the Gladiator. The 55-ton 'Mech took seven years to design, as Coordinator Kozo Von Rohrs refused to open up the process to anybody but a select group at New Samarkand Armor Works (the predecessor of Luthien Armor Works) who were under constant surveillance by DEST. 2468 finally saw the GLD-1R Gladiator hit mass-production.[5] Following the Battle of Nox in 2475, the dishonored 'Mech was retired from official production, with NSAW closing down the production lines by 2488. Merryweather Industries was the first private company to attempt BattleMech production without governmental support. Despite their location in the Terran Hegemony, they acquired the plans to the Gladiator and produced a new run in 2490. They were unable to raise the capital to finish their second run, the 4R, and nearly went bankrupt before moving into IndustrialMechs. The GLD-4R production lines were closed down in 2495.[3] A few salvaged Gladiator -1Rs were still in service with militaries across the Inner Sphere and Periphery, though these relics were finally pushed to extinction during the Reunification War. The 55-ton Gladiator has a top speed of 86 km/h, comparable to many other 'Mechs of the same weight. Nine and a half tons of armor provides a respectable amount of protection. Five jump jets enables the 'Mech to jump up to 150 meters at a time.

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