| The Hunter and Wildcat Gears used by the armies of the Northern hemisphere were good machines, but neither used the many technological advances that had occurred after their entry into military service. The United Mercantile Federation Army did not have the budget to commission new designs, and neither the Northern Lights Confederacy nor the Western Frontier Protectorate could be convinced to invest in a joint venture. The updating of the Hunter in the 1850s -- with the release of the Hunter Mk II -- further stalled development of a high-technology trooper Gear. This changed in TN 1862, when a group of Mercantile businessmen and corporate CEOs, concerned with the safety of the state, offered to finance part of a new Gear project in exchange for a small share of the profits. Several of these business leaders were involved in the financing of the UMFA as a whole and their offer convinced the military laedership to approve the commissioning of a new cutting-edge Gear. An advanced design called the Tiger from Northco was the result.
The Tiger had a thicker armor than either the Hunter or the Wildcat, made from the newest composite materials then available. It also had exceptionally strong and fluid articulation systems for its time, which gives it very good maneuveriability for a machine of its bulk. The Tiger's engine was a marvel of compactness. It powered a strong secondary movement system that gave the machine a higher than average combat speed, which, coupled with its good maneuverability, made it a fearsome adversary. The weapon complement consisted of an autocannon rifle and a 70mm shoulder-mounted rocket pack. The AR-25 autocannon rifle, firing 30mm shells, was unusually powerful for a mass produced Gear and heralded an era of heavier weaponry for trooper Gears. A standard anti-personnel grenade launcher was mounted on the left shoulder for defense against marauding infantry. All this cutting edge technology did make the Tiger expensive to produce, but those who were able to pilot it always reported that it was well worth the expense. Indeed, the Tiger outperformed the Hunter Mark II in many important ways and served for several decades as the best Gear on Terra Nova.
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