MPMAF-05 Hornet

 (Mass-Produced Mobile Armed Forces Model 05: Hornet) is a mass-produced Mobile Suit, created as the successor to the MPMAF-04 Bumblebee. It has the distinction of being considered the first truly functional combat Mobile Suit within the Empath Era.

Design
Learning from the mistakes of its various predecessors, most ostensibly its direct predecessor the Bumblebee, the Hornet has been greatly improved. It features a compact, flexible frame that lacks heavy armor to slow it down and reduce mobility. Its armaments are designed with practicality and versatility in mind, so as to prevent being overrun in any specific range of combat. Its dual-fuselage thrusters allow for high-speed flight, while its high-frequency flexo-plate wings allow much greater control than normal aviary vehicles. Its normally biped legs are capable of splitting, giving the Hornet quadruped mobility for easier movement across rough land.

While its statistics excel on paper, the Hornet was designed to be cheap to make and easy to replace. Its armor, while practical for movement, isn't especially strong, and easily destroyed with heavy weaponry or beam weapons. Its lightweight wings are even more fragile, and just like with real flies, taking out the wings cripples the Hornets flight capabilities. Its weaponry also exchanges flexibility for punch, lacking the power to take on stronger, more heavily-armed units. All in all, the Hornet does its job as a mass-produced mobile suit, but does little beyond that.

Armaments

 * Harpoon
 * Installed on the back of each forearm is a pair of harpoon launchers, while fire said harpoons connected to high-tension steel cable. This weapon is meant to pierce enemy units, holding them in place for a hail of gunfire, or pull them in for melee tactics.


 * Dual-Barrel Machine Gun
 * Installed on the inside of each forearm, these dual-barreled machine guns serve as rapid-fire weaponry for long-range combat.


 * Beam Sabers
 * Installed in the palms of the Hornet, the Beam Sabers serve as the main armament against armored foes, cutting through the armor with super-concentrated energy. However, these Beam Sabers consume large amounts of energy, and as such can only be active for up to five minutes before requiring recharge.


 * Claws
 * On the tip of each of the Hornets fingers, these claws serve as the main melee weapon of the Hornet, proving quite effective against lightly armed foes. A common practice is pulling in enemies with the harpoon before stabbing them with the Hornets claws.


 * Machine Turret Antennae
 * Functioning as the "antennae" of the Hornet, these rapid fire Vulcan Cannons feature a unique function in being able to turn a full 360 degrees and aim in almost any direction.


 * Machine Cannon
 * Installed on the clavicles of the Hornet, the Machine Cannon serves for stronger long-range weaponry.


 * Fuselage Explosive Deployer
 * The most controversial, but arguably most powerful weapon the Hornet is equipped with. The fuselage for the Hornets thrusters are attached to articulation joints on the lower back, and have sharpened "stingers" on the other end of the fuselage. These fuselage are installed with powerful explosives, and the articulated joints can be used to stab the target with the "stingers", leaving the fuselage (and the explosives) lodged in the target for point-blank explosions. Said explosions can be made even larger if fuel is left in the fuselage. While very powerful, these weapons essentially cripple the Hornet, reducing it to gliding and walking. What's more, a strike to the back before the Fuselage is deployed is essentially a death sentence for the Hornet.

System Feature

 * Radar
 * Highly advanced radar installed in the Hornet, allowing it to detect enemies several miles away.