Editing Padilla Heavy Artillery Tank

{{otheruses|the Star League-era tank|other uses|Padilla}}
{{InfoBoxCombatVehicle
| image = Padilla.JPG
| name = Padilla Heavy Artillery Tank
| manufacturer = [[Leopard Armor]]
| production year=2620
| year reference=<ref>''[http://www.masterunitlist.info/Unit/Details/2404/ MUL online date for the ''{{PAGENAME}}'']''</ref>
| Mission = Fire Support, Artillery 
| Type = Tracked
| cost = 14,820,749 C-bills
| mass = 75 tons
| armor = [[StarSlab/1]]
| engine = [[Ragusson 375]] [[XL fusion engine|XL Fusion Engine]]
| comsys = [[Teldon 19]]
| T&T = [[Scope 30 RDNST]] w/[[Target Acquisition Gear|TAG]]
| heat sinks = 10 [[Heat Sink|single]]
| speed = 86
| Crew = 5 
| armament = *1x [[Arrow IV|Arrow IV launcher]] 
* 2x [[Medium pulse laser]]s 
* 1x [[Anti-missile system]] 
* 1x [[target acquisition gear|TAG]]
| BV (1.0) = 621
| BV (2.0) = 1,135<ref>''Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Clan & Star League)'', p. 219</ref>
}}

==Description==
Introduced in [[2620]] by Leopard Armor of [[Terra]] for the [[Star League Defense Force]] and named in honor of [[Colonel]] [[Alfred Padilla]], the '''Padilla Heavy Artillery Tank''' was created as companion to the [[Chaparral]]. Stationed well back from the front lines, the Padilla was usually paired with light, fast [[BattleMechs]] equipped with [[Target Acquisition Gear]] to make better use of their missile artillery.  If caught in a firefight, the Padilla relied on its speed and maneuverability for protection, as it was built with only five and a half tons of armoring.<ref name=RIp32>''Rhonda's Irregulars, p. 32''</ref>

Most of the Padillas produced were destroyed during [[General]] [[Aleksandr Kerensky|Aleksandr Kerensky's]] [[Operation LIBERATION]], the battle to free [[Terra]] from [[Stefan Amaris]] and end the [[Amaris Civil War]].  By the time of the [[First Succession War]] only twenty of the tanks could be found in active service, all with the [[Capellan Confederation]], but they were soon stripped of their weapons systems when the Capellans' stock of Arrow IV missiles ran out.  By the [[thirty-first century]], only fifteen Padillas still remained within the [[Inner Sphere]], deployed with [[Com Guards|Com Guard]] units operating within the [[Free Rasalhague Republic]], with some sold to the [[Second Star League]]'s SLDF in a symbolic gesture.

More recently, the [[Word of Blake]] has resumed production of the Padilla, once again produced by Leopard Armor on Terra. Leopard Armor is also building the ''[[Red Shift]]'' battlemech, designed to serve as a fast artillery spotter for the tank.<ref>''Technical Readout: 3067''</ref>

==Weapons and Equipment==
The vehicle's primary weapon is its forward-mounted [[Katyusha]] [[Arrow IV]] Missile Launcher, stocked with six tons of ammunition. The vehicle's self-defense weaponry comprises a pair of [[Martell (MPL)|Martell]] [[Medium Pulse Lasers]]. To protect the vehicle from missile fire, it was armed with a forward-mounted [[Burrow]] [[anti-missile system]], with two tons of ammunition.  The Burrow system proved to be susceptible to electronic jamming, however, and while the Quartermaster Command ordered their replacement with improved [[McArthur]] systems, most never had the chance to refit.  The vehicle was also equipped with its own [[Target Acquisition Gear|TAG]] to provide for guided missile fire.<ref name=RIp32/>

==Variants==
*;LRM : This First Succession War era variant resulted from House Liao's inability to produce more Arrow IV missiles. Their surviving vehicles were refitted with a pair of [[LRM-20]]s with two tons ammunition. BV (1.0) = 855, BV (2.0) = 1,113<ref>''Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Clan & Star League)'', p. 210</ref>

==Related Vehicles==
* [[Padilla Tube Artillery Tank]] - The [[Republic of the Sphere]] version of the tank.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Padilla_RhondasIrregulars.png|Original ''Padilla'' from ''[[Rhonda's Irregulars (scenario pack)]]''
File:Padilla.JPG|''Padilla'' from ''[[Technical Readout: 3058|TRO:3058]]''
</gallery>

==Notes==
* The original vehicle uses Inner Sphere Advanced Rules.<ref>''Record Sheets: 3058 Upgrade'', p. 131: "Padilla heavy artillery tank"</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Record Sheets: 3058 Unabridged (Clan & Star League)]]''
* ''[[Record Sheets: 3058 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Rhonda's Irregulars (scenario pack)|Rhonda's Irregulars]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3058]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3067]]''

[[Category:Artillery Support Unit]]
[[Category:Combat Vehicles]]
[[Category:Heavy Combat Vehicles]]
[[Category:Tracked Combat Vehicles]]
[[Category:Fire Support Combat Vehicles]]
[[Category:Artillery Combat Vehicles]]
[[Category:75 ton Combat Vehicles]]
[[Category:SLDF Combat Vehicles]]
[[Category:ComStar Combat Vehicles]]