Griffin
Griffin
Built in 2492, the Griffin was originally classified as a heavy BattleMech, filling in the weight gap between mammoth machines like the Mackie and smaller recon 'Mechs like the Wasp, and intended for close assaults. Combining tremendous speed and firepower in one frame, the Griffin briefly dominated in this role before being superseded by larger and better-equipped 'Mechs. However, the Griffin was very popular among commanders and pilots alike, and so Earthwerks Incorporated kept it in production, this time reclassified as a medium 'Mech and tasked with long-range fire support for medium lances. In this capacity, the Griffin has excelled, combining good striking power, endurance, and speed, with its only major weakness being a lack of close-range defensive weapons.
During the Succession Wars, the Griffin could be found in almost every unit of all the Great Houses and mercenary forces, thanks in part to its diverse number of manufacturers. Besides being constructed from Earthwerks' factory on Keystone, the Griffin was later acquired and built by Defiance Industries (Hesperus II), Kallon Industries (Talon), Brigadier Corporation (Oliver), and Norse BattleMech Works (later Victory Industries, Marduk). It was even manufactured in the Periphery by Vandenberg Mechanized Industries on Illiushin. Only the Capellan Confederation lacked a means of building the 'Mech, although they made up for it by purchasing a limited number from the Taurian Concordat. During the Fourth Succession War, some of these manufacturers exchanged hands, with the Draconis Combine capturing Marduk from the Federated Suns and the Lyran Commonwealth taking Oliver from the Free Worlds League. This exchange also happened to coincide with several new variants being designed to exploit recently recovered lostech. As such, variants meant specifically for either Houses Kurita, Marik, or the Federated Commonwealth found their way into the arsenals of all of them. During the Clan Invasion, these manufacturers produced the new variants to meet the Clan threat while Vandenberg Industries continued to build original GRF-1N Griffins.
