Name: Odysseus
Production Code: MS-52
Manufacturer: MaxTech Enterprises, Inc.
Use: Multi-Role Mekton Armor
Production Status: Early Production
Control System: Fourth-Generation Combat Interface Algorithm System
Height: 18.3 meters
Weight: 42.15 tons
Power Plant: 43,525 mW peak output, 34,000 mW sustained output
Main Thrusters: 8
Vernier Rating: 7
Armor: Ferrotitanium Alloy, with good resistance to small arms fire and fair resistance to all Mekton level firepower.

Armament:

Number	Armament Type
1	EMW32 Beam Sabre
1	E276 Beam Carbine
1	M37 Vulcan-IV 60mm Gatling Cannon
2x10	IM-47 GreatWhite missiles

Equipment: Ejection Seat

Notes: Despite the excellent performance of the YMS-52 prototype, High Command desired a less expensive unit than the prototype. Because of this, the design team went to work on scaling back the features of the original YMS unit. The expensive and difficult to manufacture battle talons went out the door, as did the prototype’s highly damage-resistant Chobham battle armor, replaced with standard ferrotitanium armor. A standard thruster array was mounted in the booster pod, replacing the high-performance miniaturized array seen in the prototype. The resulting machine was one ton lighter and more importantly to High Command, nearly half a million credits cheaper.  Republic pilots, upon entering the field of battle, found out much to their delight that the new Mekton, despite being 100,000 credits less expensive than the predecessor model, was far more capable in battle than the Linear, with stronger armor and beefier servos.  Its weaponry was also significantly upgraded, with twenty of the powerful new GreatWhite missiles replacing the ten near-useless Hammerheads of the Linear.  Although the Beam Carbine traded away a bit of the Linear's firepower for better firing efficiency, crew chiefs soon found that by a simple alteration of the power feeds, output could be boosted by 10%, returning the weapon to parity with the Linear's larger Beam Rifle.  By early August, this weapon modification became standard, renamed the E277 Advanced Beam Carbine.

Variants: Because this is a new Mekton, no major variants have appeared to date other than the base variant, YMS-52A.

Distinguished Pilot: The Odysseus has been in service for less than a year; no pilots have yet managed to distinguish themselves in this craft.  However, given its performance characteristics, this is likely to soon change.

Service Record (includes both YMS and MS versions):
 

May 2240	Republic issues RFP for a next-generation medium combat Mekton to replace the aging MS-44 Linear
July 2240	Republic receives the first proposal, the YMS-46.
August '40-January '41	Further proposals are received by the Republic, including the YMS-52.
July '43	The ten prototypes arrive at Edwards Flight Test Center for testing.
June '44	Early June: Two YMS-52s are stolen from Edwards along with two squadrons of YMS-49 Mars suits. Late June: The YMS-52 is declared the winner and ordered into immediate production.
July '44	The first squadrons of MS-52s begin to be delivered to Republic combat units.