The Nuada was the follow-up offering to the succesful Kell Hounds-produced Artic Fox and Verfolger BattleMechs. Produced on Arc-Royal, it is heavier than both of those designs, tipping the scale at 75 tons.

         Named for an important character in Celtic mythology, Nuada was the king of a long line of descendants of deities who lost his arm, which was eventually replaced by one made of silver, and had to regain his throne from his evil replacement. Just as the naming of the Verfolger had subtle meaning for the Ice Princess of Tharkad, so does the Nuada.

         The Nuada was intended to be the main battle line and leader of a heavy combat or assault lance, and uses many relatively new technologies to achieve its goals. However, Morgan and Phelan Kell, as well as the Kell Hounds administration, did not want to break the bank in the process. The design team settled on beefing up the Verfolger's chassis to the desired weight and using an endo steel structure as the foundation for the new heavy design.

         Originally, the design called for the use of an extra-light engine, but the Kells balked at using that particular type of powerplant. Needing additional weight savings, the design team requested the use of the new light engines produced in Steiner space, but these were hard to come by, due to the ARDC's politcal position. Eventually, several examples of the engine and blueprints for its design were "appropriated" by outside means, finally allowing the installation of a GM 300L fusion engine.

       Basic design goals met, the Nuada packs over half its overall weight into weapons and equipment, and it does not disappoint. Echoing its namesake's malady, the left arm is occupied by the Norse-Storm 7D "Silverhand" Gauss Rifle. The right arm contains an odd sight in Steiner space, the Mydron Rotary-5 autocannon. How the Hounds got ahold of this weapon, we can only guess, but one must suspect Morgan Kell's political connections in Davion space are responsible. Two tons of ammunition ensure that the Nuada's main guns won't run out of ammunition too soon, as long as the pilot does not go overboard with the rotary cannon's accelerated firing profile.

         The main guns are backed up by some excellent   close range firepower. Four Diverse Optics extended-range medium lasers, two in each side torso, as well as a Guided Technologies Streak-4 rack in the right ensure that any opponents who get too close to the Nuada are in for a lot of trouble. CASE is mounted in the right torso to protect the ammo reloads stored there.

         Like many modern-day BattleMechs, the Nuada isn't very heat-friendly in an alpha-strike profile, unless the autocannon is fired at a standard rate so as not to over-tax the 'Mechs ten freezer-grade heat sinks.

Lastly, the Nuada packs on thirteen tons of readily-available Aldis slab armor to defend itself from incoming fire.

         The Nuada reached the field towards the end of the FC Civil War, but its major contributions to the battlefield were felt most in the fighting on Arc-Royal and the final assault on Tharkad. matched up with Verfolgers, the ARDC-produced 'Mechs mowed down opposing forces.

         The only negatives in the Nuada under battle conditions pertained to the autocannon assembly and feed system, which had an abnormal jamming percentage, and were addressed in the variants produced by the Hounds.

         In its short service history, Nuada pilots have noted a desire to have more autocannon ammunition at their disposal. Others have complained about the feed mechanism routing from the torso to the arm where the cannon is mounted, necessitating an overhaul of the weapon and feed assemblies. Arc-Royal Defense Industries has come up with three variants/changes to address these issues.

       The first involves replacing a medium laser with another ton of autocannon reloads, stored in the right arm in a cartridge towards the back of the cannon mount, ensuring that the pilot will have at least twenty rounds at hand for the cannon and a grand total of sixty. The second replaces the Rotary-5 with a Rotary-2 cannon and two tons of ammuntion. The extra tonage is alloted to a head-mounted medium laser and another heat sink.

         The 1SJ is the most radical variant, replacing the Rotary-5 cannon and its ammo with a Diverse Optics ER large laser. Three additional freezers are installed, and a medium laser is moved from the left torso to the head. The remaining free tonnage is spent on four jump jets mounted in the torsos, granting the Nuada a maximum jump range of 120 meters.

Lt. Carcyn Dailly

         Lt. Dailly graduated from an older TDR-7S Thunderbolt to a new Nuada after his pride and joy, the "Jerk" suffered a cataclysmic gyro failure that almost killed her owner. Lt. Dailly was the first pilot of the jumping NDA-1SJ Nuada model. Unfortunately, Lt. Dailly was killed on Tharkad advancing on the palace when a Steiner Arrow IV shell dropped from the sky and landed directly on the head of Dailly's Nuada.

Prior to the end of the Civil War, the Nuada was only found in the formations of the Kell Hounds and their cronies on Arc-Royal. Since the end of hostilities between the Houses, the Hounds have placed the Nuada for sale on the open market and grant discounts to smaller mercenary formations.