The Crab was designed as a medium-weight raider and stay-behind fighter. First built in 2719, fewer than 1,000 of these 'Mechs were delivered before the outbreak of the Succession Wars. The Crab received favorable initial reports, but experts saw the 'Mech's inability to jump as a limitation on its usefulness as a raider.
         The Crab possesses good speed overall and can survive for weeks without resupply. All of its weapons are energy-based, which makes the Crab run slightly hotter than other 'Mechs of its weight class. The Crab might well have become the standard medium 'Mech of the SLDF, had events not forced General Kerensky and his loyalists to leave the Inner Sphere.

         When first delivered to the field, the Crab contained little new technology. Except for the targeting system and the communications equipment every major component on the Crab was first tested and proven on another 'Mech design. Technicians dream of assignment to a Crab, because it requires less than half the maintenance time of other 'Mechs in its class. In fact, the slang term "Crab walk" is synonymous with easy duty. Only the 'Mech's communications equipment gives its technicians any significant problems.
         The Dalban Series K communications network provided the Crab with a superior C3 suite. The system houses seven microprocessors, each capable of performing its own special duty as well as duplicating the operations of the other six. More than a communication system, the Dalban network can identify the 'Mech's exact location on a planetary surface, as well as the locations of any known units on the planet. The system keeps its information current by monitoring all radio frequencies and short-wave bands and taking in data feeds from satellites and other military communications systems. When operating behind enemy lines, the system can forecast enemy troop movements, differentiating between suspected positions and known positions, and can project a path for arriving at any destination. Though not foolproof, the system does give the pilot an excellent recon report prior to his beginning patrol. Unfortunately, the system is difficult to maintain; the last known K-series qualified technician died some years ago, and so maintenance of the system has come down to guesswork. The depredations of the Succession Wars, however, have rendered this less of a drawback than it might seem. The military-communications infrastructure, command posts, orbital satellites, high-altitude surveillance drones and such on which the K series suite depended have largely been destroyed, rendering the system's more esoteric functions useless.
         Most pilots consider the Crab's armor protection acceptable, though the replacement of its composite armor with the homogenous steel now used has reduced the Crab's survivability somewhat. Its arms
and legs are well protected and even its weakest points can withstand a direct PPC blast without a breach.
         The 'Mech's weapons systems are serviceable, if uninspired. Its matched set of large lasers, housed in its claws and forearms, provide an excellent arc of fire but are easily damaged during hand-to-hand fighting. Pilots tend to use the huge weapons as clubs, knocking the focusing mirrors out of alignment and rendering the lasers inoperable. Though readjustment is easy to perform, it requires the pilot to spend several minutes outside the cockpit with his head buried in the 'Mech's elbow.
         To provide a secondary line of defense, designers added a medium Ceres Arms laser and Exostar small laser to the center torso and head, respectively. The medium laser is well protected from the engine, and heat sinks allow an unrestricted flow of heat through the center torso and out the back. The head-mounted small laser is normally used only as a last resort. Ineffective at long ranges, it works best against soft targets, such as infantry and rioting civilians. The cockpit is well insulated from the heat of the engine and the small laser. Pilots appreciate the relative comfort of piloting a Crab.
         The 'Mech's ejection seat varies from the standard design, giving the pilot two methods of escape. If an explosion is imminent, the top hatch is blown back and the seat is jettisoned through the roof of the 'Mech. Seat thrusters stabilize the seat's descent to a controlled fall, and the pilot lands roughly 200 meters from his machine. If no explosion is likely, the seat is rotated 90 degrees and fired out the back. The pilot lands 20-50 meters from his 'Mech after a much shorter and gentler ride.