After the success of the Saracen, Scarborough, Ltd. released two more medium hover tanks based on the Saracen's chassis and   internal systems. The first release was the Scimitar, whose weapons systems varied slightly from its predecessor. At first, the Saracen used a long-range missile rack as its main armament. However, it's secondary weaponry, three short-range missile racks, could not fire at the long-range missile rack's short range, and the long-range missiles could not fire at the short-range missile rack's extreme range. Thus the Saracenr could not concentrate its firepower against one target.
         Scarborough engineers replaced the long-range missiles with an autocannon to solve the range/firepower problem. Although the auto cannon had problems acquiring targets under 90 meters (which was the SRM's short range), it could easily acquire targets at the SRM's medium   range, which the LRMs could not. In addition, the autocannon had range comparable to the long-range missiles.
         Five years after releasing the Saracen, Scarborough introduced to Scimitar. Initial sales were high because of the success of the Saracen. Although sales have fluctuated over the past years, Scarborough, Ltd. continues to produce the Scimitar.

         The Scimitar is a better-designed vehicle than the Saracen. Like most hovercraft, the Scimitar is very fast, making it easy to engage and disengage an enemy. Its armor is as thick as that on many medium 'Mechs.
         The Armstrong AutoCannon 5 is often used in   'Mechs, such as the Clint. Scarborough engineers chose this weapon because it had already been proven in combat. On the average,   the autocannon's range and hitting power is better than the Saracen's LRM 10 rack. The autocannon weighs three tons more than the long-range missile rack, but one ton of autocannon ammo has more rounds than one ton of LRM ammo.
         The success of the Saracen's short-range missile system promoted Scarborough engineers to use several smaller short-range missile racks rather than one large one. The Saracen's Guided Technologies SRM 2 racks were also installed in the Scimitar because the Guided Technologies equipment was reliable and because Saracen customers would likely buy a vehicle for which they already had replacement parts.
         Other than the autocannon, the only new   systems installed in the Scimitar are the communications and weapons guidance systems. Based on the original models in the Saracen, the   Scarborough Talky and Scarborough Tracky systems needed slight modification to accommodate the new weapons.

         Scarborough, Ltd. was correct, those who had bought the Saracen immediately bought the Scimitar. Because the two vehicles were so similar, a Scimitar could replace a damaged Saracen without reducing a lance's effectiveness.
         This ease of replacement caused the undoing of a Liao light armor group. Fighting Saracens on   Pella II for over eight months, the Liao armor was almost out of supplies. To regain supplies, the Liao commander devised a plan to raid the Marik supply dump.
         First, tanks armed with short-range weapons would move in from the north and attack under the range of the Saracen's long-range missiles. While most of the Saracens were engaged, the rest of the armor would attack from the south and   steal as many supplies as possible. After the supplies were taken, the first element would retreat back into the hills.
         Unbeknownst to the Liao commander, however, Marik Scimitars had replaced the Saracens guarding the supply dump. Although Liao recon had seen the Scimitars, it assumed that the tanks were Saracens.
         The Liao attack proceeded as planned. The short-range units moved in quickly from the north, loosing short-range missiles and laser fire. Instead of finding themselves under the range of Saracen long-range missiles, they found themselves in the short-range of autocannons. The Scimitars tore the Liao light element to shreds.
         The second element of the Liao force fared no better than the first. Although the first element transmitted radio messages to the Liao commander, the whole Liao attack force had already been committed. Five minutes after the attack began, every vehicle in the Liao group was either destroyed or disabled. The Liao commander sued for peace and retreated off-planet.

         Like the Saracen, the Scimitar has no registered variants. Some crews will, however, add a larger barrel to the autocannon so that the gun looks like the super-heavy autocannon found on the Demolisher or the Hetzer.

Johnston Arley, Forest Orenge, and Terry Schwartz
         These three Steiner crewmen manned their Scimitar "Who's Next?" in a Kurita raid against the planet Phalan. For holding off a Combine 'Mech lance without support, all three crewmen received the McKennsy Ground-Pounder's Medal, one of the highest honors a vehicle crewman   can receive. (This award is bestowed to a crewman who performs bravely and successfully in the face of overwhelming odds.)