Name:  Heat Sink
Type (Category):  Heat Sink (Core)
Reference:  TechManual (p. 220)

Description:
The waste heat generated by battlefield engines and the weapons they empower made heat management a first priority as soon as fusion power and energy weapons became commonplace. The insulated nature of combat armor—particularly on BattleMechs and aerospace fighters—meant that such heat typically became trapped within the machine, endangering crews and heat sensitive components. Heat sinks were the solution. Essentially a series of heat pumps and coolant lines run through a ’Mech, fighter or other unit, these systems collect heat from coolant jackets and coolant lines in heat-generating equipment, designed to shunt heat away from vital components and out through baffles in the unit’s protective armor skin.

Virtually all fusion and fission engines incorporate a basic cooling system in their design that functions as the heart of this heat-exchange network. Though suitable for light duties, most units—from BattleMechs to Support Vehicles—usually expand these systems as needed to handle the added workload of any attached weapons and other gear.

Today’s heat sink technologies are essentially a refined version of the same ones that debuted with vehicle-sized fusion plants, though their design and efficiency have been enhanced though the centuries.

Game Rules:
Unless damaged by critical hits or willingly turned off, or unless the unit is destroyed, a unit’s heat sinks remain active even if the unit’s engine is shut down or its pilot/crew is incapable of action.

BattleMechsIndustrialMechsCombat Vehicles

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	ES
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	ES
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	ES
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	ES
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	ES
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink

Prototype Date:	—
Production Date:	ES
Extinction Date:	—
Recovery Date:	—

WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT COMBAT AND CONSTRUCTION TABLE
RULES LEVEL PROGRESSION TABLE
MegaMek Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink
Record Sheet Output → Critical Slot:  Heat Sink