In the spring of 3061, Red Devil Industries was ready to shut down its Pandora Plant. That all changed when the Archon gave Red Devil a grant to refurbish the worn-out plant. The Archon asked J.B. BattleMechs Inc. to help speed up the refurbishment of the plant, offering them special incentives for their cooperation. This was possible due to Pandora's nobility-without the plant, the Nobles would lose their cash flow. During the planning of the plant's refurbishment, both agreed to a mutually beneficial partnership in a new redesign of the BLR-3S.
         J.B. BattleMechs Inc. began production of the new BattleMaster in the spring of 3062. The first 'Mechs had just begun reaching front-line units when the Civil War erupted, delaying Red Devil's production schedule another two years. Pandora had finally begun production in May of 3064, only to see the Jade Falcons launch a third invasion. The Civil War forced most of the Lyran defenders to relocate off of Pandora when the Falcons arrived in September of 3064. The planet fell in twenty-two days. Completely refurbished, Red Devil was now producing the new BLR-4S; the Falcons accepted the new design into their second-line units.

         The BattleMaster was originally armed with a LRM 20 and six medium pulse lasers, but on today's battlefield those weapons would be considered defensive rather than offensive. J.B. BattleMechs redesigned the BLR-4S's weapons, giving the 'Mech the offensive punch it lacked. The Gauss rifle was chosen for its range and damage. Four extended range medium lasers were added to increase damage potential at intermediate ranges, and two medium lasers, small pulses and a[n] SRM 6 with an Artemis IV were added for close support. For increased survivability, 13.5 tons of ferro-fibrous armor was installed, including using one of the new light engines.

         The Free Worlds League are building a variant based on a captured unit recovered from Kristen Marik's Crushers. This variant, identified as the BLR-5M, will use the light Gauss version including an extended-range large laser and upgrading the medium lasers to extended type. The BLR-5M still retains the standard fusion engine including the armor protection of the BLR-3M.
         The DCMS is fielding variants based on units captured in the Lyons Operations. They chose to use a standard engine in the BLR-CM and an XL in the BLR-K3. The CM variant is equipped with 2 C3 masters, limiting the weapons to an ER PPC backed by a Shigunga MRM 30 and two ER medium lasers. The K3 variant has been armed with an ER PPC and 2 ER large lasers. Four ER medium lasers, including an SRM 6, were added for close-in support along with a C3 Master for lance command. The first K3 seen in service is piloted by Tai-i Drew Williams. Awarded to him for his service on the Draconis March front, Tai-i Williams is now serving as a company commander in the Ryoken-ni.

         J.B. BattleMechs has been hard pressed to meet the demands of the LAAF given the loss of the Red Devil factory. Both the Lyran Regulars and Lyran Guards are slated to receive the BattleMasters as they become available. Though not for lack of transportation, some units out on the Rim area of the Alliance have mysteriously failed to receive their shipments, while the Falcons are using the BLR-4S to help replenish their depleted second-line units.