Corean Enterprises initially balked at the idea of investing any cash into the Locust program until they received assurances from the Word of Blake that the Militia would purchase the first year's limited production run. After studying the plans of the redesign, they were thoroughly impressed and satisfied with what they saw. The redesign would require very little capital investment for start up, and Corean moved forward confident in the knowledge that the company would reap plenty of profit in producing the new Locust. Agreeing to terms with Vicore, contracts were signed and designs licensed, after which Corean Enterprises designated the Locust the LCT-5M and began production.

         The Locust redesign required a few fundamental design changes. The engineers on the R&D team decided that the best attribute of the Locust was its speed and further made the choice to increase the 'Mech's speed by thirty-three percent. They did this by replacing the Magna 160 with the Hermes 240 XL power plant. To take advantage of the new speed, the designers replaced the original LCT-3M's weapons with a loadout of extended range lasers. In doing so, they dropped the Anti-Missile System and CASE, increasing the 'Mech's armor protection to its maximum.

         Corean Enterprises was the only manufacturer in the Inner Sphere that began production of the new Locust. Achernar BattleMechs agreed to terms with Vicore, but has not yet begun production. They are slated to start up on August 1 3067. They will be producing the LCT-5M after purchasing the license from Corean Enterprises. Currently, the remaining Houses have expressed no interest in the Locust program.
         The Periphery nations, on the other hand, readily agreed to the new design. They were happy to have a design that would take advantage of their latest Rocket Launcher Technology. Two variants were introduced to the Periphery nations.
         The LCT-5V has been picked up by both the Magistracy of Canopus and Taurian Concordat for production. This variant would incorporate Ferro-Fibrous Armor, two extended range medium lasers and two Rocket Launcher 10s. The original 160 LTV engine would be used keeping the original speed of the Locust.
         The LCT-1V2 variant has been seen in the forces of the Marian Hegemony, but where it has been manufactured is unknown at the current time. Speculations and rumors from the region, however, are rife concerning a new small-scale BattleMech factory located within the depths of the Hegemony. Considering the rumors circulating concerning a major new Germanium find, the two could go hand in hand. This variant appears to remove all the weapons save one medium laser and add four Rocket Launcher 10s.

         True to their word, Blakist officials from the Office of Procurement arrived at the completion of the first production run for the LCT-5M. The new 'Mechs were shipped in Level II size to each Blakist Division and dispersed, giving each Level III access to at least one new LCT-5M.