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[NUKE9.13]

Blizzard upgrade program (2): Andrea, NUKE9.13

[FallacyofUrist]

Blizzard Upgrade Program (3): Andrea, NUKE9.13, FallacyofUrist

I like the idea, though I must mention that the name is capitalized.

[Happerry]

Blizzard Upgrade Program (4): Andrea, NUKE9.13, FallacyofUrist, Happerry

[Madman198237]

Blizzard Upgrade Program (5): Andrea, NUKE9.13, FallacyofUrist, Happerry, Madman

Goodbye, Aratamite air force. And ground forces.

[andrea]

I am trying to draft a spaceward design for next turn.


ME-EAP-64 "Firestorm"
This is our first attempt at an Extra Atmospheric Plane (EAP). Our engines have never actually required an atmosphere to work in, but still we couldn't muster the energy and airframe required to go in the endless void that Gagarin opened for us. We haven't even been able to go past the sound barrier, where the theoretical efficiency peak of our engines should be.
But with the discovery of Magmatite and our greater experience in rocketry and electrogels, power shouldn't be a problem. Therefore, all that is left is to build a way to use it.

In the end, the Firestorm is a quite peculiar craft, unique, for it is meant to travel where no plane has ever been before. Its body is long and sleek, with a bulge in the middle and tapering flattened sides. It has 4 delta wings on its back arranged in a blizzard configuration providing great lift and between the wings are the 2 engines of this craft which are the real wonder.

This new kind of engine is a bimodal electric/GOFAST design. At low altitudes and speeds, it works as an electric fan engine, in which a ducted fan is powered by an internal reservoid of high capacity magmagel (if we can't still figure out how to extract electricity from it without pushing, add a piston in the reservoir). WIth the high efficiency of electric engines and the high power density of magmagel, at low altitudes when the air is thick and the plane is slow it generates a truly staggering amount of thrust. Then, after the sound barrier is broken, the traditional ramjet activates with a special mixture of GOFAST burns to augment the exhaust. This GOFAST mixture has magmagel dispersed in it to increase the stored energy, with the proper chemicals to allow magmatite energy to be released by the combustion. Finally at high enough altitude it switches to full rocket mode, turning off the fan, closing the intakes, making al the changes required for full bypass of the fan blades.
This combination of actions allows it to have the most suitable configuration for all flight regimes up to (we hope) hypersonic.

Now, all this raw power would be worth little on a conventional plane: it would most simply melt. However Mereth is master of cold and we learned how to cool the skin of a vehicle while working on our missile destroyers (I bet everyone forgot about them). The plane uses a STABIL-ICE cooling system to avoid overheating during cruise and re-entry. The cabin, sized for 2, is also, obviously, environmentally sealed and with an oxygen reservoir, plus amenities such as a couple energy bars, a bottle of water and a tube for all your bathroom needs. In truth, most missions should be too short and eventful for anything beyond the oxygen, but it is better to be prepared.

But what can it do?
With enormous power density and the extra lift granted by the Tereshkova effect, we found it able to carry a significant payload, at least 8 tonnes in an internal cargo bay, enough to make it a bomber. Plus, it is fitted with the best camera we could find in order to try to gain intel while flying above enemy lands.
It is meant to fly far above what is feasible to intercept with missiles, and far faster. Then, after deciding a target it dives relying on the cooling system and high temperature skin alloys to stay intact until close enough to deploy the payload, does the deed, then scrambles as fast as possible, although probably not back to space.
In theory, it could achieve orbit although at this time such capability isn't useful for anything besides long term reconaissance.

[Chiefwaffles]

Blizzard Upgrade Program
Originally started as a brainstorming session to optimize Shrike attachment point placement; news of our newest weapon and what it's capable of has kicked this into an actual serious project.

The Blizzard is capable of carrying 4 rockets and 1 Tonne of bombs at full load, yet our rapid and makeshift modifications only allow it to carry 2 100kg Shrikes; a tragic under-utilization of the Blizzard's carrying capacity. The attachment hardpoints are to be redesigned; gone are the old rockets and bombs, and in are 8 Shrike attachment points.

Also up for consideration is the 'Blizzard Pattern C' (with the previous upgrade being the 'Pattern B'), intended to make full use of CLAW's accuracy; the Pattern C, in addition to the Pattern B's upgrades, has the Velociraptor autocannons are replaced with a very basic 'turret' assembly; enough to make the CLAW turn roughly 15 degrees in any direction. This assembly is meant to be controlled by the Pattern C's slightly more integrated Birdbrain pod, allowing it to be automatically aimed right at the selected target. The CLAW can also be manually aimed at the pilots wish, having a brand new joystick in the cockpit for that purpose, and a new setting for the Holo-HUD to assist in aiming.

Revision: Blizzard Upgrade Program
(Normal) (2+4) = 6: Above Average

The age of clumsy bombs and rockets are over, and the Shrike has replaced them. All explosive payloads from existing Blizzards have been removed in favor of 8 Shrikes -- 2 on each wing. Pilots and engineers and technicians very much enjoy painting Shrikes with phrases such as "Sense this!" and some more vulgar things. It's quite fun.

But that's easy. Just throwing out the bombs and sticking on some more Shrikes. Our real accomplishment here is the Pattern C. The Velociraptors have been removed, and a single CLAW hooked up to a (rudimentary, but non-awful) turret replaces them. We've included a joystick in the cockpit to aim it, though aiming it manually is a very difficult endeavor. Instead, most pilots rely on the main method of control: the Birdbrain.
The Birdbrain automatically tracks the target it deems as most important (not that it's very good at this, but it's enough to be shooting at Torches rather than some very unlucky birds) and keeps the turret trained on the target. Magmagel banks allow a small amount of effective "ammunition", though this plus heat generation means that the CLAW can't be used too often. We believe that with the annoyingly-agile Torches the Birdbrain will have trouble with the rudimentary turret getting it on target, but it still occasionally will be able to get a lock-on for a few seconds, and will notify the pilot when this happens.

We also took the liberty of doing some testing against salvaged bits of Torch fuselage we've recovered. The "metal-recombinated" armor that Aratam uses means we can't exactly effortlessly saw off wings (our pilots are very disappointed by this), but it's still armor for a jet fighter and not a tank, so while we won't get 100% lethality rates on hits, damage isn't a concern. As atmosphere thins, the laser is a bit more effective thanks to lower scattering values.
Magmagel stores are calibrated to ultimately take up 1 Magmatite, which is a small amount of ammo. The Blizzard is configured to use excess power to charge empty Magmagel, but as the Blizzard isn't designed for this it can't recharge at a fast enough pace to get recently-used Magmagel ready for combat in a short time period. The CLAW will be very useful for situations and doesn't traditionally run out of ammo as it does recharge over time, but it can't be used that much in a single dogfight.


The skies shall be even blu-er wherever our air force goes.

Spoiler: Designs (click to show/hide)

Transport Capacity: 2/3 (2/2 Oil, 0/0 Ore Imported)
Resources: 4 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Magmatite

Weapons

• ME-CLAW-63: A Magmagel-using laser gun. Bit unwieldy for regular soldiers, but easy to carry (and can be duel-wielded) by Bear soldiers. Uses Magmagel canisters inserted into the barrel to fire. Has a beam mode and pulse mode, with the beam capable of cutting unarmored people in half. Can easily melt through current Aratamite infantry armor, though not instantly. Damage is precise; it can do a lot of damage in very small areas -- it's best used against vital organs. Beam mode, when concentrated on the exact same spot of a Tank/heavy armor for a few seconds, can melt through the armor and damage whatever's directly behind it. Has a(n unused) port to pump in/out Magmagel for continuous use. Terrific accuracy at any range, though damage scales with distance (making it Long-ranged). Comes with 3x scope for sniping.
  [Expensive] 2 Ore, 1 Oil, 2 Magmatite
• "Stalwart" Rifle: A semi-automatic rifle with mediocre accuracy at Long range and good accuracy at Medium (and useless accuracy further).
  [Cheap] 1 Ore
• "Heartstopper" Pistol: A 2-round semiautomatic pistol semi-accurate up to Short range. Has enormous stopping power. Pride of the Merethan army.
  [Cheap] 1 Ore
• UF-AC-41 Velociraptor: This autocannon is a revision of AC18, with several improvements. The gun is a little more tolerant of different ammo weights and the shells have been modified so that mixed ammo belts are possible. The use of more advanced materials has allowed some parts to become lighter, while a heavier bolt and stronger spring allows a rate of fire of 750 RPM, with a final gun weight of 48kg. In infantry use, it has noticeably more recoil, but this is less of a concern on vehicles.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore
  
  • AS-AC18: An advanced primer ignition autocannon, which ignites cartridge primers before the round is fully chambered. It fires the new, large, 20x100mm round, fed from a top-mounted 25 round C-shaped magazine with a powerful spring, usually armor piercing, about 600 times per minute. The weapon is quite large with a simple action but heavy barrel, weighing over 40 kilograms, and it requires being mounted to a carriage, foundation, or vehicle to fire with accuracy, although recoil is reduced by the nature of its action. It is dependent on a careful balance between the force of the shell and the force of the action, which means that different ammo types cannot be interchanged without recalibrating the gun. It has a terrifying ability to punch through armor and emplacements. Lighter materials have slightly decreased the weight from the previous 40kg.
    [Cheap] 3 Ore
• UF-MRL-40 'SARUKH': The Sarukh is a multiple rocket launcher, which fires rockets one meter long to deliver 6kg warheads at a maximum range of 12000 meters. The rockets have impressive destructive power, compared to shells they do not need thick metal casings, so most of the weight of the rocket is either warhead or propellant. The rockets are launched electrically off of rails, and the rails are in a 4x2 array. The rockets can be fired all at once, but it takes about four minutes to reload the whole launcher, so the sustained rate of fire is not better than regular artillery. However, a rocket array is extremely light compared to a cannon, and can move very quickly, firing all at once and retreating before fire is returned from the enemy. Accuracy is poor compared to shells; to reliably hit a single target with a volley they should be used within 8km. Currently available as a truck trailer.
  [Cheap] 1 Ore, 3 Oil
  
  • ICE Rocket: A rocket for the Sarukh equipped with an ICE non-explosive warhead. Instant lethalities within 5m, very high fatalities within 10m, serious injuries (and occasional fatality) along with (usually temporary) vehicle non-operation to 50m. The cold dissipates quickly outdoors.
• ICE Thrower: A 20m-ranged pressurized ICE thrower that can rapidly cool an area in front of the operator to (eventually) lethal levels or outright kill/severely harm those directly hit by ICE. The ICE doesn't naturally react until roughly 10m out from the barrel, though it can hit other things in its way and react with whatever it hits. Prolonged use is discouraged, due to close proximity with ICE and ICE-affected areas being very dangerous even with the extensive insulation operators wear.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore, 3 Oil
• AS-RPG28 A: A rocket-propelled grenade, fired out of a launch tube. The grenade itself consists of a conical shape with a narrow tube of propellent out the back, and twisted fins in the middle of the tube. The launch tube is 3cm wide, a meter long and the rocket fits in up to the fins, and is just a metal tube with a handle. To ignite the propellant, soldiers remove a pin, on the rocket, which is first clipped by a short chain to a trigger on the handle. The tube itself and each grenade each weigh 3kg. It is accurate enough to hit a tank out to almost 100 meters, after which it drops quickly. Rockets are available with warheads based on each type of grenade, including a HEAT conical shaped charge.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore, 1 Oil
• ME-GVM-61 "Penguin": A 500 kg 33cm diameter 3.5m long black and white missile with long and stubby wings. Controlled remotely via an embedded television camera, and contains basic onboard transistor-based guidance allowing for a relatively straight course when jammed. Two missiles are carried in basic launcher trucks. Has a range of 50 km and a lethal radius of 50m; it can fit an ICE warhead or a HE warhead.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil
• M3 Sorraia GPMG: A 7.62mm machine gun fed from a belt. 50-round belts can be strung together for extended fire or stored in a belt box attached to the Sorraia, which for practical purposes is similar to a magazine. It uses a recoil action, and is configured to fire around 800 rounds per minute, achieved with the help of a muzzle booster (which looks like a flared end on the barrel). Weighs 22 pounds. Comes with a bipod, or tripod for emplacements. It uses copper heat sinks, which are now shrouded. It has a changeable barrel, which is necessary for emplacement use. It is effective to about 800 yards when mounted.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore
• ME-MO-62 "Nameless Death": A larger-than-normal mortar that uses rocket-propelled ammunition to give it a more than respectable range, with the ability for ICE or HE warheads. Its advantage lies in its versatility and ease-of-use: it can be mounted on Bear Armor's rear mount, deployed on the ground, and an automatic version exists for mounting on the Grizzly. Though the infantry version is somewhat hard to use without Bear Armor. Bear Troopers can fire their rear-mounted mortar at any time, without deployment, using a button on the suit's arm, though they have to aim through their posture, and the mortar has to be manually reloaded by another person. Grizzly mech versions are fired via the CAT interface, but are harder to aim and the CAT interface can't do anything other than "fire".
  [Cheap] 2 Ore
• ME-AEM-63 'Shrike': A 100kg missile with a 15kg ICE/HE warhead. Its associated "Birdbrain" computing pod allows for real-time target detection/analyzing, giving pilots a simple holographic reticule overlay in the cockpit and allowing effective tracking of any kind of target. Its warhead can be adjusted in real time by the computer for optimum damage against the selected target (air-bursting,  shaped charge, etc.) and it has high-res sensors with a relatively-thin viewing angle to find targets. On-board missile computer is simple and enacts out orders given by Birdbrain pre-launch, but can wirelessly receive new orders/communicate intel. Not specifically long-range.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore, 2 Oil

Armor

• Standard Uniform: A plain blue featureless uniform. The blue's mild enough that it doesn't really stick out.
• ME-PA-59 'Bear Armour': "Infantry" armor based off of the now-obsolete Tiger suit. Boasts full body coverage, albeit with fairly frequent gaps in the joints; the breastplate/taces can block rifle bullets at nearly all ranges and most of the armor can stop pistol bullets at point black. It has insulating fur inner lining. Armor plating is semi-manually removed from the outside through a series of switches to enter/exit/perform maintenance. Lasts 8 hours of consistent high-power use, and charge is monitored by a dial in the helmet. Embarking/disembarking from the outside takes about 30 seconds, and disembarking without assistance takes a few minutes. It stands at [~7 ft/~2m] tall, and uses a smallish bulletproof glass visor for limited visibility. Pilots boast slightly increased speed and slightly decreased agility (but same strength) over regular unarmored individuals while in the Armour, twice the strength of average soldiers, and have their skin dyed blue from the Electrogel. Has mounts for a WALK-TALK and larger ICE Thrower tank, and a velcro strip in the helmet for maximum pilot comfort. Contains advanced shock/recoil-dampening capabilities in gauntlets. Fit with Magmagel, and equipped with a charging port that can finish charging in one minute.
  [Cheap] 4 Ore, 2 Oil, 1 Magmatite
• Bear Armour Shield: A slab of metal shield roughly the size of a riot shield, made out of thick metal, for wielding in one hand. Limits visibility and two-hand operations' effectiveness (like reloading), but doesn't restrict mobility and can be used with one-hand weapons.
• "Drop Bear" Armor: A suit of Bear Armor with two relatively large fuel tanks attached to the back, with nozzles places around the suit. Can launch a Bear Trooper high into the air 50 meters forward, where they land with a noticeable (albeit minor) shockwave and no harm to themselves. Single-use, and prohibits use of heavy weaponry and especially the ICE Thrower. Equipped with COMBAT plating.
  Equipped with COMBAT Plating.
  [Expensive] 4+1 Ore, 3+1 Oil, 1 Magmatite
• COMBAT Plating Bear Armour: Bear Armour equipped with COMBAT Plating.
  [Expensive] 4+1 Ore, 2 Oil, 1 Magmatite
• ME-MAS-62 'Grizzly Armor' v2: A ~4m-tall mechanized combat suit, based vaguely on Bear Armor. Heavy COMBAT plating covering the chest - where the pilot resides nearly integrated in the armor connected via a Cerebral Action Translator looking at a fiberscope connected to the head - protects the pilot, and that COMBAT plating is covered by further Mangalloy plating to protect more effectively against small arms. Faster than most/all soldiers, but still relatively slow in vehicle standards. Pilot has basic sense of "touch" from the suit, allowing for a good degree of coordination. Can generally tank a single Hydra cannon shell with no internal damage -- just a moderately-sized patch of damaged COMBAT plating. A second shell in the same spot would pierce front armor and embed itself in the back, potentially causing internal damage (most notably severing of Electrogel conduits to some motors), and a third shell - also in the same spot - would destroy the suit. Has 8 hr of charge using Rechargeable Electrogel, and a backup battery providing another 8 hr of charge but that has to spend time charging the Electrogel while not moving. Can equip any vehicle-suited or heavy weapon held by Mereth, an upscaled Bear Shield, or a 6-rocket Sarukh pod in either(/both) of its two arm modules. Fit with Magmagel, and a charging port that allows charging in five minutes. Charge monitored by dials in the cockpit.
  Equipped with COMBAT Plating, adding a +1 Ore cost.
  [Very Expensive] 6+1 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Magmatite

Underground Vehicles

• UT-60 Excavator: A tracked medium-sized heavily-modified tunnel boring machine, most notably using GOFAST-fuel. Can go down to Moderate and Shallow depths, moves at Very Slow speeds while underground and at Moderate speeds aboveground. Possesses limited (but notable) agility underground. Contains space for 6 soldiers and small amounts of equipment of the equivalent amount of cargo in the back, in addition to the 2 crew in its cockpit. Light armor. Equipped with the ME-SM-57 'Earth Ear' for basic subterranean navigation.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil; Provides 1 Ore.
  
  • ME-CM-56 'Instant Roads': A very fast-acting sprayable concrete mixture very useful for reinforcing tunnels when sprayed by trailers hooked to a Burrower. Has to be re-applied occasionally to maintain integrity. Allows for use of Burrower tunnels for force movement and logistics.
    Provides 1 TC.

Air Vehicles

• ME-LRMA-60 "Blizzard": A two-engine jet "Long-Range Multi-Role-Aircraft" based off of the Lightning Streak that uses a 4 "X"-shaped wing configuration via the "Tereshkova Effect" for slightly increased aerodynamics, improved redundancy, and greatly improved coolness. Its two aT-J60gi ICE "freezing stovepipe" ramjet engines allows it to be a fair bit faster than the Lightning Streak. Has one large GOFAST tank and a small STABIL-ICE tank allowing for Long range. Equipped with a single 15° rudimentary CLAW turret integrated with Birdbrain (and a small amount of Magmagel "ammo"), and 8 Shrike missiles.
  [Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil, 1 Magmatite

Navy

• UFN-CA-41 Catraphract: The Cataphract is a cruiser built to rival Cannala's ships. It is armed with 3x3 150mm gun turrets, each using a fully electrified loading system. Each gun can fire 8 times a minute. It has an armored citadel with 300mm of nickel-steel armor (Heavy), and a torpedo belt. The deck is heavily armored, at 120mm (Light) to defend against plunging fire, plus an extra splinter deck. The turrets are similarly armored. Additionally there are three turrets with two bumblebees on each side of the ship, capable of firing on aircraft or ships. It is powered by oil-burning steam turbines yielding a moderate speed.
  [Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil
  
  • ME-MV-61 "Makeshift": A modification of the Cataphract with shooty-bits and unnecessary "crew livability" components removed.
    Provides 2 TC
• ME-DDG-61 "Chillwind": A Guided Missile Destroyer equipped with a 2x-Bumblebee turret, eight Velociraptors divided amongst both sides of the hulls, all slaved to a 150km aircraft/30km ships radar system. Uses a Mostly Vertical Launch system to house 40 Penguin missile launch tubes - 20 each side - angled 30 degrees down vertically. Crew and equipment requirements mean that only four missiles can be launched and guided at a time. Has a very thin metal hull covered by Pykrete and crisscrossing pipes of STABIL-ICE to keep the Pykrete layer cool and supposedly repair any damage, though it proves ineffective at damage repair and the STABIL-ICE often runs out quickly enough such that a Chillwind's first engagement is usually without any Pykrete armor still intact.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil

Other

• GOFAST-Fuel: A special type of more energy-dense and stable fuel. Greatly increases fuel efficiency of anything it's in, doesn't require an oxidizer, and can rarely leak out of compromised containers.
  Adds 1 Oil to cost.
• WALK-TALK: The Wireless Audio Local Kommunicator-Transistor Assistance Lowers Kost Radio. A small hand-held two-way transistor radio. Production is hampered by the ever-persistant Union of Electronics Workers, making it Complex.
  [Expensive] 1 Ore, Complex
• Electrogel: A very thick blue gel that creates and transmits electrical current corresponding to the amount of pressure applied to it. Comes with the "Electrogel Motor" - a very small motor with embedded Electrogel that works with power corresponding to Electrogel pressure. A patch of Electrogel can last roughly 8 hours when powering its corresponding motor nonstop at max power.
  
  • Rechargeable Electrogel: A variant of Electrogel that can be charged with very precise pressure applied. As a general rule, the time needed to charge is 3x of how long it was used at max power usage.
  • Magmagel: Electrogel enhanced with specially-ground Magmatite that allows very-fast charging.
• UF-SM-57 'Earth Ear' Mk. IV: A set of small attachments to be put on all available sides of a subterranean vehicle. The use of precise vibrations sent through the earth and analyzed by an onboard computer allow for identifying of earth and entities in a 20km area. A basic Cube-contained 3D-projected interface in red and blue shows the layout of the land and distinguishes between earth, buildings, vehicles, and infantry (all allied and enemy). Magnetic disks store gathered data to also be fed back to the ORACLE.
  
  • GASOLINE: The Great Acoustic/Seismic Oil Location Initiative and Extraction device, which fits onto an Earth Ear systems allowing for relative easy surveying of underground oil deposits. Merethan regulation forbids surveying underneath Mereth for alleged safety reasons, meaning oil found as a result of GASOLINE has to be imported using our transport capacity.
    Provides 1 Oil (Import)
• ICE: A chemical that very quickly reacts with the air to massively reduce heat in the surrounding area, often to the point where nearby things are frozen (ones in the epicenter frozen brittle), vehicles disabled or destroyed, and people killed.
  
  • STABIL-ICE: A variant of ICE that relies on an added catalyst to only react when it's above a target temperature, specified during synthesization of the STABIL-ICE. Useful for ice cream and also maybe cooling of machinery and the like. Tends to slowly decay over time in storage, making it unsuitable for anything that can't expect routine maintenance.
• C.O.M.B.A.T. Plating: Composite armor plating using a thin manganese layer and a ceramic layer sandwiching a Tungsten-Bronze/Molybdenum-Bronze layer arranged to, in layman's terms, convert kinetic and electric energy into heat. The outer layers easily melt when tanking particularly impactful hits such as coilgun shots and Lvl3 Tesla blasts, but prevent death or (usually) injury in the process.
  Adds +1 Ore to cost.
• Cerebral Action Translator A system wherein a series of jacks are implanted into the upper spine and lower brain -- roughly the neck and lower half of the back head, from the outside -- to allow for communication between computers/machinery and the human brain. Use of Electrogel as very-primitive "neurons" allows a bridge between the Electrogel and actual neuron growths, providing a channel to receive input from the neural system and a channel to send information to the neural system. It has low bandwidth, meaning it can't do a  huge number of things at once, but what it does do, it does nearly seamlessly.

Infrastructure

• Division of Unusual Chemistry: A fully funded department & lab under the Design Division specializing in more unusual chemistry.
• M.A.G.M.A.: A giant borehole made and maintained using Excavators, Bear Armour, Earth Ears, and many more instances of our tech. Uses ad-hoc STABIL-ICE cooling systems fitted onto Bear Armour and excavators to maintain suitable temperatures. The deepest borehole in the world, and brings up notable amounts of ore from existing land.
  Provides +1 Ore
• ORACLE-A: A microprocessor-based STABIL-ICE-cooled supercomputer with >100 MB of RAM and >1,000 MB of storage space using magnetic disks, and relatively blazing fast speeds using a generally advanced CPU with other cores handling peripheral tasks. Input is primarily via keyboards, and output is via vector-drawn screen graphics. When given adequate intelligence regarding known enemy activity in an area, the ORACLE-A can compile a prediction of future enemy activity over a set time period up to a week. However, we must have really good intelligence in an area for the best predictions, and the ORACLE-A can only handle a relatively few areas at a time (that must be chosen in advance by humans) due to processing power limitations. Despite this, its predictions are (when given adequate intelligence) very effective.

• Embassy "Vast Underground Forenian Embassy": An extensive and mildly luxurious underground Forenian embassy dug underneath around the center of Mereth using improvements in excavation technology designed 100% solely for civilian use and definitely nothing else.

The Combat Phase of Summer 1963 has begun.

[piratejoe]

I'm joining this because why not.

[Chiefwaffles]

Combat Phase: Fall 1963

Command is happy with your successes in the field, and implores you to keep up the good work. Though they're not happy about the rumored "secret project" -- as far as they know, it could be entirely backed by the Design Division.
Either way, we're getting closer and closer to winning this war!

Spoiler: Designs (click to show/hide)

Transport Capacity: 2/3 (2/2 Oil, 0/0 Ore Imported)
Resources: 4 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Magmatite

Weapons

• ME-CLAW-63: A Magmagel-using laser gun. Bit unwieldy for regular soldiers, but easy to carry (and can be duel-wielded) by Bear soldiers. Uses Magmagel canisters inserted into the barrel to fire. Has a beam mode and pulse mode, with the beam capable of cutting unarmored people in half. Can easily melt through current Aratamite infantry armor, though not instantly. Damage is precise; it can do a lot of damage in very small areas -- it's best used against vital organs. Beam mode, when concentrated on the exact same spot of a Tank/heavy armor for a few seconds, can melt through the armor and damage whatever's directly behind it. Has a(n unused) port to pump in/out Magmagel for continuous use. Terrific accuracy at any range, though damage scales with distance (making it Long-ranged). Comes with 3x scope for sniping.
  [Expensive] 2 Ore, 1 Oil, 2 Magmatite
• "Stalwart" Rifle: A semi-automatic rifle with mediocre accuracy at Long range and good accuracy at Medium (and useless accuracy further).
  [Cheap] 1 Ore
• "Heartstopper" Pistol: A 2-round semiautomatic pistol semi-accurate up to Short range. Has enormous stopping power. Pride of the Merethan army.
  [Cheap] 1 Ore
• UF-AC-41 Velociraptor: This autocannon is a revision of AC18, with several improvements. The gun is a little more tolerant of different ammo weights and the shells have been modified so that mixed ammo belts are possible. The use of more advanced materials has allowed some parts to become lighter, while a heavier bolt and stronger spring allows a rate of fire of 750 RPM, with a final gun weight of 48kg. In infantry use, it has noticeably more recoil, but this is less of a concern on vehicles.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore
  
  • AS-AC18: An advanced primer ignition autocannon, which ignites cartridge primers before the round is fully chambered. It fires the new, large, 20x100mm round, fed from a top-mounted 25 round C-shaped magazine with a powerful spring, usually armor piercing, about 600 times per minute. The weapon is quite large with a simple action but heavy barrel, weighing over 40 kilograms, and it requires being mounted to a carriage, foundation, or vehicle to fire with accuracy, although recoil is reduced by the nature of its action. It is dependent on a careful balance between the force of the shell and the force of the action, which means that different ammo types cannot be interchanged without recalibrating the gun. It has a terrifying ability to punch through armor and emplacements. Lighter materials have slightly decreased the weight from the previous 40kg.
    [Cheap] 3 Ore
• UF-MRL-40 'SARUKH': The Sarukh is a multiple rocket launcher, which fires rockets one meter long to deliver 6kg warheads at a maximum range of 12000 meters. The rockets have impressive destructive power, compared to shells they do not need thick metal casings, so most of the weight of the rocket is either warhead or propellant. The rockets are launched electrically off of rails, and the rails are in a 4x2 array. The rockets can be fired all at once, but it takes about four minutes to reload the whole launcher, so the sustained rate of fire is not better than regular artillery. However, a rocket array is extremely light compared to a cannon, and can move very quickly, firing all at once and retreating before fire is returned from the enemy. Accuracy is poor compared to shells; to reliably hit a single target with a volley they should be used within 8km. Currently available as a truck trailer.
  [Cheap] 1 Ore, 3 Oil
  
  • ICE Rocket: A rocket for the Sarukh equipped with an ICE non-explosive warhead. Instant lethalities within 5m, very high fatalities within 10m, serious injuries (and occasional fatality) along with (usually temporary) vehicle non-operation to 50m. The cold dissipates quickly outdoors.
• ICE Thrower: A 20m-ranged pressurized ICE thrower that can rapidly cool an area in front of the operator to (eventually) lethal levels or outright kill/severely harm those directly hit by ICE. The ICE doesn't naturally react until roughly 10m out from the barrel, though it can hit other things in its way and react with whatever it hits. Prolonged use is discouraged, due to close proximity with ICE and ICE-affected areas being very dangerous even with the extensive insulation operators wear.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore, 3 Oil
• AS-RPG28 A: A rocket-propelled grenade, fired out of a launch tube. The grenade itself consists of a conical shape with a narrow tube of propellent out the back, and twisted fins in the middle of the tube. The launch tube is 3cm wide, a meter long and the rocket fits in up to the fins, and is just a metal tube with a handle. To ignite the propellant, soldiers remove a pin, on the rocket, which is first clipped by a short chain to a trigger on the handle. The tube itself and each grenade each weigh 3kg. It is accurate enough to hit a tank out to almost 100 meters, after which it drops quickly. Rockets are available with warheads based on each type of grenade, including a HEAT conical shaped charge.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore, 1 Oil
• ME-GVM-61 "Penguin": A 500 kg 33cm diameter 3.5m long black and white missile with long and stubby wings. Controlled remotely via an embedded television camera, and contains basic onboard transistor-based guidance allowing for a relatively straight course when jammed. Two missiles are carried in basic launcher trucks. Has a range of 50 km and a lethal radius of 50m; it can fit an ICE warhead or a HE warhead.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil
• M3 Sorraia GPMG: A 7.62mm machine gun fed from a belt. 50-round belts can be strung together for extended fire or stored in a belt box attached to the Sorraia, which for practical purposes is similar to a magazine. It uses a recoil action, and is configured to fire around 800 rounds per minute, achieved with the help of a muzzle booster (which looks like a flared end on the barrel). Weighs 22 pounds. Comes with a bipod, or tripod for emplacements. It uses copper heat sinks, which are now shrouded. It has a changeable barrel, which is necessary for emplacement use. It is effective to about 800 yards when mounted.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore
• ME-MO-62 "Nameless Death": A larger-than-normal mortar that uses rocket-propelled ammunition to give it a more than respectable range, with the ability for ICE or HE warheads. Its advantage lies in its versatility and ease-of-use: it can be mounted on Bear Armor's rear mount, deployed on the ground, and an automatic version exists for mounting on the Grizzly. Though the infantry version is somewhat hard to use without Bear Armor. Bear Troopers can fire their rear-mounted mortar at any time, without deployment, using a button on the suit's arm, though they have to aim through their posture, and the mortar has to be manually reloaded by another person. Grizzly mech versions are fired via the CAT interface, but are harder to aim and the CAT interface can't do anything other than "fire".
  [Cheap] 2 Ore
• ME-AEM-63 'Shrike': A 100kg missile with a 15kg ICE/HE warhead. Its associated "Birdbrain" computing pod allows for real-time target detection/analyzing, giving pilots a simple holographic reticule overlay in the cockpit and allowing effective tracking of any kind of target. Its warhead can be adjusted in real time by the computer for optimum damage against the selected target (air-bursting,  shaped charge, etc.) and it has high-res sensors with a relatively-thin viewing angle to find targets. On-board missile computer is simple and enacts out orders given by Birdbrain pre-launch, but can wirelessly receive new orders/communicate intel. Not specifically long-range.
  [Cheap] 2 Ore, 2 Oil

Armor

• Standard Uniform: A plain blue featureless uniform. The blue's mild enough that it doesn't really stick out.
• ME-PA-59 'Bear Armour': "Infantry" armor based off of the now-obsolete Tiger suit. Boasts full body coverage, albeit with fairly frequent gaps in the joints; the breastplate/taces can block rifle bullets at nearly all ranges and most of the armor can stop pistol bullets at point black. It has insulating fur inner lining. Armor plating is semi-manually removed from the outside through a series of switches to enter/exit/perform maintenance. Lasts 8 hours of consistent high-power use, and charge is monitored by a dial in the helmet. Embarking/disembarking from the outside takes about 30 seconds, and disembarking without assistance takes a few minutes. It stands at [~7 ft/~2m] tall, and uses a smallish bulletproof glass visor for limited visibility. Pilots boast slightly increased speed and slightly decreased agility (but same strength) over regular unarmored individuals while in the Armour, twice the strength of average soldiers, and have their skin dyed blue from the Electrogel. Has mounts for a WALK-TALK and larger ICE Thrower tank, and a velcro strip in the helmet for maximum pilot comfort. Contains advanced shock/recoil-dampening capabilities in gauntlets. Fit with Magmagel, and equipped with a charging port that can finish charging in one minute.
  [Cheap] 4 Ore, 2 Oil, 1 Magmatite
• Bear Armour Shield: A slab of metal shield roughly the size of a riot shield, made out of thick metal, for wielding in one hand. Limits visibility and two-hand operations' effectiveness (like reloading), but doesn't restrict mobility and can be used with one-hand weapons.
• "Drop Bear" Armor: A suit of Bear Armor with two relatively large fuel tanks attached to the back, with nozzles places around the suit. Can launch a Bear Trooper high into the air 50 meters forward, where they land with a noticeable (albeit minor) shockwave and no harm to themselves. Single-use, and prohibits use of heavy weaponry and especially the ICE Thrower. Equipped with COMBAT plating.
  Equipped with COMBAT Plating.
  [Expensive] 4+1 Ore, 3+1 Oil, 1 Magmatite
• COMBAT Plating Bear Armour: Bear Armour equipped with COMBAT Plating.
  [Expensive] 4+1 Ore, 2 Oil, 1 Magmatite
• ME-MAS-62 'Grizzly Armor' v2: A ~4m-tall mechanized combat suit, based vaguely on Bear Armor. Heavy COMBAT plating covering the chest - where the pilot resides nearly integrated in the armor connected via a Cerebral Action Translator looking at a fiberscope connected to the head - protects the pilot, and that COMBAT plating is covered by further Mangalloy plating to protect more effectively against small arms. Faster than most/all soldiers, but still relatively slow in vehicle standards. Pilot has basic sense of "touch" from the suit, allowing for a good degree of coordination. Can generally tank a single Hydra cannon shell with no internal damage -- just a moderately-sized patch of damaged COMBAT plating. A second shell in the same spot would pierce front armor and embed itself in the back, potentially causing internal damage (most notably severing of Electrogel conduits to some motors), and a third shell - also in the same spot - would destroy the suit. Has 8 hr of charge using Rechargeable Electrogel, and a backup battery providing another 8 hr of charge but that has to spend time charging the Electrogel while not moving. Can equip any vehicle-suited or heavy weapon held by Mereth, an upscaled Bear Shield, or a 6-rocket Sarukh pod in either(/both) of its two arm modules. Fit with Magmagel, and a charging port that allows charging in five minutes. Charge monitored by dials in the cockpit.
  Equipped with COMBAT Plating, adding a +1 Ore cost.
  [Very Expensive] 6+1 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Magmatite

Underground Vehicles

• UT-60 Excavator: A tracked medium-sized heavily-modified tunnel boring machine, most notably using GOFAST-fuel. Can go down to Moderate and Shallow depths, moves at Very Slow speeds while underground and at Moderate speeds aboveground. Possesses limited (but notable) agility underground. Contains space for 6 soldiers and small amounts of equipment of the equivalent amount of cargo in the back, in addition to the 2 crew in its cockpit. Light armor. Equipped with the ME-SM-57 'Earth Ear' for basic subterranean navigation.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil; Provides 1 Ore.
  
  • ME-CM-56 'Instant Roads': A very fast-acting sprayable concrete mixture very useful for reinforcing tunnels when sprayed by trailers hooked to a Burrower. Has to be re-applied occasionally to maintain integrity. Allows for use of Burrower tunnels for force movement and logistics.
    Provides 1 TC.

Air Vehicles

• ME-LRMA-60 "Blizzard": A two-engine jet "Long-Range Multi-Role-Aircraft" based off of the Lightning Streak that uses a 4 "X"-shaped wing configuration via the "Tereshkova Effect" for slightly increased aerodynamics, improved redundancy, and greatly improved coolness. Its two aT-J60gi ICE "freezing stovepipe" ramjet engines allows it to be a fair bit faster than the Lightning Streak. Has one large GOFAST tank and a small STABIL-ICE tank allowing for Long range. Equipped with a single 15° rudimentary CLAW turret integrated with Birdbrain (and a small amount of Magmagel "ammo"), and 8 Shrike missiles.
  [Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil, 1 Magmatite

Navy

• UFN-CA-41 Catraphract: The Cataphract is a cruiser built to rival Cannala's ships. It is armed with 3x3 150mm gun turrets, each using a fully electrified loading system. Each gun can fire 8 times a minute. It has an armored citadel with 300mm of nickel-steel armor (Heavy), and a torpedo belt. The deck is heavily armored, at 120mm (Light) to defend against plunging fire, plus an extra splinter deck. The turrets are similarly armored. Additionally there are three turrets with two bumblebees on each side of the ship, capable of firing on aircraft or ships. It is powered by oil-burning steam turbines yielding a moderate speed.
  [Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil
  
  • ME-MV-61 "Makeshift": A modification of the Cataphract with shooty-bits and unnecessary "crew livability" components removed.
    Provides 2 TC
• ME-DDG-61 "Chillwind": A Guided Missile Destroyer equipped with a 2x-Bumblebee turret, eight Velociraptors divided amongst both sides of the hulls, all slaved to a 150km aircraft/30km ships radar system. Uses a Mostly Vertical Launch system to house 40 Penguin missile launch tubes - 20 each side - angled 30 degrees down vertically. Crew and equipment requirements mean that only four missiles can be launched and guided at a time. Has a very thin metal hull covered by Pykrete and crisscrossing pipes of STABIL-ICE to keep the Pykrete layer cool and supposedly repair any damage, though it proves ineffective at damage repair and the STABIL-ICE often runs out quickly enough such that a Chillwind's first engagement is usually without any Pykrete armor still intact.
  [Cheap] 3 Ore, 3 Oil

Other

• GOFAST-Fuel: A special type of more energy-dense and stable fuel. Greatly increases fuel efficiency of anything it's in, doesn't require an oxidizer, and can rarely leak out of compromised containers.
  Adds 1 Oil to cost.
• WALK-TALK: The Wireless Audio Local Kommunicator-Transistor Assistance Lowers Kost Radio. A small hand-held two-way transistor radio. Production is hampered by the ever-persistant Union of Electronics Workers, making it Complex.
  [Expensive] 1 Ore, Complex
• Electrogel: A very thick blue gel that creates and transmits electrical current corresponding to the amount of pressure applied to it. Comes with the "Electrogel Motor" - a very small motor with embedded Electrogel that works with power corresponding to Electrogel pressure. A patch of Electrogel can last roughly 8 hours when powering its corresponding motor nonstop at max power.
  
  • Rechargeable Electrogel: A variant of Electrogel that can be charged with very precise pressure applied. As a general rule, the time needed to charge is 3x of how long it was used at max power usage.
  • Magmagel: Electrogel enhanced with specially-ground Magmatite that allows very-fast charging.
• UF-SM-57 'Earth Ear' Mk. IV: A set of small attachments to be put on all available sides of a subterranean vehicle. The use of precise vibrations sent through the earth and analyzed by an onboard computer allow for identifying of earth and entities in a 20km area. A basic Cube-contained 3D-projected interface in red and blue shows the layout of the land and distinguishes between earth, buildings, vehicles, and infantry (all allied and enemy). Magnetic disks store gathered data to also be fed back to the ORACLE.
  
  • GASOLINE: The Great Acoustic/Seismic Oil Location Initiative and Extraction device, which fits onto an Earth Ear systems allowing for relative easy surveying of underground oil deposits. Merethan regulation forbids surveying underneath Mereth for alleged safety reasons, meaning oil found as a result of GASOLINE has to be imported using our transport capacity.
    Provides 1 Oil (Import)
• ICE: A chemical that very quickly reacts with the air to massively reduce heat in the surrounding area, often to the point where nearby things are frozen (ones in the epicenter frozen brittle), vehicles disabled or destroyed, and people killed.
  
  • STABIL-ICE: A variant of ICE that relies on an added catalyst to only react when it's above a target temperature, specified during synthesization of the STABIL-ICE. Useful for ice cream and also maybe cooling of machinery and the like. Tends to slowly decay over time in storage, making it unsuitable for anything that can't expect routine maintenance.
• C.O.M.B.A.T. Plating: Composite armor plating using a thin manganese layer and a ceramic layer sandwiching a Tungsten-Bronze/Molybdenum-Bronze layer arranged to, in layman's terms, convert kinetic and electric energy into heat. The outer layers easily melt when tanking particularly impactful hits such as coilgun shots and Lvl3 Tesla blasts, but prevent death or (usually) injury in the process.
  Adds +1 Ore to cost.
• Cerebral Action Translator A system wherein a series of jacks are implanted into the upper spine and lower brain -- roughly the neck and lower half of the back head, from the outside -- to allow for communication between computers/machinery and the human brain. Use of Electrogel as very-primitive "neurons" allows a bridge between the Electrogel and actual neuron growths, providing a channel to receive input from the neural system and a channel to send information to the neural system. It has low bandwidth, meaning it can't do a  huge number of things at once, but what it does do, it does nearly seamlessly.

Infrastructure

• Division of Unusual Chemistry: A fully funded department & lab under the Design Division specializing in more unusual chemistry.
• M.A.G.M.A.: A giant borehole made and maintained using Excavators, Bear Armour, Earth Ears, and many more instances of our tech. Uses ad-hoc STABIL-ICE cooling systems fitted onto Bear Armour and excavators to maintain suitable temperatures. The deepest borehole in the world, and brings up notable amounts of ore from existing land.
  Provides +1 Ore
• ORACLE-A: A microprocessor-based STABIL-ICE-cooled supercomputer with >100 MB of RAM and >1,000 MB of storage space using magnetic disks, and relatively blazing fast speeds using a generally advanced CPU with other cores handling peripheral tasks. Input is primarily via keyboards, and output is via vector-drawn screen graphics. When given adequate intelligence regarding known enemy activity in an area, the ORACLE-A can compile a prediction of future enemy activity over a set time period up to a week. However, we must have really good intelligence in an area for the best predictions, and the ORACLE-A can only handle a relatively few areas at a time (that must be chosen in advance by humans) due to processing power limitations. Despite this, its predictions are (when given adequate intelligence) very effective.

• Embassy "Vast Underground Forenian Embassy": An extensive and mildly luxurious underground Forenian embassy dug underneath around the center of Mereth using improvements in excavation technology designed 100% solely for civilian use and definitely nothing else.

The Design Phase of Fall 1963 has begun.

[NUKE9.13]

Okay, so, 100% mono-focus on the mountains. No groundwork designs this turn- space will have to wait. We hold the mountains, and our fortunes will be reversed. The Plains will fall to increased Grizzly presence if we secure the Mountain ore.

[andrea]

ME-EAP-63 "Skyranger"
ORACLE can predict where to hit for maximum effect. However, sometimes our soldiers just can't get in place fast enough, or the predicted target is behind enemy lines where we can't safely reach. Excavators were supposed to be stealthy for behind enemy lines operations, but they have failed in the role; instead of stealth, therefore, we should use raw speed.

The Skyranger is a transport plane using our 4 wing design. It has enough capacity to transport a grizzly and some bear soldiers, or equivalent equipment. So far, so good: it is quite standard. The meat of the design is the propulsion. It has 2 pairs of engines of new design: they are multimodal propulsion units. AT low speed, an electric fan produces high thrust efficiently , avoiding the low performance of our current engines. As Speed increases, GOFAST injection begins, then switching to pure ramjet/rocket mode after breaking the sound barrier. The fuels are suitably improved for the performance required: electricity is provided by a magmagel reservoir, while GOFAST uses magmatite additives developed by DUC to increase its power density. The engines Can swivel allowing vertical take off and landing capabilities.

Taking hints from the chillwind design, it has ICE circulation just below its skin to protect from the heat of the flight regimes it is expected to face.

But which are those flight regimes? Here is a description of the expected capabilities. A loaded skyranger will take off from a friendly base deep in Merethian territory. Using its electric fans it will quickly get beyond sound barrier, then it will engage its ramjets/rockets to reach a suborbital trajectory with an apoapsis above atmosphere. Following the necessary corrections to bring the expected landing point where we want it, it will start falling down in the atmosphere again. ICE cooling ensures that the skin can sustain the heat without requiring special and heavy materials. The electric fans, also cooled, will be used to provide regenerative braking when the combination of speed and atmosphere allows them to be opened without risk. It will come down fast and hot, a meteor from the sky on a very vertical trajectory, then ideally it will slow down in roughly a minute using aerodynamics and engines (note: a minute is what you need to slow down from MACH 5 to standstill at 3g).
Mounted on the hulls are a couple of hardpoints to use to support the ground team with autocannons, ICE throwers or a CLAW. After the deed is done, soldiers board again and the skyranger returns, although leftover fuel may not allow a full suborbital hop.

With the ability to get anywhere on the island in under 30 minutes and drop far behind enemy lines too fast for enemies to redeploy their soldiers to react, combined with our ability to predict their movements, The skyranger will be the nightmare of their logistics and supply lines, leaving the front line soldiers badly supplied and equipped. Plus on a more tactical level it allows us to take hold of important positions that may otherwise be unreachable on foot, thanks to its VTOL capability. On a lighter load it should be able to reach orbit, which is not useful now (except as a staging point for a large attack) but has potentential for the future.

Oh, lets also not forget the possibility of just loading a big shell of metal and ICE in the hold and releasing it at the apex of the suborbital trajectory, bombarding the enemy while the skyranger comes down safely.

[Maximum Spin]

ME-APR-63 "Agatha" Plasma Penetrator
Ongoing study of MAGMAtic ores by the DUC has revealed the presence of a perovskite mineral, which we've been calling Agatite, with interesting properties relating to energy conduction. We have determined that these properties are ultimately the result of a hitherto undiscovered metallic element in the crystal structure, which we named Proagatium to keep the theme going. We don't fully understand the nature of Proagatium or Agatite yet, but one of the first results of our experimentation has been, we hope, a useful one: Refinement of proagatium under certain atmospheres yields a fascinating helical crystal with what appears to be self-similarity at the nanometre scale — we named this concept too, it's a "nanogressive structure" — the 'edge' of which continuously self-ionises in air; the crystal therefore becomes a sort of plasma knife, both extremely sharp and extremely hot, and makes a phenomenal cutting edge suitable for drilling. Although we haven't yet produced single crystals large enough to use in our excavators, we have successfully fused crystals onto projectiles of various calibres, producing the "Agatha" line of armour-piercing rounds which easily bore through inches of solid metal or ceramic, and can even cut the strong polyamide fibres now being developed by our international partners. Because of science. Obviously, we predict this will be very useful in overcoming Aratam's superior armour technology.

[Madman198237]

ME-DNI-63 'Brainwave'
There is a simple truth, one that has been passed down through all of warfare: Individuals do not win wars. No matter how exceptional, no matter how powerful. The greatest individual warriors of entire peoples and nations lost, time and again, to the Greek hoplites, the Macedonian Phalangites, the Roman Legionnaires, the Swiss pikemen, the armored divisions. They worked as units, each individual not being a great warrior or even a mediocre one. But with coordination, you can win.

The Brainwave is a CAT-based project that aims to improve the combat capabilities of every soldier in the Merethan military. It makes use of Neurogel, the most recent brainchild (heeheehee) of the DUC. It is based off of the primitive Electrogel "neurons", but the DUC has condensed them into a far more efficient volume by improving the structure of the chemical. It's useless for providing power, now, but retains just enough electric potential to act like a neuron when provided with an external power source. Because of Neurogel's advanced capabilities, a segment of it can be "plugged" into a soldier's occipital lobe and translate the picture into extremely low-quality video with lots of static and meaningless flashes. This is...less than useful. However, if you instead encode the signal from the Neurogel directly into a radio, and then reverse the encoding process and feed the raw data into another soldier's brain, it can produce a very good-quality image in somebody else's brain. Brains are better than computers at processing visual information, who knew. Neurogel's advanced capabilities make the expanded area of coverage necessary to get motor and visual control only slightly more invasive (surgery-wise) than the basic CAT procedure. And it itches less.

We didn't stop there, though. A small and simple additional connection to a section of the occipital lobes allows the transmission of speech without needing the person to actually speak the words. Cutting out the muscle middleman in communication is both simple and improves squad-level reaction times beyond even the best-trained militaries'.

Oh, and in order to facilitate this we attached a radio system (carefully going around the silly electronics union) to the Bear Armor and modified it slightly so it operates in very-high frequency ranges over short distances only. VHF allows for faster data transmission, short-range is not a problem because the data is all from your own squad only. Grizzlies get the same system but a better radio capable of talking to other Grizzlies, ideally allowing for inter-unit communications. Finally, Blizzard units get the same (Grizzly) system, allowing wingmen unprecedented coordination and visibility.

Helps advance pretty much everywhere, helps us outdo SEEMs and company (can't do much about getting shot if you're getting shot from every direction, after all).

ME-GWM-63 'Firedrake'
Since the invention of the Gatling gun, people everywhere have wondered: "What would happen if you rechambered this for a long 20mm cartridge, motorized the turning system, and added a hideously powerful incendiary and a chemical capable of freezing things? AND THEN, what if you stuck it onto a 3-meter-plus tall metal monstrosity and told it to go kill things?" OK, maybe they haven't actually wondered EXACTLY that, but still. The Firedrake is a Grizzly arm attachment. Specifically, it is a 20mm 12-barrelled rotary autocannon, capable of firing obscene numbers of bullets from an obscenely large magazine at pretty much anything you want to cease existing. The firerate alone is enough to chew through tank armor given enough time, but the largest innovation is in the projectiles. In them is what the DUC described as "a sufficient amount" of an incredibly volatile mixture of the nastiest chemicals the DUCs have ever gotten their hands on, a few ounces of which can burn through a tank and the concrete floor beneath it. We're not actually sure what's in there because the DUC-to-Sane People Liason had a fatal heart attack in the middle of the list. We think it included "chlorine trifluoride" a. And frankly, we don't want to know. We've decided to call this new horror FIRE: Fluoride Incredibly Reactive Exothermic, in honor of the way it reacts with everything to create quite the exothermic result.

As an added bonus, FIRE can be used in any weapons that use warheads (Sarukh, autocannon, Grizzly cannon, naval guns, bombs and Shrikes), because it's just another type of warhead. But more deadly, because DUC was bored since we've given them so little to do. Or so they said...

Grizzlies equipped with Firedrakes also have a Birdbrain computing pod added to the suit, based on the CLAW system on the Blizzard and adapted to aid the shoot in firing on long-range targets.

If tanks and precognitive infantry are a problem, just set them all on fire.

[FallacyofUrist]

(1) ME-EAP-63 "Skyranger": FallacyofUrist

We're taking the mountains. Meaning expensive Grizzlies. Meaning that the ability to just suddenly drop a Grizzly in the middle of the enemy trenches could push the Plains forwards. And it makes good progress towards SPACE. And it can actually bomb people.

So I'm voting the Skyranger for now unless something better comes up.

[piratejoe]

You know, I had a thought. They can know that we have particular soldiers nearby all the time but they can't tell where exactly they are from what I gather. Might make a 'wolf armour' for stealth that makes the one wearing it invisible tomorrow if anyone is interested in that. Alternatively we could upgrade Bear armour, or we can go full space marines and vote for the sky ranger which I hereby decree should have been named steel rain. I kinda want space marines so, may as well make the space part accurate.

(1) ME-EAP-63 "Skyranger": FallacyofUrist, Piratejoe
- (1) but rename it ME-EAP-63 "Steel Rain": Piratejoe

[andrea]

I am posting an updated firetsorm, since when describing the skyranger I thought of a better way to drop bombs.


ME-EAP-62 "Firestorm"

ORACLE can tell us where to hit for best effect. Troop positions, tactics used. But sometimes, the targets it proposes combined with the experience of our generals reveal crucial targets behind enemy lines that we can't reach, such as major supply routes. The ground way is barred by the front lines. Our excavators are too slow and easily revealed. Going by plane is impossible so deep in enemy airspace. The logical solution, therefore, is to travel above the enemy airspace.

The firestorm is an extra atmospheric plane combining our experience in rocket fuels, engines and the newly discovered magmatite, which will allow us to finally breach the endless void that Gagarin first opened for us a mere couple of years ago.

It is a quite peculiar craft, unique, for it is meant to travel where no plane has ever been before. Its body is long and sleek, with a bulge in the middle and tapering flattened sides. It has 4 delta wings on its back arranged in a blizzard configuration providing great lift and between the wings are the 2 engines of this craft which are the real wonder.

This new kind of engine is a bimodal electric/GOFAST design. At low altitudes and speeds, it works as an electric fan engine, in which a ducted fan is powered by an internal reservoid of high capacity magmagel (if we can't still figure out how to extract electricity from it without pushing, add a piston in the reservoir). WIth the high efficiency of electric engines and the high power density of magmagel, at low altitudes when the air is thick and the plane is slow it generates a truly staggering amount of thrust. Then, after the sound barrier is broken, the traditional ramjet activates with a special mixture of GOFAST burns to augment the exhaust. This GOFAST mixture has magmagel dispersed in it to increase the stored energy, with the proper chemicals to allow magmatite energy to be released by the combustion. Finally at high enough altitude it switches to full rocket mode, turning off the fan, closing the intakes, making al the changes required for full bypass of the fan blades.
This combination of actions allows it to have the most suitable configuration for all flight regimes up to (we hope) hypersonic.

Now, all this raw power would be worth little on a conventional plane: it would most simply melt. However Mereth is master of cold and we learned how to cool the skin of a vehicle while working on our missile destroyers (I bet everyone forgot about them). The plane uses a STABIL-ICE cooling system to avoid overheating during cruise and re-entry. The cabin, sized for 2, is also, obviously, environmentally sealed and with an oxygen reservoir.

It has a significant cargo bay capable of carrying many tons of payload. To assist in targeting it uses a birdbrain computer.

In a typical mission, it would receive a target by ORACLE or conventional intelligence. Then, the Birdbrain calculates the trajectory and the plane lifts off, reaching a suborbital path peaking outside the atmosphere.  While out of the atmosphere the pilot does final adjustments to match the trajectory with the desired target area, then opens the cargo bay and expels the payload. FInally, the engines are lit again to return home safely, while bombs travel on their merry ballistic way toward the enemy convoy/stronghold/command post.
All this should only take half an hour or so between lift off and impact, giving the enemy very little time to react.

As for the kind of payload, ICE bombs of any size are a mainstay, since they inherently have the cooling required to survive re-entry. Other possibilities are mentioned such as thermal shock pellets in which a solid metal ball with just enough stabil ice to barely avoid melting contains an internal reservoid of ICE which shatters on impact, causing thermal shock large enough to make the projectile explode. They are, however, not essential.

The idea behind the concept is dropping a large payload on a significant area behind enemy lines on the shortest notice, to disrupt enemy operations and make the most of any target of opportunity. Plus, it opens the doors of space.