ME-LRMRA-60 "Blizzard": The Blizzard is a Long-Range Multi-Role-Aircraft, designed with Forenian assistance to be the last word in aerial superiority.
Striking about the Blizzard is the unusual X-shaped wing profile. Conventional wisdom suggests that X-shaped wings don't work (well). Conventional wisdom is wrong; correctly designed, they provide increased lift and manoeuvrability due to some weird, recently discovered aerodynamic effects. Combined with two aT-J60g engines (the al-Tawrbinat company's latest creation, specifically designed to utilise GOFAST fuel to the fullest), the Blizzard is slightly faster than the Lightning Streak, more manoeuvrable, and- thanks to Forenian doctrines of double-redundancy (the plane can fly with two wings missing, and there are backups for every critical system)- sturdier.
Less immediately obvious, but no less important, are the large GOFAST fuel tanks, which give the Blizzard incredible flight times, letting them patrol far away from base for hours on end.
The Blizzard is armed with four Velociraptor autocannons (one on each wing). It has bomb mounts capable of holding one tonne of bombs (the Forenians seemed incredibly divided over the decision to add this feature). It also mounts 8 ICE rockets (modified Sarukh ones).
To preserve pilot sanity, a very rudimentary autopilot has been installed, capable of flying in a straight line and nothing more. Computer systems also provide aiming assistance. We shall endeavour to include rudimentary radar as well.
Not described: all the other basic aeroplane stuff. We're MAD engineers here, we can leave the boring details to subordinates.
The Blizzard will tear through Aratam's outdated Cannalan planes like paper, then continue to devastate targets both on land and at sea with barrages of bombs and rockets.
Despite its superiority to the Lightning Streak, the advances in technology since '42 mean that the Blizzard is not expected to cost any more than its predecessor; more efficient engines and better metallurgy reduce the cost even as superior range and construction increase it.
Design: ME-LRMA-60 "Blizzard"Hard: (2+2)-1 = 3: Buggy Mess
The ME-LRMA-60 Blizzard was certainly a laundry list of new features and improvements. While it seemed simple at first, the difficulty of implementing the various features (and the fact that it takes a bit of extra effort to fully understand imported designs enough to work off of the first time) quickly added up.
Any casual observer can find that the Blizzard was based off of the Forenian
Lightning Streak, but with some chief differences. Like the four wings arranged in an "X" pattern.
So we actually did manage to use four wings. Yes, this does perplex literally everyone who's seen it. They use what we, at heavy pushing from Forenia, deem the
Tereshkova Effect. With some special modifications to the exact structure of the wings and aerodynamics that the engineers manage to make sound extremely complicated, we can squeeze some extra aerodynamic efficiency out of our wings compared to the conventional two used in most planes. Nothing particularly groundbreaking, but it does look cool and the Blizzard can fly as long as it has at least one wing on each side.
While we haven't released anything other than the name of the Tereshkova Effect and the gist of what we use it for, we have received several
very angry calls from Cannala about our "magic effect."
Now onto the bulk of what we
did do: Two aT-J60g GOFAST jet engines, four Velociraptors, and 4 (not 8) unguided ICE rockets best used on ground targets. It holds 1 ton of bombs, though we just
barely managed to get that past Forenian resistance.
However, weight and expense are both severe issues - namely (but not entirely) in the new aT-J60g engines. GOFAST isn't immediately usable in jet engines; we have to make some modifications and tweaks to the formula so it, say, doesn't blow up whatever it's put into. This is expected and normally wouldn't be an issue. But combined with the aging and pioneering nature of the Forenian aT-J20 engines, we had some difficulties.
The two aT-J60g engines
work, but at severe cost. They're practically aT-J20s jury-rigged to work with the rest of the design as well as GOFAST. The extra components make them significantly heavier and counteract any bonuses in expense we may have gained from general technological advancements since the Forenian-Cannalan war. Their consumption of GOFAST fuel is higher than expected, requiring even larger fuel tanks. Yet despite their, well, crappy nature, they're required for function; the Tereshkova effect requires some minor yet
very fundamental changes in the engines in order to be properly exploited.
The Blizzard is surprisingly sluggish for a jet, and is significantly slower than the Lightning Streak. This can be attributed to the two heavier aT-J60g engines, the larger fuel tanks, and more. But
mostly the new engines. Its fuel tanks allow for a
very respectable range predicted to be useful in the fighting, though the range isn't quite as great as we hoped. In dogfighting, it's expected to perform simply worse than the Lightning Streak, though it does have some predicted use in light bombing and close air support roles.
On the bright side, the loaning of one of our two prototype Blizzards to certain civilians for propaganda purposes has produced a burgeoning science fiction film industry in Mereth thanks to their very unique appearance.
It is expected to cost
6 Ore and
5 Oil due to the two more complicated jet engines and to the use of GOFAST, making it a
National Effort for us to construct at the moment. We will only be able to field a grand total of one Blizzard in each theatre.
Based on our experience with the design, we know we can lower the Ore cost effectively by working on a less "put together in 2 days" version of the new engines, and decrease the oil cost by opting for notably smaller fuel tanks. Any other improvements to cost, if possible, are significantly less obvious.
Vast Underground Forenian Embassy: Tastefully decorated with marble statues, rich wooden panelling, and thick carpets, the Forenian Embassy is a luxurious home for our ally's ambassadors. It is also located 200ft below the surface, for security purposes. In order to quickly excavate the vast underground facility, we have upgraded the Burrower into the ME-UT-60 "Excavator", a larger vehicle capable of digging substantially deeper, equipped with an upgraded Earth-Ear system with increased range and accuracy- to facilitate more precise digging, because we wouldn't want our esteemed friends to reside in a wonky embassy.
Someone suggested installing a Velociraptor on the Excavator, in case Aratam insurgents attack the building site... but that would be a silly waste of our ally's money.
Once the project is completed, we will try to find some use for the remaining construction equipment- to show our allies that we are conscientious with our resources, and don't just throw things away once we're done with them. Perhaps the mining industry would appreciate the ability to dig deeper and faster as well? And, I mean, I suppose we could deploy Excavators in combat, now that you mention it.
Embassy Design: Vast Underground Forenian EmbassyNormal: (5) = 5: Average
The arriving diplomatic staff from Forenia aren't extremely happy with their embassy. Sure, it's nice and all, but where's the
pizazz? They heard that Aratam build a
brewery for Cannala!
They're not mad. Just a bit disappointed. This mood seems like it may last a while.
But the
completely coincidental ME-UT-60 "Excavator" is a nice consolation prize for us. We spent quite a bit of time working on the Earth-Ear system in order to ensure the best possible embassy for the ingrate diplomats. It
just so happens that Earth-Ear may now be able to warn of Aratamiam presence.
Through just general precision improvements and more individual sensors, we can get a better resolution, though still not enough to be able to tell the difference between "fairly large boulder" and "group of Aratamiam APCs". By having it also be able to detect subtle movements between scans (for cave-ins and no military purpose naturally of course how dare you accuse us of using it for another purpose) and tweaking the display cube, we can have sectors where movement's detected flash red. So if a reasonably large group of vehicles or people are moving across the surface, the Earth Ear will indicate it. It can't detect smaller groups, it can't differentiate between friendly/hostile/neutral forces, and it can't give any more information other than "there's some troop movement here", but it's great for
increasing the awareness of military Excavators preventing cave-ins and faulty burrowing for the embassy.
The Excavator is also now given some reinforcement for pressure and a
slightly more powerful drill, allowing it to reach
Moderate depths, though we predict going further down would require some significant investment. The Earth Ear is somewhat less effective detecting far-away surface movement when deeper underground, not that we would care about that for the perfectly civilian embassy.
Aid and funding from Forenia ensured that the embassy project went smoothly and left no chance for failure.
Transport Capacity: 1
Resources: 3 Ore,
1 OilWeapons- "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.
[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.
[Expensive] 1 Ore, 3 Oil
- ICE (Intense Chemical Endotherm) Rocket: A rocket for the Sarukh equipped with an ICE non-explosive warhead that induces extreme cold. 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.
[Expensive] 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
Armor- Standard Uniform: A plain blue featureless uniform. The blue's mild enough that it doesn't really stick out.
- Tiger Infantry Armor: Infantry armor made of a forged manganese steel alloy. All of the armor plates are relatively thick for infantry, and the full suit weighs in at 36 pounds. The helmet is particularly thick, and fits round and close around the head, low over the eyes and down to the neck. It can be attached with a face mask, which allows a wide but very narrow viewing slit, while covering the neck. The breastplate is curved outwards for optimal armor angle. The backplate is thick, but flat. At the waist these plates end and there are flat curved single-piece taces to protect upper legs, below the knee the armor has no coverage. Pauldrons allow comfortable shoulder motion, and upper arms are covered by round fitted plates to the outside of the arm. While lower arms and legs, and sometimes gaps around the shoulders are exposed, most parts of the armor will stop a pistol bullet at point blank. The breastplate and taces will stop rifle bullets at all but very close range. The armor is tiring and cumbersome, troops cannot effectively crawl and kneeling is difficult, as is aiming down rifle sights while using the mask.
[Cheap] 3 Ore - ME-PA-59 'Bear Armour: "Infantry" armor based off of the Tiger suit. Boasts full (barring hands) body coverage, albeit with fairly frequent gaps in the joints; armor toughness is identical to Tiger Armor, with insulating fur inner lining. Armor plating is semi-manually removed from the outside through a series of switches to enter/exit/perform maintenance, and the suit must have its Electrogel very routinely replaced to maintain full charge. Lasts 16 hours of consistent high-power use, but use is carefully rationed due to no tracking of the charge. 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 for maximum pilot comfort.
[Expensive] 4 Ore, 2 Oil
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.
[Expensive] 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- UFAF-F-41 Lightning Streak: A single-engine jet fighter, with a large aT-J20 jet taking up most of the fuselage. The aT-J20 is a low-bypass turbofan; some of the air taken in by the compressor blades passes around the engine core and is not combusted; the bypass system provides useful cooling. The Lightning Streak has a relatively fat fuselage, which widens out in the middle after the intake and narrows again at the exhaust, there there is a rudder and two tail wings directly on the fuselage. With the round glass canopy (using 15mm of heavy laminated glass) the aircraft has sort of an egg shape, with thin swept wings. The wings have no bomb mounts and are as light as possible for speed and maneuverability, it is armed solely with three AC41 Velociraptor cannons in the nose above the intake, with somewhat limited ammo. It also includes airbrakes on the body near the tail, and hydraulic controls. Since it was designed as an absolutely dedicated fighter the speed and maneuverability are remarkable.
[Very Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil - 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. Is significantly slower than the Lightning Streak due to its two bulkier aT-J60g engines, which are practically aT-J20 engines from the Lightning Streak clumsily jury-fitted to work with the Tereshkova Effect, new technology, and GO-FAST fuel. Has two large GOFAST tanks allowing for great range. Equipped with 4x Velociraptor autocannons, 4 ICE missiles, and 1 ton of bombs.
[National Effort] 6 Ore, 5 Oil
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 based on the moderately-performing Overcompensator, except that the 60kg shells are moved in one piece. Each gun can fire 8 times a minute. It has an armored citadel with 300mm of nickel-steel armor (Heavy), and a torpedo belt as well. The deck is also heavily armored, at 120mm (Light) to defend against plunging fire, plus an extra splinter deck. The turrets are similarly armored. There is a central director in the con tower which controls all the electrically-driven turrets, though there is no advanced firing calculator. Additionally there are three turrets with two bumblebees on each side of the ship, capable of firing on aircraft or ships, and miscellaneous autocannons wherever there is room. It is powered by oil-burning steam turbines, and there are a lot of them though with its considerable armor it only musters moderate speed.
[Very Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 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. - MXETE: Discrete transistor digital mainframe computer - 2 MHz CPU, 4 Mb of magnetic drum long-term memory, and an operating memory of 1200*32 bits. Takes up an entire (very big) floor on the Design Division and creating another one is immensely impractical. Punch card input, with a tightly-packed light matrix called a "screen" for output.
- 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.
- UF-SM-57 'Earth Ear': A set of small attachments to be put on all available sides of a subterranean vehicle. Vibration pings allow it to present a map of "where stuff is" and "where stuff isn't" via a very basic 3D projection in a small gas-filled glass cube. Only useful at recognizing the terrain and notable landmarks, and has a range of 10km in every direction from the device. An increased resolution and the ability to detect movement between scans allows it to detect the movement of reasonably large forces (allied or hostile) and flash relevant sectors red in the display.
Infrastructure- Division of Unusual Chemistry: A fully funded department & lab under the Design Division specializing in more unusual chemistry.
- 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.
Author
Topic: Mad Arms Race - Mereth Design Division (Fall 1965 - Final Design Phase) (Read 83387 times)