ME-PA-62 'Bear Armor "Drop Bear" Modification'
Bear Armor is a wonderful thing. GOFAST is also a wonderful thing. Rockets are incredibly wonderful things. If you combine them all together, you get Bear Armor capable of jumping medium distances, and landing on things like infantrymen, tanks, and the ground. Not that anyone should ever be aiming for the ground while jumping near Aratamite positions. This modification to Bear Armor is a simple tank of GOFAST mounted to the back of the armor (with a lovely asbestos sheet between it and the Bear Armor itself), connected to four rocket nozzles spaced around the armor itself. Since the difference in masses between pilots is negligible compared to the mass of the entire suit, the nozzles do not need to be rebalanced based on the pilot's size. If it does become a problem, just make the rockets more powerful, and make the mass differences even less meaningful. The rockets are triggered via two buttons mounted on one of the arms of the Bear Armor (Whichever one is holding the gun). Two buttons so it cannot be accidentally triggered, and on the arm so that the arms are always in the same position when flying (which means the center of mass is ALWAYS where we expect it to be). This system might also, depending on how powerful it is, allow for Bear Armor to be dropped (with a parachute to reduce velocity from "terminal and spinning" to "mostly terminal and upright", of course) from a hypothetical future plane capable of carrying things like paratroopers.
Revision: ME-PA-62 'Bear Armor' "Drop Bear" Modification'(Normal) (3+2) = 5: Average
Before we discuss the
incident in MAGMA, we'd like to go over the Drop Bear project.
In summary, it's largely a success. Through past innovations, Bear Armor already employs advanced shock-absorbing technology in order to allow recoil management of heavy weaponry. We can just bring this tech over to the legs to allow for a notably greater drop radius before injuries start occurring.
Normally, the amount of fuel to lift something as heavy as Bear Armor would be considered insane and impractical. With GOFAST, this no longer applies! Well, some people still call it that, but those people are now the minority so we can continue working on our flying power armor project despite their continuing disapproval. Admittedly, while GOFAST is great, it isn't
that much of a miracle fuel and we can only include so much before the cost (or weight) per single bear suit becomes impractical. But it's enough to allow some definition of flight to occur.
The first tests didn't go great, to say the least. In hindsight, we should have done more calculations and calibrations of the Drop Bear pods before starting testing with live testers. We've already sent the letters informing the families.
The subsequent tests, however, gradually got better as we calibrated the pods. Eventually, casualty rates even approached acceptable numbers!
Drop Bear involves relatively large fuel tanks being fitted to the backside of a suit of Bear Armor and nozzles strategically situated around the rest of the suit. "Pilots" are instructed to move the suit to a set arrangement before hitting the buttons that activate Drop Bear. Once this happens, the majority of the fuel will be burned to launch the Bear Trooper forward into the sky. As we can't expect our shock absorbers to do
all the work, a bit of remaining fuel is expended as the user falls in order to slow the descent. It's still a
really fast descent, but just slow enough that the shock absorbers can handle the rest. The user will land on the ground with a hearty boom and mild shockwave.
Overall, the "pilot" is launched 50 meters forward at a very fast speed, and in such a trajectory (i.e. through the sky, not on the ground) that interception is difficult. Their direction is based entirely on the facing of the pilot on launch, and the fuel tanks are entirely used up during the flight and are discarded upon touchdown.
The general fuel cost (in addition to using GOFAST) is pretty expensive on a per-person basis, adding
+2 Oil to any suit equipped with it, making it
Expensive. Drop Bear pilots can't equip ICE Throwers due to the fuel tanks, and the use of heavy weaponry is unadvised due to potentially throwing off the calibrated launch/mass. But we expect this to certainly come in handy in the field.
And as for the incident;
Yes, there was a cave-in in one of MAGMA's upper residential complexes.
Yes, routine inventory reported a missing Drop Bear set soon after the cave-in.
Yes, there were traces of GOFAST in the wreckage.
Yes, there were reports from residents of someone in "strange" Bear Armor calling themselves "Flightman" and claiming that they could do "impossible feats" like "crossing all of MAGMA in an instant!"
We deny all responsibility in the incident.
Please don't lower our funding.
Transport Capacity: 3/3 (2/2 Oil, 1/1 Ore Imported)
Resources: 5 Ore,
3 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. 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
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, and the suit must have its Electrogel very routinely replaced to maintain full charge. Lasts 8 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 in the helmet for maximum pilot comfort. Contains advanced shock/recoil-dampening capabilities in gauntlets.
Equipped with COMBAT Plating, adding a +1 Ore cost.
[Cheap] 4+1 Ore, 2 Oil - Bear Armour Shield: A
slab of metal shield roughly the size of a riot shield, made completely out of fairly thick metal, for wielding in one hand of a Bear trooper. Limits visibility and two-hand operations' effectiveness (such as reloading), but doesn't significantly restrict mobility and can be used with weapons such as the Stalwart easily. - "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.
[Expensive] 4+1 Ore, 3+1 Oil
- ME-MAS-62 'Grizzly Armor': A ~4m-tall mechanized combat suit, based vaguely on Bear Armor. Heavy COMBAT plating covering the chest - where the pilot resides in a suspended Electrogel motion suit 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. The lack of input to pilot besides (non-rotating) front-only visuals makes it easy to stumble/fall, as well. 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.
Equipped with COMBAT Plating, adding a +1 Ore cost.
[Expensive] 6+1 Ore, 3 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.
[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 4x Velociraptor autocannons, 4 ICE missiles, and 1 tonne of bombs.
[Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 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.
[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. - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 (Intense Chemical Endotherm): 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.
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
- 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.
Post your propaganda entries in the Core thread before the Combat Report arrives for consideration. One entry per person.
Author
Topic: Mad Arms Race - Mereth Design Division (Fall 1965 - Final Design Phase) (Read 83550 times)