by Derek Ralph
I. Dimensions:
| Hovercraft | Gladiator | Battloid |
Total Length: | 6.0m |
7.5m | - |
Total Depth: | - | - |
2.0m |
Total Height: | 2.25m | 4.5m |
6.2m |
Total Breadth: | - | - |
7.40m |
Total Width: | 14.30m |
14.30m | - |
Dry Weight | 26,400 kg |
II. Type:
- VHT-2: One person, three form Veritech combat mecha.
III. Service History
IV. Propulsion:
- 4 x P&W HJ-800 hover jets, max. output 71 kN of ground-effect thrust
each.
Peak hovering performance at 1 meter altitude.
- Multiple gyroscopes for stability and attitude adjustment in zero
gees.
- Powerplant: 2 x RRL-2 Miniaturized Protoculture-cell energizer
- Fuel Capacity:
- 8 Standard Canisters of Protoculture.
(In spaceborne operations)
- 2 x TurboUnion RP-2S rocket pods, attached to the leg-mounted hover
jets. Max. thrust, 103 kN ea, for up to 70 seconds.
V. Performance:
A. Hovercraft Mode:
- Max speed: 161 kph
- Max sustained hover altitude: 2.3 m
B. Guardian Mode:
- Max running speed: 13 kph
C. Battloid Mode:
- Max running speed : 56 kph.
D. General:
- Protoculture supply: 200 hours operational use.
- Delta-v (spaceborne operations): 0.55 kps
VI. Electronics:
Radar tracking:
- Westinghouse TPG-144 X-band pulse-doppler phased array medium-range
radar with battlefield surveillance mode
Optical tracking:
- Phillips AllView II multi-band digital spherical camera system, for
medium range all attitude infra-red imaging, optical and ultra-violet band
detection and tracking in Battloid mode.
- Thomson LT-9 multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.
Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS):
- Selenia GroundWarrior Mk. 9 active/passive sensor jammer.
VII. Armament:
Cannons:
- 1 x RRG mk13 220mm ion cannon, extending
from the arm-shield in Tank mode. It may be used in Battloid mode, though it is
unwieldy in the extreme. The weapon is capable of firing salvos of 22MJ maximum
yield at a rate of 30 shots/minute at this maximum yield. The typical maximum
range is 4.2 km, and indirect fire is not possible. The weapon uses 8 dedicated
protoculture cells to generate the power required to charge the capacitors.
- 1 x Oerlikon PP36 triple-barrel 36mm plasma
pulse cannon (arm mounted, used mainly in Tank mode, though
available in Battloid as well). The weapon fires bursts of plasma
annihilation discs, the typical energy expended in a burst is 5 MJ.
Enough plasma for ten bursts is stored in a plasma bottle, and the mecha can
generate 20 seconds worth of plasma per minute. The cannon is powered
directly from the protoculture cells of the vehicle.
Gun pods:
- 1 x Mauser EU-11 28mm laser gun pod; firing 110 rounds per
minute in full automatic mode, or once per trigger activation in semiautomatic
mode. Cannon fires 12.5 MJ pulses in each mode.
Miscellaneous:
- 1 x CVR-3M/F personal armor worn by the pilot.
- 1 x pilots' personal sidearm. Typical issue for Navy pilots is the M29
revolver or M39 Mesa Eagle automatic, both chambered in .44 Magnum; however,
junior and senior officers have their choice of sidearm which can include a
number of civilian firearms.
- 1 x ASK-09 aviator survival kit carried in the compartment under the
seat. This kit contains a twenty-day supply of emergency field rations,
water purification tablets, and sidearm ammunition.
VIII. Armor:
The armor on the Spartas is the current state-of-the-art development in
low-mass composite-materials Chobham plating that became the standard for all
Terran mecha after its application to the VQ-6A Vandal. Aside from the
respectable protection provided against projectiles, missiles, and other kinetic
weapons, this armor is also resistant to plasma globes (annihilation discs),
lasers, and to a lesser extent, particle guns. This is owing to the fact that
the armor can flake off and evaporate in layers under fire from such high-energy
weapons, taking much of the weapon's energy and converting it into the latent
heat of sublimation in the armor.
The armor stops all small arms, heavy infantry weapons fire, and light mecha-mounted
weaponry, and provides good resistance to medium mecha-mounted weaponry, such as
the Valkyrie's 55mm APFSDS round, and poor resistance to heavy mecha-mounted
weaponry, such as the VHT's 105mm smoothbore shells.
The main cannon and tri-cannon are mounted in armored housings on arms that
have a thicker armor, and are often used to parry incoming fire. Here the armor
resistance is better than that of almost any other mecha, except the HWR series
Destroid.
The armored pilot compartment is proof against all shrapnel and environmental
hazards, but can not withstand any strikes by shells (at non-perpendicular
angles) larger than 30mm. Unfortunately, severe performance and reliability
problems with the VR systems caused the pilot compartment to be removed from the
tanks, even in combat.
When equipped with the armored pilot compartment, the Spartas provides full
protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards, using an overpressure
cockpit environment activated by radiation and hazardous chemical sensors, or
manually when biological warfare conditions are anticipated. The internal
consumables supplies can provide atmosphere for eight hours maximum.
IX. Development:
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Content by Derek Ralph
HTML stolen from Robert Morgenstern ([email protected])
Updated Friday, September 4, 2009 (1.1)