DataPacRat replied to me:
> Note to self, to add to description: When possible, before deploying
> Pigeons, use artillery to clear the area of opposing artillery.
> Note to self: When possible, before deploying pigeons, use artillery
> to clear the area of opposing MBTs. Pigeons are not designed to be
> used against them, especially unsupported, any more than unsupported
> infantry are.
So you are developing a system which works best against poorly
armed guerillas, not against mechanized infantry. In guerilla
wars, just shooting everybody is rarely an option, because the
enemy will try to blend into the civilian population.
A flock could be used to patrol a cleared strip on the border,
or around a base. "Warning: automated lethal force!"
Or the users of this fiendish weapon are really trying to
exterminate the entire enemy population, and Our Steel-Jawed
Heroes are the ones fighting against the Terrible Menace.
> How expensive is such a point defense system to build? Is there a
> sample of one somewhere in the archives?
Dragon Republic Type 08 Main Battle Unit v1.1 (TL9)
Copyright 2006 by Onno Meyer
The Type 08 is the standard MBU of the Dragon Republic. On Earth and
the most important colony worlds, many have been upgraded to the 08/12
configuration with improved EW and commo gear. The earlier 08/10 and
08/11 variants can still be found on backwater planets.
The Type 08 is small for a first-line MBU, almost 20 percent lighter
than a Terran Union CV10 Warrior, but the Dragon Republic concentrates
on strategic mobility. The 31-tank Independent Armor Battalion has 150
soldiers and some 2,000 tons of vehicles, with a logistical footprint
comparable to some reinforced TU companies, and an Armored Corps has
enough Heavy Lift Helicopters to transport the standard 44-tank Armor
Battalion in one wave.
The main weapon of the MBU is a 60mm railgun. In the default setting
of the fire control system, it fires bursts of four APFSDSDU rounds to
chew through the ablative armor of TU CV10s. The barrel of the railgun
is more than twice as long as the hull, so the turret is placed in the
rear of the hull to keep the total length of the MBU manageable. The
secondary weapons are five 400-kJ lasers for missile defense and soft
ground targets.
The crew compartment is in the rear of the hull, below the unmanned
turret. It has seats for a commander, a gunner and a driver. Vision is
provided by tiny optical periscopes and an excellent electronic sensor
suite. The crew compartment has both NBC filters and air tanks for one
day, but no airlock - all crewmembers must suit up before a hatch is
opened.
The reactor has enough excess power to recharge one laser shot every
second. A full load of ammunition is $111,150.
Subassemblies: Body +4, two Tracks +3, full-rotation Turret +4.
Powertrain: 1,000-kW tracked drivetrain; 2,000-kW super MHD fusion
reactor; fifty 270,000-kWs rechargeable E cells.
Occ: 3 NCS. Cargo: 16 cf.
Armor F RL B T U
Body: 6/2,000 4/720 4/400 4/900 4/400
Tracks: 4/80 4/80 4/80 4/80 4/80
Turret: 6/4,000 4/600 4/600 4/1,200
Body and Turret + DR 200 EM armor.
Weaponry
60mm Railgun [Tur:F] (200 shots) +2.
Five 400-kJ Point Defense Lasers [Tur:F,R,L,B,T] (1,560 shots each) +1.
Equipment
Body: Four 5x LLTVs; 0.4-mile active sonar; 4-mile geophone; level-10
surveillance sound detector; navigation instruments; two IFF; two
inertial navigation systems; military GPS; two HUDWACs with pupil
scanners; level-8 deceptive jammer; 16 decoy dischargers; two C5
hardened microframes with three terminals; full fire suppression system;
3-man NBC kit; 3 man-days limited life system; three crashwebs. Turret:
Full stabilization and anti-blast magazine for 60mm Railgun; full
stabilization and cyberslave mounts for 400-kJ Point Defense Lasers; two
medium-range radios with scramblers; four short-range lasercoms; four
medium-range lasercoms with scramblers; four 5x LLTVs; 50-mile LPI
AESA; 25-mile PESA; four 5-mile PESAs; 10-mile multiscanner; 2,000-yard
laser chemscanner; five 5-mile laser rangefinders; laser spot tracker;
12.5-mile laser optics detector; 16 decoy dischargers. External: Basic
emission cloaking; basic sound baffling; basic stealth; basic chameleon;
radiation shielding; tow hitch; tow pin.
Statistics
Size: 50'x10'x8' Payload: 1 ton Lwt.: 50 tons
Volume: 1,440 cf Maint.: 11 man-hours Price: $5,700,100
HT: 11. HPs: 3,000 Body, 1,200 each Track, 1,800 Turret
gSpeed: 60 gAccel: 4 gDecel: 20 gMR: 1 gSR: 7
Ground Pressure Low. Off-Road Speed 2/3.
Design Notes
Body is 700 cf, with 60 degree F slope. Tracks are 420 cf. Turret is
320 cf, with 60 degree F slope. Structure is extra-heavy and standard,
with heavy compartmentalization. Armor is expensive laminate, with EM
armor on Body and Turret. Self-sealing. Smarttracks and improved
suspension. Computerized controls with duplicate maneuver controls.
There are 41.7 cf of empty space in the body. 125 rounds of 60mm
APFSDSDU, 45 rounds of 60mm HE, 15 rounds of 60mm Beehive and 15 rounds
of 60mm CHEM(WP) are stored in the Turret. Empty weight is 98,000 lbs.
Weapon Weight Volume Cost Power WPS VPS CPS TL
60mm Railgun 4,900 98 $1,000,000 129,600 5.4 0.054 $780[1] 9
400-kJ PD Laser 50 1 $10,000 900 - - - 9
[1] APFSDSDU; also fires HE (* 1/6 cost), Beehive (*1/3 cost), and
CHEM(WP) (*1/3 cost).
Weapon Ammo Malf. Type Damage SS Acc 1/2D Max RoF
60mm Railgun APFSDSDU ver. cr. 6d*72(3) 30 20 13,000 30,000 4*
HE ver. exp. 6d*10[6d] 19 8,700 20,000
Beehive ver. imp. 10d 19 8,700 20,000
CHEM(WP) ver. spcl. 13 yards 19 8,700 20,000
400-kJ PD Laser - ver. imp. 6d 20 20 4,000 8,000 16*
The TL9 vehicle uses the design rules from Vehicles [2nd edition, 3rd
printing, Dec 2004 errata], VXi and VXii (including the optional armor
volume rule) with the text format from Vehicles Lite.
> Note to self: When possible, before deploying pigeons, use artillery
> to clear the area of opposing radio jammers.
Unless enemy artillery is firing jammers into the battle area.
> Other note to self, for a common-sense counter-counter measure:
> Include a module containing radio-direction-finder to locate jammers,
> and a laser-comm to communicate that info to... somebody.
Plus a module with two or three lasercoms as secure relay and
networking node. Lasercoms require line of sight.
> > Technically legal under the Vehicles rules, but classic GURPS
> > had 20-lb. E power cells, 5-lb. D cells, etc. The VE formula
> > fits nicely for E cells, but not for D or smaller cells.
>
> I'm actually a little hesitant to use power cells at all, remembering
> some previous discussion about their realism. I just didn't have my
> Vehicles Expansions books handy to refer to for which variants are the
> harder-SF ones.
* Use plain advanced batteries. That will cut your endurance
down dramatically.
* A 2-kW ceramic engine or turbine isn't much heavier at TL8.
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Cost_Autonomous_Attack_System
>
> Ah, that's probably what inspired the original authour to create the
> Pigeon description in the first place. :)
Eric replied to DataPacRat:
>> 50mm, normal, HEDP. 0.5 lbs, .01 cf, $15. Damage 4dx20(5) [4d]
>
> Average damage is 280(5)[14] which could penetrate DR1400, and kill the
> average person.
DR 1,400 would almost certainly be laminate -- who buys steel in
that thickness? Also the damage is 4d*10(5).
> coax rotor, not ornithopter? :)
Hover capability would be all but impossible at this TL.
> Also, do you need 140mph? you can get more endurance with
> less speed...
In Vehicles, helicopter lift and thrust are linked, and he
needs that lift. Now that I think of it, there should be
some extra lift for hot-and-high -- remember the OBL raid.
OTOH, one could dump the streamlining. Saves volume, not
just money.
Regards,
Onno
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