Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, let me present the contenders of the
friendly
near-future battlesuit sparring match.
In the left corner is the Mk.I, standing eight feet tall with a combat
weight of
2,000 pounds. In the right corner stands the BL-10 Vargr, six and a half
feet
tall and slightly over 1,000 pounds. And since fairness in the match is
measured
in cold, hard cash, there are two more just like it waiting to swarm the
Mk.I.
As the two suits limber up, it can be seen that the BL-10 is two mph
faster. The
Mk.I has a better upper body strength, both in absolute terms and
relative to
the loaded weight. The two suits are unlikely to wrestle, but the Mk.I
might do
better with some obstacles on the urban battlefield. The ground pressure is
similar, but the BL-10 has a much lower weight, useful in light structures.
The BL-10 has two integral weapons, a 10mm SMG and a 25mm AGL. Both are
ineffective against the DR 120 laminate armor of the heavier Mk.I, and the
hand-carried rifles and chainguns are unlikely to penetrate, either.
That leaves
the disposable DLR-120 rockets, eight per squad, which will utterly
devastate a
Mk.I if they hit.
The Mk.I is armed with a 7.7mm minigun, which has an approximately even
chance
to penetrate the armor of the BL-10. The minigun fires 100 rounds per
second,
so a good burst should deal with the lighter opponent. The other arm of the
Mk.I has a 40mm grenade launcher, which will seriously hurt even with a
single
hit. There is no handheld weaponry in the Mk.I, so the heavier suit is less
flexible and unable to deal with serious AFVs.
The minigun of the Mk.I slightly outranges the rockets of the BL-10, but
the
difference is minor. More likely, the number of shots will tell -- half a
minute at 6,000 rpm against two rockets for every other trooper. The
BL-10 has
to wait for the perfect shot while the Mk.I can afford to 'walk the burst'.
The two ATGM gunners in each BL-10 platoon could be a great equalizer,
if they
can get into good firing positions.
As the two suits close with each other, the BL-10 will likely use the
LLTV. The
Mk.I has only camouflage paint, for a visual signature of -1. The Mk.I
uses the
passive millimetric mode of the PESA, which is not affected by the
stealth and
cloaking systems in the BL-10. This should allow the Mk.I to spot the BL-10
first.
If there is no line of sight, the integral sound detector of the Mk.I will
square of against the sound baffling of the BL-10. The odds are about even.
The larger Mk.I has better electronics, including a pair of laser coms
and an
advanced radar/laser detector. Other intangibles include the battery and
the
air tanks of the BL-10, while the Mk.I relies on filtered air. For
sustained
operations, the BL-10 has more cargo -- 45 lbs. instead of just 5 lbs.
-- and
larger platoons, so there are more chances to rest.
In all, the platoon of 32 BL-10 Vargr is more flexible, and the weapons
could
be upgraded to deal with targets like the Mk.I. The platoon of nine Mk.I was
designed to go through unpowered infantry like a hot knife through butter,
and as originally configured the BL-10 is too close to poor bloody infantry
to stop it.
Regards,
Onno
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