Curate Close Fire Support Vehicle
The Curate Close Fire Support Vehicle is the primary indirect fire support asset assigned to Caledonian brigade and division artillery battalions.
Built on the chassis of a Chieftain grav tank, the Curate is fitted with a Mk. XIV Variable-Velocity Mass Driver, a magnetic mass-propulsion device capable of firing 90-pound guided or 100 pound unguided explosive charges via direct or indirect fire. The vehicle itself generally carries 100 rounds, and is usually accompanied by one or more ammo carriers.
The Curate has an automatic loader, allowing it to fire as much as thirty rounds per minute for saturation attacks on targets. The vehicle's gravity controller includes an accleration compensator allowing limited fire on the move.
The crew includes
- Driver (who also operates the vehicle's close-range defenses)
- Fire control operator (operates either the gun's fire control system or the link to the battery fire control computer)
- Gun captain (validates firing solutions from the battery fire control center)
- Loader (runs the auto-loader and manages the ammunition supply)