LM-7 Rattler 6T Attack Speeder

Deployed by the Lon Mardos Defense Forces, they have been designed and constructed at TL–11 on Lon Mardos (world) A6A0613-B on the Distant Fringe. Because of the hostile planetary environment these vehicles are required to meet Protected Forces criteria. They are armored to starship hull metal standards. They are sealed with life support for all crew and passengers and are fitted with an airlock. These 6T attack Speeders are a grav-powered craft and serve as the mainstay of the Lon Mardos Marine Battalions. They have two crew members and carry a small squad of 8 combat troopers. Each vehicle counts as one marine squad and four vehicles count as a platoon with 40 marines. Most attack speeders don't carry troops and so the line between this and an APC has been blurred. The attack speeder crews tend to have more of a fighter pilot attitude and less of a tank crew mentality. Fixed forward weapons and rail launched ordnance, they tend to deploy marines like they are dropping angry biological smart munitions wrapped in combat armor and fitted with a foamed re-entry heat shield and parachutes.

Attack Speeder
Tech Level	TL–11
Mass	6 dton
Cost	Cr5,910,694.3
Mode	Flight (Grav)
Type	Armored Personnel Carrier
Speed	maximum 2,120kph cruise 1,590kph NOE 150kph
Cargo	None
Crew	2 Driver, Gunner/Commander
Passengers	8
Armament	Plasma B Gun, x4 TAC Missile Launch Rails w/(4) missiles, x1 Laser Rifle, VRF Gauss Gun
Grav Combat Vehicle and Armored Personnel Transport

LM-7 Rattler 6T Attack Speeder, TL 11

This design is pressurized and fully sealed with life support for the two crew and eight passengers against the vacuum for service in protected forces environments. It features an airlock and Protected Forces rated crystaliron armor and decent speed. The suite of weapons is fully stabilized and has modern fire control systems. The stock 15.7MW input Plasma Gun is fitted to a fully stabilized front chassis mount. There are four launch rails on the chassis deck which fire forward, and there is a retractable "pop-up" remote mount fitted with a point defense VRF Gauss gun and a co-axial laser rifle mounted in the chassis deck. The front armor is radically sloped and side armor has a moderate slope. There is no laser sensor system, but the radio jammer is mounted in an attempt to disrupt enemy communications and shut off operator guided and teleguided missiles which rely on radio command links.

Chassis:

Height: 2m; Width: 7m; Length: 10m.

Total usable volume: 84m³

Total mass loaded: 275.2070122 metric tons.

Hull Material: Crystaliron

Armor: Chassis front: 50, Chassis sides 45, Chassis rear, belly and deck 40.

Target Size DMs: +3 low, no high hits

Production Cost: Cr5,910,694.3

Movement:

The Attack Speeder has two performance envelops. With the Plasma Gun OFF it has 2 maneuver Gs and with the weapon ON it has 1.439285714G's. NOE flight is limited by available TL–11 avionics and not the 840/683 tons of available thrust.

Speed:

Weapons OFF Maximum, 2,120kph/1,766cm; Cruise, 1,590kph/1,325cm, NOE 150kph/125cm.

Weapons ON Maximum, 1,634.6kph/1,362cm; Cruise, 1,225.9kph/1,021cm, NOE 150kph/125cm.

Movement effect on fire: None

15.7MW Input Plasma B Gun

The forward plasma gun can engage 1 target per firing phase. It is automatically spotted when it fires. It is fitted with TL–11 direct fire control in a fully stabilized front chassis mount. It has 15.7MW input and is optimized to deal with most of the Vehicles of the Distant Fringe, short of enemy Main Battle Tanks up to its effective range. Its direct fire characteristics are:

Direct Fire Characteristics: 15.7MW Input Plasma B Gun

Effective Range	Long Range	Extreme Range
1.94 km (54)3cm(38)	3.88 km (42)2cm(26)	7.76 km (15)1cm(1)

Retractable "Pop-Up" Remote, Dorsal Weapon Mount

This VRF Gauss gun is a remotely operated weapon system which emerges onto the chassis deck and is fitted with TL–11 point defense fire control. It rolls 8d6 versus indirect fire missions, grenades, drones, and missiles. There is storage for 30,000 rounds, enough to allow 23 fire phases of sustained fire. It can engage 16 targets in 15 seconds and has a +4 signature. It has the following direct fire characteristics:

Direct Fire Characteristics: VRF Gauss Gun

Effective Range	Long Range	Extreme Range
1.5 km (21)+8	3 km (19)+6	4.5 km (17)+3

Co-Axially Mounted TL 9 Laser Rifle

A Laser Rifle is mounted alongside the VRF Gauss Gun. It can be used to designate targets for the missiles on-board. It has a 100-shot battery. The direct fire characteristics are:

Direct Fire Characteristics: Laser Rifle TL 9

Effective Range	Long Range	Extreme Range
180m (9)	360m (4)	1.8 km (1)

TAC Missiles

There are four 84.4255kg capacity launch rails fitted on the chassis deck. The missiles use a 12kg 25cm HEAP 58 warhead and the vehicle is supplied with four target designated high performance interceptor missiles included in the purchase price. Other options are listed below. There is currently no on board guidance packages mounted. It takes two crew to manually reload these launch rails with fresh missiles, if additional rounds are available. The homing missiles struggle to achieve intercepts against vehicles protected with advanced ECM abilities. In general, these missiles can destroy most enemy vehicles they typically encounter. They are hampered by the lack of magazine capacity for reloads.

Characteristics: HEAP 58 Warhead Missiles

Type	Range	Price
Homing Missiles	28.9km or 18.9km w/+10 hypervelocity DM	Cr443.4255
(4) Target Designated Missiles	28.9km or 18.9km w/+10 hypervelocity DM	Cr543.4255
IR Follow-up Missiles +8 HEAP penetration	28.9km or 18.9km w/+10 hypervelocity DM	Cr543.4255

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Power / Equipment:

Power: a 84 megawatt fusion power plant

it consumes 126 liters of fuel/ hour; fuel capacity 8,042.8 liters, enough for 63.8 hours or 2.6 days.

• Sealed environment with extended life support for 2 crew and 8 passengers (proof against CBR/NBC threats);
• 10 bottles of prismatic aerosol
• TL–11 Avionics
• Map box
• Extensive ECM
• Thermal and image enhancement
• 1,000 km maser communicator
• 5,000 power radio
• 50 power target acquisition RADAR
• 5,000 power radio jammer

Maintenance

Vehicle 5

Electronics 37

Weapons 29

References & Contributors / Sources

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis), Captain, and Lead Naval Architect Ronald B. Kline, Jr. of the Imperial Navy
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS