R7 Elfenbeinturm class Heavy Combat Mecha
Built for Yimin Jiti on Athune (world), these vehicles are found in security garrison battalions on lower technology level worlds.
| R7 Elfenbeinturm class Heavy Combat Mecha | |
|---|---|
| Tech Level | TL–8 |
| Mass | ~8.9 dtons |
| Cost | Cr1,754,498.3 |
| Mode | Ground (Legged) |
| Type | Combat Vehicle |
| Speed | Road 30kph; Cross Country 12kph |
| Cargo | 0 |
| Crew | 4 driver, gunner, commander, mechanic |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Armament | (Turret) twin barreled 10cm auto cannon |
R7 Elfenbeinturm class Heavy Combat Mecha (TL 8)[edit]
Serving with the Armed Forces of the Yimin Jiti, these are very heavy, slow, ponderous war machines of limited practical use. At 10m tall they are however very intimidating to subject peoples on lower technology worlds. They mount a stabilized twin barreled, electric action, medium velocity auto cannon in a fully rotating turret fitted with direct and indirect fire control. They are cylindrical with four huge crab like legs struggling to support their massively armored mass. Due to the high ground pressure the vehicles can become mired and stuck in mud 2+, and soft ground, snow, sand 4+. They need to stay on reinforced paved roads to avoid disaster. Few bridges can support their mass, fully sealed they can wade through deep water, but become stuck on muddy bottoms.
Chassis:[edit]
- Height: 10 m; Diameter: 4 m.
- Total usable volume: 125.6 m³
- Total mass loaded: 283.9911 metric tons
- Armor: Chassis sides 47; top of turret 26, bottom of feet 26.
- Target Size DMs: +4 low, +4 high
- Production Cost: Cr1,754,498.3
Movement:[edit]
- Speed:
- Road: 30 kph/25 cm; Cross Country: 12 kph/10 cm.
- Movement effect on fire: stabilized weapons, if move more than 1/2 speed -4 EFP
Power / Equipment:[edit]
- Power: 3 megawatt MHD turbine power plant
- consumes 900 liters of fuel/ hour; fuel capacity 7,829.05 liters, enough for 8.6 hours. The 40m3 four leg suspension supports a ground pressure of 14.199555 tons/m2, power to weight is 10.5637.
- Sealed environment with life support for four;
- 100 anti-laser aerosols, 10 smoke dischargers;
- 30 power counter battery RADAR +4 DM, 30 power target acquisition RADAR;
- extensive ECM, RADAR direction finder +5 DM;
- image enhancement and thermal imaging for night operations;
- 1,000km MASER communicator and 5,000 km range radio;
- 5,000 power radio jammer, radio direction finder, +4 DM;
- visible spectrum spot light, laser sensor 8+.
Weapons:[edit]
Full weapons stabilization. There are four Beehive anti-personnel charges attached to each leg. The can be command detonated or set to automatic proximity fusing. They have a +4 DM to hit, a 10cm danger space, and 2 PEN, these flechette charges mass 0.4kg and must be manually reloaded, from the vehicle exterior. Reloads are not typically carried on the vehicle. They are used to dissuade foot mobile infantry from approaching the vehicle too closely.
Dorsal Commander's Pintel Mount[edit]
There is a 7mm mini gun with a gun shield, it can engage 16 targets and has a +5 signature. There is storage for 25,600 rounds, which is enough for 20 fire phases.
| Effective Range | Long Range | Extreme Range |
| 400 m (3) +8 | 750 m (2) +6 | 1,200 m (2) +3 |
Twin Barreled, 10cm Medium Velocity, Electric Action Auto Cannon[edit]
The weapon has 30kg rounds, there is storage for 400 rounds, enough for 20 fire phases. The weapon has a ROF of 20/phase and can engage two targets. The weapon requires 9.5 turns to set up for indirect fire missions. The weapon is +1 to hit up to 11km range and -1 to hit up to 22km range with indirect fire missions. The weapon has TL 6 direct fire control and TL 8 indirect fire control, and has a TL 5 fire direction center to allow it to conduct a single target fire mission on its own without input from higher echelons. A full load of ammunition is included in the price: usually 10 KEAP missions, 8 HE, and 2 smoke.
| Effective Range | Long Range | Extreme Range |
| 800 m /1,000 m w/KEAP +2 | 1,500 m /2,000 m +1 | 3,000 m /3,500 m |
| Type | Range | Price |
| HE | 18/2/3 | Cr90 |
| HEAP | 36 | Cr135 |
| KEAP | 31/28/25 | Cr90 |
| KEAPER | 29/26/23 | Cr99 |
| Flechette | 10cm +5 Pen 2 | Cr450 |
| Smoke | 2cmx2cm | Cr90 |
| Chemical L/NP | 2cmx2cm, burns 6 turns | Cr180 |
| Illum | 78cm | Cr180 |
| Chaff | 78cm | Cr180 |
| CBM | 15/7 +1 | Cr270 |
| Laser Guidance | adds | Cr1,000 |
| Variable Ballistics | adds | Cr100 |
Maintenance:[edit]
Vehicle: 12
Weapons: 2
Electronics: 53
Suspension:10
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
The mighty R7 Elfenbeinturm class Heavy Combat Mecha is a TL–8, prototype, a first attempt among the Athune design bureaus at combat walkers with leg suspension systems. After limited production runs the design's shortcomings rapidly began to become evident in the field. They are massive maintenance hogs, their impressive electronics suite requires constant attention, hence the dedicated mechanic as part of the crew. These are often mercenary contractors and military advisers from more advanced worlds sent along to maintain and repair these complex beasts which are quite complicated for the locals to understand or service. Due to their cost, they are often issued one/company of foot mobile infantry. Each infantry battalion in the armies of Durt (world), Leedos (world), and Monados (world) have one battery of six vehicles assigned per battalion under the current TOE. In this role their speed isn't as much of an issue, and they provide devastating close fire support, in both the direct and indirect fire roles. They are impressive sensor platforms and can perform many command and control functions with their secure communication links. They can coordinate counter battery artillery missions. The high pitched hum of their turbines aside, they are surprisingly stealthy thanks to their extensive ECM suite, which masks their thermal signature quite well, and makes them difficult to detect while they wait in ambush. They are also proof against most man portable weapon systems, only the heaviest guns can damage their 20+cm thick hulls. The massive composite laminate armor plating benefits from the curvature of the cylindrical hull. The bottom portion of the cylindrical column is the four legs, splayed out. The bottoms of the feet have less armor, but are still proof against most conventional anti-tank mines. It would take quite a large demolition charge to topple one of these 10m tall giants. To make room for the suspension, the transmission and power plant were cut in half. The result is that transmission is still massive, and the vehicle has a disastrously low power to weight ratio. The 8+ hours of operational range would be nice, they are just too slow to go very far. They are too heavy to be easily transported by faster ground vehicles. With a powerful enough crane they can be lowered onto heavy gauge rail flatbed train cars. Combat engineers are often sent with them to facilitate negotiating barriers and obstacles to their movement. The Homewrecker TAC missile suite was supposed to be fitted to the design, but the weight was already excessive. They look fantastic on the battlefield, majestic even, their medium velocity auto cannon is a good compromise for direct and indirect fire support of garrison infantry. Well suited to static sentinel and security missions associated with garrison duty, high speed pursuit is not their forte'. The commander's 7mm mini gun will annihilate infantry, protesters, rowdy crowds, and refugees. If anyone gets too close the leg mounted beehive charges will shred them. The vehicle is a bully, ill equipped to cope with something its own size. In a counter insurgency role, its armor is very impressive and local security troops feel invincible within these slow moving giants. Designed and built by the Yimin Jiti, a state in the central-rimward portion of the Halcyon Sector. They were originally built at Athune and shipped across the fringe to eager clients on lower technology worlds. Rumors persist that the famous Cannis Weapons Labs may have done some technical consulting on their design.
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
- 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