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The CAV Galaxy : Technology of War Commerce |
Mercenaries | Psyros
Weapons & Munitions Four basic types of weapon systems are commonly deployed in the galaxy: gauss weapons, energy weapons, missiles, and close-assault weapons. Gauss Weapons The basic design of electromagnetic kinetic weapons has evolved over the years. Today the most common gauss weapons fall into three basic groups, with each group containing several variations. The first group is designed for maximum effectiveness against soft or unarmored targets such as infantry, trucks, aircraft, and missiles. It consists mainly of small caliber Gatling-type guns that possess exceptionally high rates of fire. Weapons in this first group are commonly referred to as "shredders." The second group is easily the extreme opposite of the first group and usually possesses a single-barrel cannon firing a large-caliber round that is designed for maximum effect against hard or armored targets such as CAV's. Slower rates of fire due to reload and recharge time prevent this design from being effective against small, fast targets. Weapons in this second group are commonly referred to as "sluggers." The latest introduction into this group is the Maxim I rotary cannon built by KDM and mounted on their latest CAV, the Rhino. The Maxim I rotary cannon mounts three cannon barrels on a central rotating axis in a similar fashion to the familiar Gatling guns in use. The Maxim I design is an attempt to increase the rate of fire without sacrificing any punch, but the additional power requirements coupled with the additional weight of the increased ammunition load have made the design extremely expensive to deploy. The third group consists of weapons that attempt to leverage the advantages of the first two groups in the hopes of creating a design that will perform well against both soft and hard targets. Today the function of the gauss weapon is much simpler and less power-hungry than its early bulky predecessors. A negatively charged round is drawn into the positively charged barrel chamber. The trigger reverses the positively charged barrel into a negatively charged barrel. The starter plate's mass determines direction as the round is repelled out of the barrel. Muzzle velocity of larger cannons in a 1 G environment is about 29,500 feet per second, or almost Mach 25. The roar created as rounds instantly break the sound barrier is deafening. There are many different designs currently being used, but the basic concept of a modern gauss round has remained unchanged for centuries. The round is a subcaliber projectile held in the center of the barrel by its stabilization fins. Attached to the rear of the projectile is the negatively charged starter plate. The round itself is a ballistically stable shape made of molecule-sized, negatively charged, ferrous pellets suspended in a ceramic material that makes up the material bulk of the round. Once in flight, the starter plate falls off and the amorphous structure of the ceramic helps maintain a stable temperature against the heat built up by friction against the atmosphere. The attached fins help stabilize a flat trajectory flight in low-density atmospheres but will shear off automatically in heavier atmospheres to prevent speed degradation. Energy Weapons Two types of energy weapons are currently in use in the galaxy: the laser bolt gun (LBG) and the particle bolt gun (PBG). Unlike industrial energy beams that emit a constant focused stream for the particles, weapons-grade energy weapons collect the particles into a condenser that when triggered fires a small compressed blast of the particles. Targets struck by a laser or particle bolt round will suffer much greater damage and ionization than can be produced by a conventional energy beam. Energy weapons are commonly referred to as "headlights." >Units armed with energy weapons are usually deployed in remote regions where resupply can be costly or possibly prevented by a hostile force. Laser bolt guns achieve their damage by instantly exciting the molecules of the target point, causing the area to superheat and melt away. LBG's are particularly effective in open space and on planets with no atmosphere to degrade the shot. >Particle bolt guns achieve their damage by delivering heavy nuclei particles to the target point, causing severe damage and ionization. PBG's have the ability not only to cause structural damage but also to seriously disrupt electrical functions. PBG's are particularly effective in all types of atmospheric conditions, since the round collects additional mass from the atmosphere as it travels. Missiles Although gauss cannons and energy weapons are the major weapons systems in use, the rounds they fire are not smart and once they have been fired follow an unchangeable trajectory. A missile has the ability to change its attack flight pattern as new data are collected, analyzed, and interpreted by the on-board targeting computer's guidance systems. This ability greatly increases the chance of a successful hit but also allows the missile to be defeated by counterfire and the target's ECM capabilities. The military use of missiles is ancient in all cultures, and they are as indispensable today as they were millennia ago. Current missile design falls into three broad categories: direct, indirect, and smart. Direct-fire missiles are generally the smallest of the types deployed today. They are designed to achieve maximum flight speed moments after being launched, but this speed is at the sacrifice of payload. Indirect-fire missiles are the most common missiles encountered on the battlefield today. When chain-locked and fired from remote locations simultaneously indirect missile fire is particularly devastating. Close-assault Weapons Close-assault weapons come in every shape and size, ranging from grenades and shaped-charge launchers to the huge flamers and rotary shotguns mounted on CAV's. Close-assault weapons are usually short in range but long in dealing out lethality.
Armor Laminate, ceramic, and combo armor are all in use with CAV's throughout the galaxy. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Recon and scout CAV's are usually equipped with ceramic armor to reduce magnetic signature and mask emissions. Fire support and fire suppression CAV's are usually equipped with laminate armor, which is made up of alternating layers of steel, ceramic, and fibrous-web materials. Battlefield superiority CAV's are usually equipped with combo armor, which is a combination of ceramic and laminate armor. Appliqué, ceramic, laminate, and combo armor and both reactive and smart armors are applied to locations requiring additional protection or shielding. KODA Works Forge-Fire III: Forge-Fire armor and appliqué armor are by far the most reliable and widely used in the galaxy. Forge-Fire armor is the desired replacement armor with almost every frontline combat unit. The quality of armor can mean the difference between life and death in a firefight.
Power CAV's are power-hungry, to say the least. The solution to this enormous power consumption was provided in 2196 when Mitso-Ta debuted the breeder power unit. This extremely efficient unit possessed many times the power output of previous models, and when coupled with new power cell designs created enough energy to make CAV development practical. The roots of the breeder power unit are found in the same technologies developed to harness the power of the breeder reactors in widespread use today. Unlike its distant larger reactor cousins, a breeder power unit not only creates a new fuel as it cycles but reverts the new fuel back to its original state to complete the cycle. As T gel in the power cell is processed into Z gel the power created in the conversion process is skimmed off and used to power the CAV. When the process is complete the breeder reverses the process by converting the stored Z gel back into T gel. The loss of material after each complete cycle is less than one percent, but fuel cells must be refurbished after about twenty cycles. Power cells used after this point tend to cycle faster and produce less useable power, and can cause damage to the attached breeder. Breeders and power cells are inert, which makes them perfect for all types of environments and gravity conditions. If damaged or broken open, breeders and power cells will not explode, and the gel is noncorrosive. If a damaged CAV in combat requires more power than is currently available to move or fire weapons, the crew can conduct a power-sink and temporarily gain additional power by emptying the power cell. Conducting a power-sink will shut a CAV down completely after the excess power is used; ejection seats would have to be activated manually. Mark IV Industries Lacoda: Lacoda brand power cells are the current leader in power cell technology and efficiency. Mitso-Ta Sun Dragon models T-90, T-91, and T-94: Sun Dragon breeders still continually outperform most other manufacturers' breeders in most applications.
Repair Automated field repair systems were originally developed decades ago to help remote or cut-off military units facilitate repairs and create work-around solutions. Today these automated and nanorepair technologies have advanced to allow fast, dependable battlefield repairs that can be conducted during combat. Civilian industries have also benefited from this technology, and field repair systems are in use today across the galaxy. There are two different types of field repair systems available today. Robotic microengineers (RME's) are designed to repair structural stress damage to nonelectrical pieces by rebuilding and reinforcing damaged parts. Electronic microengineers (EME's) are designed to repair damaged electronic pathways, allowing electronic equipment to continue to function. Robotic Microengineers Once the field repair system has been engaged, on-board automated sensors are used to identify structural damage and give it a priority rating that in turn is encoded into the nanobots before they are deployed. The nanobots are suspended in liquid foam spray tanks positioned throughout a CAV and once activated dispense thick blankets of foam onto the damaged components. Once deployed, several types of nanobots immediately go to work repairing damage. Repair nanobots are divided into two basic groups, worker-bots and builder-bots. Builder-bots simply proceed to their assigned locations and attach themselves to either the surface of the damaged component or to other filler-bots already in position. Worker-bots fill any gaps created by the irregular attachment of builder-bots and if need be replace builder-bots missing in the assembly sequence. Electronic Microengineers EME's operate on the same principle as their cousins the RME's. They are suspended in a silicon gel that is applied either manually or automatically to any damaged electronic or optic component. As long as the original embedded assembly and route log is intact the EME's will recreate the paths and connections required to perform.
Movement Bellar Joints All forms of mechanical movement were forever changed with the invention of the Bellar Joint in 2152. In a single stroke, this revolutionary electromagnetic joint eliminated the need for ball bearings, lubrication, and constant maintenance for the articulation points of any machine. The design of the Bellar Joint was simple in theory but complex in execution. The successful completion of the first one took its inventor, Geoffrey Dean Bellar (2113 to 2189), almost seventeen years to complete. Although the construction of friction-free joints (articulated joints that float on a magnetic field rather than a on bearing surface) was nothing new, what made the Bellar Joint different was that the energy that controlled movement of the joint was generated internally rather than externally. This transformed the joint into a self-contained machine within a machine. Bellar's invention was so radical that the imitations quickly sprang up, leading to years of lawsuits filed by Bellar and his estate. Most legal scholars agree that Bellar's patent on the joint design generated more legal expenses before its expiration than any other type of lawsuit for the period. Bellar died at the age of 76 a wealthy individual with the knowledge that his invention had truly changed the galaxy he lived in. The introduction of the Bellar Joint into commercial use soon saw several new applications of the joint develop. Medical science made quick use of the joint by using it to replace the body joints of paralyzed patients, allowing them to regain the use of their limbs. Atmospheric aircraft manufacturers installed Bellar Joint-driven fans into the wings and fuselages of new designs, giving them unparalleled maneuverability and performance. Prior to the introduction of the Bellar Joint, heavy machinery relied on complicated cable, hydraulic, and gas systems to control movements. The cost of these systems to maintain or adapt to harsh environments was astronomical, so only the wealthiest of organizations could afford to employ them. Today with the Bellar Joint even the smallest operations use equipment much more efficient and powerful than was available before. CAVs owe their very existence to the Bellar Joint. A CAV on average can contain over 1,400 joints, making it the single most complicated land-based weapon system in use today. The speed and maneuverability associated with the CAV could have been achieved only with the Bellar Joint.
Targeting & ECM In a combat situation the ability to acquire and lock on a target occurs only in a fraction of a second. A successful target acquisition and lock directs a weapon's fire against the known weak points of the target. Every modern CAV is equipped with a heads-up display (HUD) by which it can acquire and hit a target, but gaining a target lock enhances the effectiveness of the fire. Deception and the ability to distinguish between friends and enemies are the basis of any complete defensive system. The CAV Weapons System Officer conducts these operations in an attempt to confuse, defeat, degrade, blind, or mask hostile radars, sensors, and communications. He does this with electronic countermeasures (ECM), electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM), and identification friend or foe (IFF). Both active and passive systems are present in CAV's. Hughes-Marietta Manufacturing N3 P16 Line Lock: Target acquisition and lock systems are the soul of a weapon's platform. Hughes-Marietta has been the leader in this field for decades. Their Line Lock series of targeting computers is in service throughout the galaxy. Borsig-Spline Hydra Systems 34 and 37: Borsig-Spline has long been considered the leader in the field of ECM, ECCM, and IFF. This system derives its name from its use of multiple Òtaps.Ó Each time an electronic or magnetic emission associated with a hostile target is identified the Hydra System taps into the emission and rides it back to the hostile target, feeding it disinformation.
Commerce |
Mercenaries | Psyros
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