| From: | Jonathan Hurley <jhurley1@************.EDU> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | Powered Armor (was RE: Ammo) |
| Date: | Thu, 15 Jan 1998 11:40:10 -0500 |
> Same argument. Powered armour is best engaged with a Great Dragon ATGM
> :) You can afford a _lot_ of missiles and LAWs for the price of one suit
> of power armour.
Hmmm. I've been kicking around some justifications of powered armor in the
SR universe. Currently in my game, the 'first flight' powered suit have
come, unimpressed the military powers that be, and gone. (Much of the trial
run was issued to the Seattle Metroplex Guard, who warehoused it, allowing
some of the ubiquitous criminal element (my players) to steal some, but
that's another story...) (Why issue them to the Metroplex Guard? Why would
the UCAS Army want *effective* weapons in the hands of people who show
every sign of wanting to secede in the near future? They do make halfway
decent riot-control units - at least for the kind of riots the Governor
calls out the Guard to quell.)
Anyway, this brought me to thinking about the 'current' State of the Art in
external amplified musculature frames (powered exoskeletons). In my view,
things similar to the powered load-lifter of Aliens fame do exist. They
aren't as common as a forklift, but in areas where maneuvering space is at
a premium, or in rough-ground conditions, they are more useful. The UCAS
Army Corps of Engineers has a fair number of 'Hardsuits', and they are
armored against at least heavy small-arms fire (up to HMG at least, and
probably stand a good chance of stopping an assault cannon shell. Call it
17 or so Ballistic rating. This isn't too excessive for a powered suit,
when an unpowered suit runs to 14). The amplified musculature allows the
engineer to do more with his 'bare' hands, and the armor allows him to
survive under fire a little longer. (For those of you familiar with the
Legions of Steel tabletop game, I'm thinking of the Pioneer PBA suit)
A conversion of the engineer exoskeleton might be produced for airmobile or
light infantry forces. Strip off the specialist engineering attachments,
give it a 'rifle' whose size is limited by the strength of the exoskeleton
(anyone for a 50 mm burst-fire rifle? Or a larger, non-burst capable weapon
that can penentrate tank armor? (Not the front glacis, I suppose, but side
or top armor?) They could operate in areas that 'conventional' armor, or
even LAVs, would find difficult (Heavy woods, mountains, etc. I do have
doubts about them being terribly effective against infantry in urban areas,
I'll admit.) Not too many units would carry these on their TO&E, but some
might.
--
Quicksilver rides again
--------------
Those who would give up a little freedom for security
deserve neither freedom nor security
-Benjamin Franklin
Yeah, I have Attention Deficit Dis - Hey, look at that butterfly!
Jonathan Hurley (mailto:jhurley1@************.edu)
