Command vehicles and drones
The CEO of the Cyberdyne (Talis) Robotics company has its main production facility based just north of the town of Redruth. Until recently the company specialised in a range of mining and maintenance `bots’ or drones, (essentially remotely controlled machines) designed to do work in hostile environments where humans are unable or unwilling to work.
Cyberdyne has been further developing civilian `drones’ to combat status and has just produced its first prototypes.
Drone 1 (air).
This started as a geophysics air surveillance drone. As such it was originally equipped with high res / multi spectrum cameras and other surveillance and survey equipment for air surveys and weather monitoring. In this role it has a very long range albeit at a fairly modest speed (around 300 kts). Around 20 unarmed drones are under modification. Cyberdyne hopes to have a production line running as long as raw materials are available.
The first prototype is now ready. Named after its earth predecessor it is referred to as the Predator.
The Predator has a wider mission spec than its 20th century ancestor; it carries:
· Sensors enabling battlefield surveillance and AOP duties.
· Designators for friendly missiles, so that vehicles may fire AT missiles in full defilade
· Carries 16 missiles in two launch systems– two may be fired independently at different targets.
The Predator is armour 6 in all aspects.
The missiles it carries while in all ways operating as AT missiles have a higher HE yield than normal (3), but are not as effective against vehicles (4). This trade off was thought acceptable given the high probability of a flank or `top’ hit.
Drone 2 (ground)
Drone 2 is an adaptation of a mining bot, known as a `Badger’. Its normal mining drills have been replaced with a mini-gun (3 shots @2/2), and a laser designator which can be used to guide in AT missiles on targets they cannot otherwise see. The type 2 drone is bipedal, about half a ton in weight. It carries 2500 rounds for its minigun (about 10 x 1 second bursts). (two 1’s = out of ammo – return to truck for re-supply)
In size it is somewhat larger than a man, and because of this its mobility is as infantry. It is armour 7 all round.
Command Vehicles.
Bots are controlled from command vehicles (these are treated as normal Slammers command vehicles). Because of potential interference from jamming signals command vehicles must be present on (or if airborne, over) the battlefield.
Bot pips for movement are as normal. Bots may also target designate for AT missiles or artillery for 1 PIP. An`Air’ bot must always have one PIP allocated to it. A nil move is treated as circling.
All drone shooting is as the quality of the command crew. Drones themselves do not gain experience for kills, the command crews, however do. There is no limit to the number of drones that may be linked to a command vehicle.
Command crews
Command crews can be diced up in the normal way, but are very rare. They can also be converted from another element type.
Any engineer, science team, or air crew can convert to a command crew (they retain their base specialism but do not progress their original specialism in combat).
Other elements can covert, dropping one full whole category in the process. (e.g. an elite crew of any score becomes a vet command crew with 30 xp (i.e minimum loss in xp is 30), a Vet vehicle crew with 59 xp becomes a regular command crew with 10xp (min loss 20, max loss 49, a regular unit drops between 10 and 30 to an untrained unit of 0 xp).
Drone & Command vehicle construction.
A number of vehicles which can be converted into command vehicles. Cyberdyne have just produced their third vehicle by converting an APC (the first one is already being used by a regular army unit).
Production will be 1-3 Predator drones between games.
Production will be 3-6 badger drones between games.
1 vehicle of any type to command (this could be an aircraft) will be converted between each game it must have a minimum crew capacity of 3 (so jeeps are not eligible).
Cyberdyne will allocate command vehicles as they become available. The aim is to get one vehicle converted for each commander in theatre.
On the production line is currently;
1. Command Truck
2. Command Truck
3. Aircraft
4. Aircraft