Post by usefuldave on Dec 27, 2011 11:34:21 GMT -6
With regards to artillery pieces, there is two candidates currently in the armoury. However I can see a small problem looking at the ones available currently with regards to the current situation.
This might seem like a decent piece, until you remember that thanks to size and weight limits, all you've got is kinetic rounds for the Cobras. Consider the effectiveness of those against targets in forests and soft ground, compared to more conventional high-explosive and fragmentation based shells.
And on the other end, is the Hedgehog which is rather more high-end than being flown in to support the troops.
You can see how that might help, but in our current situation a rain of shells would be rather more effective than conventional ballistic weaponry, and nukes kinda endanger friendlies. Also, there's the fact that this could've been providing fire support from way behind the line rather than being moved up.
So, I'l like to propose a lil' variant on a more standard yet unused piece which should help when we're not shooting armour or long range targets. Image is linked beneath and the M112F referred too would just be a Cougar with troops replaced by ammunition storage.
i44.tinypic.com/1zx3a52.png
SP42 Cobra Self Propelled Howitzer
Crew: 1 Driver
1 Gunner
Armament: Dual Variable Railguns (8MJ, 16MJ with stabilizers deployed)
While the Hedgehog missile system provides fire support at the theatre level, the Cobra exists to provide fire support at the battalion level. Designed around the principle of “shoot and scoot”; firing and moving to a new position to avoid counter-battery fire, they are very effective artillery pieces, with ranges of up to 150km. They may also be deployed in the counter-battery role when assisted by forward spotters or counter-battery radar/acoustic ranging. In addition to this, the fusion powered vehicle can be dug in as an anti-armor gun or used as a tank destroyer while mobile (though it is vulnerable to return fire, not being heavily armored). It has the ability to “lock down”, deploying stabilizers that brace the vehicle against whatever surface it is on to help cope with the massive recoil of the rail guns. While deployed, it is even a threat to Scarab armor, much like the Lion. It is not a particularly fast vehicle, but it is capable of keeping pace with most UNSC armored divisions. In spite of a drastically different role and design from the Cougar, it maintains a similar drivers interface; steering wheel, pedals, and a navigation HUD, with the addition of controls governing the PTO interlink and stabilizer deployment. The gunners interface is similar to that found in the MAAT-9; it collates sensor data to assist the gunner in acquiring and neutralizing targets.
Crew: 1 Driver
1 Gunner
Armament: Dual Variable Railguns (8MJ, 16MJ with stabilizers deployed)
While the Hedgehog missile system provides fire support at the theatre level, the Cobra exists to provide fire support at the battalion level. Designed around the principle of “shoot and scoot”; firing and moving to a new position to avoid counter-battery fire, they are very effective artillery pieces, with ranges of up to 150km. They may also be deployed in the counter-battery role when assisted by forward spotters or counter-battery radar/acoustic ranging. In addition to this, the fusion powered vehicle can be dug in as an anti-armor gun or used as a tank destroyer while mobile (though it is vulnerable to return fire, not being heavily armored). It has the ability to “lock down”, deploying stabilizers that brace the vehicle against whatever surface it is on to help cope with the massive recoil of the rail guns. While deployed, it is even a threat to Scarab armor, much like the Lion. It is not a particularly fast vehicle, but it is capable of keeping pace with most UNSC armored divisions. In spite of a drastically different role and design from the Cougar, it maintains a similar drivers interface; steering wheel, pedals, and a navigation HUD, with the addition of controls governing the PTO interlink and stabilizer deployment. The gunners interface is similar to that found in the MAAT-9; it collates sensor data to assist the gunner in acquiring and neutralizing targets.
This might seem like a decent piece, until you remember that thanks to size and weight limits, all you've got is kinetic rounds for the Cobras. Consider the effectiveness of those against targets in forests and soft ground, compared to more conventional high-explosive and fragmentation based shells.
And on the other end, is the Hedgehog which is rather more high-end than being flown in to support the troops.
MR-42 Hedgehog Tactical Missile System
The MR-42 is a collection of missile systems designed to function at the theatre level. It consists of a mobile radar system (M114 Owl), the mobile erector and launcher (MS121 Aardwolf), an ammunition carrier and loader, and a mobile command center (M557 Lancet). This system is a universal solution to all of the missile needs of the UNSC. It is able to launch and control Tactical Ballistic Missiles (nuclear and conventional), “Arablest” cruise missiles, “Glow Worm” Surface to Air missiles, and even SSMN-126A “Archer” Missiles. The tactical missiles alone have ranges of up to 500km, while archer missiles (though significantly more bulky) can function as decent anti-orbital weaponry.
The MR-42 is a collection of missile systems designed to function at the theatre level. It consists of a mobile radar system (M114 Owl), the mobile erector and launcher (MS121 Aardwolf), an ammunition carrier and loader, and a mobile command center (M557 Lancet). This system is a universal solution to all of the missile needs of the UNSC. It is able to launch and control Tactical Ballistic Missiles (nuclear and conventional), “Arablest” cruise missiles, “Glow Worm” Surface to Air missiles, and even SSMN-126A “Archer” Missiles. The tactical missiles alone have ranges of up to 500km, while archer missiles (though significantly more bulky) can function as decent anti-orbital weaponry.
You can see how that might help, but in our current situation a rain of shells would be rather more effective than conventional ballistic weaponry, and nukes kinda endanger friendlies. Also, there's the fact that this could've been providing fire support from way behind the line rather than being moved up.
So, I'l like to propose a lil' variant on a more standard yet unused piece which should help when we're not shooting armour or long range targets. Image is linked beneath and the M112F referred too would just be a Cougar with troops replaced by ammunition storage.
M147 Vixen Self Propelled Gun
Crew: 1 Driver
1 Gunner
1 Loader
Armament: 1 x M109 175mm Howitzer
(optional) 1 x Pintel-mounted M247 GPMG
Although the Cobra might be perfectly capable of handling armoured vehicles and precision fire support, one of the areas where it was found lacking when engaging dug-in insurgents was quite simply the variety of munitions a standard gun-tube battery could put out at a rate vastly exceeding that capable by the theatre-level Hedgehog MLRS. It didn't matter if the infantry wanted precision-guided M197 shells dropped upon individual trenches one mission, white-phosphorus the next with a layer of smoke preceding individually guided anti-tank submunitions or even tactical yield nuclear ordnance, the 'Vixen' could deploy them all upto a range of 52.8 kilometres. The Vixen as with most artillery pieces is interlinked into the common battlenet to ensure full sensory awareness of friendly units and targeting data. As was standard with modern UNSC equipment, advances in automation had vastly reduced the size of each gun's crew to a mere three men, with the Vixen's autoloader handling the majority of the heavy lifting. Initially the M147 was to be left unarmed save for her main gun, but the destruction of a Hedgehog after a team of Innies got close resulted in tooling for an M247 to be mounted in a hatch atop the crew compartment, just in case of such eventualities. Although the Vixen carries a regular main-gun load towards the rear of the vehicle, standard operating procedure always assigns either an M112F Ammunition Carrier or a M914 towing a trailer with additional rounds to ensure prolonged operational periods. A folding crane is stowed just below and behind the gun mounting on the M147 in order to assist the reloading process.
Crew: 1 Driver
1 Gunner
1 Loader
Armament: 1 x M109 175mm Howitzer
(optional) 1 x Pintel-mounted M247 GPMG
Although the Cobra might be perfectly capable of handling armoured vehicles and precision fire support, one of the areas where it was found lacking when engaging dug-in insurgents was quite simply the variety of munitions a standard gun-tube battery could put out at a rate vastly exceeding that capable by the theatre-level Hedgehog MLRS. It didn't matter if the infantry wanted precision-guided M197 shells dropped upon individual trenches one mission, white-phosphorus the next with a layer of smoke preceding individually guided anti-tank submunitions or even tactical yield nuclear ordnance, the 'Vixen' could deploy them all upto a range of 52.8 kilometres. The Vixen as with most artillery pieces is interlinked into the common battlenet to ensure full sensory awareness of friendly units and targeting data. As was standard with modern UNSC equipment, advances in automation had vastly reduced the size of each gun's crew to a mere three men, with the Vixen's autoloader handling the majority of the heavy lifting. Initially the M147 was to be left unarmed save for her main gun, but the destruction of a Hedgehog after a team of Innies got close resulted in tooling for an M247 to be mounted in a hatch atop the crew compartment, just in case of such eventualities. Although the Vixen carries a regular main-gun load towards the rear of the vehicle, standard operating procedure always assigns either an M112F Ammunition Carrier or a M914 towing a trailer with additional rounds to ensure prolonged operational periods. A folding crane is stowed just below and behind the gun mounting on the M147 in order to assist the reloading process.
i44.tinypic.com/1zx3a52.png
