Ground Combat Vehicles & Personnel Weapons
Ground combat vehicles in The Local War universe are divided into two major categories: SIL and Standard. Both categories use macromolecular technology to grow vehicles. As the SIL did not use ground combat vehicles themselves, SIL versions are identical to their standard counterparts in armaments, weapons loadout, and crew.
“Ground” is a misnomer. Vehicles can assault most solid, semi-solid, some liquid surfaces, including water, and space stations. Extreme heat, cold, corrosive, and radioactive conditions can degrade or prevent use.
SIL vehicles are machine intelligences capable of performing their own operations and maintenance. SIL can reconfigure their hull and internal structures extensively within the limit of their mass, but require longer growth times than their standard counterparts. SIL can change vehicle types, within certain conditions. An atmospheric or transatmospheric transport can, given time, transform into a ground vehicle of the same or similar mass. Fabricators do occasionally produce ground vehicles to replace losses, but the total number of SIL is strictly controlled.
Standard vehicles removed the machine intelligence and, thus, require regular maintenance. They can repair damage quickly but have limited ability to reconfigure internal structures. They can be grown much faster than SIL.
Combat Vehicle Types
Personnel Equipment
T3M Yanluo Main Battle Tank
Yao roughly translates as “supernatural” and that is how its crews see it. The T3 has been in service since 2143, having resulted from a crash program instituted by Coalition forces shortly after the outbreak of the First SIL War (2141-2162). When the SIL revolted, the Coalition found itself without a viable main battle tank (MBT). The first T3, which combined many of the features of the SIL MBT without the use of sentient technology, rolled off the assembly line barely eighteen months after hostilities opened. The T3 program evolved quickly, with the “M” variant coming out in 2202, seeing service in the final assaults on the remaining SIL Fabricators.
Like most weapon systems, the T3M has changed little in the 1300 years since the SIL Wars, and is now only produced at two locations: M Cubed Industries on Sol IV and the Wu Corporation (under license) on Tocci III, though discussions are currently under way to open a third production center outside Olympia in the Olympus Star System. There are currently 54,980 T3Ms in service.
Mass: 65,229 kg
Crew: 2 (Commander, Driver/Gunner)
Dimensions (static): L – 6.76m, W – 3.25m, H – 2.47m
Speed (max): 70 km/h
Range (main gun): 19.6 km (direct fire), 101 km (indirect fire)
Standard weapon configuration:
– 120 mm Kinetic Launcher / 7 rounds per minute / 210 rounds
– 2x KIL-202 30 mm anti-personnel / air & missile defense / 1,000 rounds ea
– 1x P-702 plasma anti-personnel weapon / air & missile defense
– 8x Lightning “Dice Roll” anti-transam missiles
IFV-2B Serpens Infantry Fighting Vehicle
The Serpens is probably the best known armored vehicle currently in service, having served since the Solthari War (2070-2091). At the outbreak of hostilities against the SIL in 2141, the Serpens was, by far, the most numerous non-SIL armored vehicle and saw extensive action. The IFV-1A was severely outclassed by its SIL counterpart, however, and losses often exceeded 30% in early engagements. In response, the Coalition rushed the IFV-2 into service in 2148, replacing the IFV-1A’s Fluid Drive undercarriage with the all-vehicle Fluid Drive system and employing the FKWR-1 fusion power plant used on the T3. The IFV-2 was an immediate success, but casualty rates remained high until the external kinetic launchers were replaced with internal models on the IFV-2A.
When the SIL transitioned from armored vehicles to Madu for anti-personnel warfare in the Second SIL War (2178-2190), the Serpens became the de facto safe haven for personnel under Madu attack, providing heavy armor protection and armed defense. It could extend survival times by many hours under sustained attack. Soldiers nicknamed it the “lucky box” for its rectangular shape.
In one of the few weapon system upgrades to occur after the SIL Wars, all existing -2As were modified to carry the Lightning missile and the new combination was called the IFV-2B.
The Serpens remains the most numerous armored vehicle today, numbering well over a million units, and is used extensively by police and local militia throughout the empire. The IFV-2B is produced in numerous star systems under license from Space Armor Systems on Sol IV.
Mass: 25,436 kg
Crew: 2 (Commander, Driver/Gunner) + 6 fully equipped soldiers
Dimensions (static): L – 6.45m, W – 3.48m, H – 2.47m
Speed (max): 70 km/h
Standard weapon configuration:
– 1x KIL-202 30 mm anti-personnel / air & missile defense / 5,000 rounds
– 1x P-702 plasma anti-personnel weapon / air & missile defense
– 2x KILPAD anti-armor missile launchers / 12 missiles
– 2x Lightning “Dice Roll” anti-transam missile launchers / 8 missiles
S193 120mm Self-Propelled Mortar
The S193 is the only fully automated weapon system remaining in modern service, though it is not capable of independent action. It operates as a remote vehicle attached to a platoon, squad, or even an individual soldier or police officer. The S193 can fire standard HE (High-Explosive), plasma, AM (antimatter), smoke, and illumination rounds. It can also fire KILAAM anti-armor mines and CBM Chemical/Biological rounds, but these are generally only used by police forces for crowd control. No patent is currently held on the S193, the original manufacturer having gone bankrupt shortly after the Third SIL War, thus it is widely produced and current numbers are not available.
Mass: 1,240 kg
Operator: 1
Dimensions (static): L – 3.45m, W – 2.68m, H – 1.76m
Speed (max): 70 km/h
Range: 101 km (max), 1098m (min)
Standard weapon configuration:
– 120 mm Kinetic Launcher / 12 rounds per minute / 72 rounds
S308 Multiple-Launch Rocket System (MLRS)
The S308 traces its lineage back to the Coalition M272 MLRS system first deployed in the early 21st century on Earth. Though the system has been heavily modified, incorporating the all-vehicle Fluid Drive system and internal KILs, the basic design is hardly distinguishable from the M272. First fielded in 2142, the S308 remains the only mobile ground system capable of engaging ships in orbit, employing the Nova multirole missile or the shorter range Stellar Fire antiship missile. It can also launch Novas against surface targets, Corefire anti-armor missiles against surface armored vehicles, and SIM-3 Interceptors for anti-transam and anti-missile defense. The wide range of munitions the S308 can deliver make it the most versatile ground artillery system in use today. Despite its popularity, only Space Armor Systems on Sol IV currently produces the S308, though a new production facility is under construction on Olympus. Approximately 40,000 are currently in use.
Mass: 56,298 kg
Crew: 2
Dimensions (static): L – 6.45m, W – 2.48m, H – 5.01m (launcher deployed)
Speed (max): 70 km/h
Standard weapon configuration (1 type at a time):
– Nova / 4 missiles per pack
– Stellar Fire / 6 missiles per pack
– SIM-3 Interceptor / 4 missiles per pack
– Corefire / 16 missiles per pack
S9 Combat Terrain Modification Vehicle (CTMV)
Despite the development of systems like Fluid Drive, active camouflage, and active armor, which make today’s combat vehicles the most survivable ever produced, the ability to quickly modify terrain under fire remains an essential mission. The S9 CTMV can dig ditches, scrape out fighting positions, erect simple fortifications from available resources, prepare lanes through obstructions and minefields, construct bridges, and many other combat engineering tasks, all while under fire. This is possible because the S9 uses the same armor and camouflage systems found on the IFV-2B Serpens. The S9 CTMV is produced by OM on Sol IV, though a lightweight civilian version is widely produced under license.
Mass: 65,120 kg
Crew: 3
Dimensions (static): L – 6.76m, W – 3.25m, H – 2.01m
Speed (max): 70 km/h
Standard weapon configuration:
– 1x KIL-202 30 mm anti-personnel / air & missile defense / 5,000 rounds
– 1x P-702 plasma anti-personnel weapon / air & missile defense
S45 Combat Medical Treatment/Evac Vehicle (CMTEV)
Borrowing from the IFV-2B Serpens basic design, the S45 CMTEV can treat minor and moderate injuries, and even some severe traumas, in the field. In cases too severe to treat in the field, it can stabilize a patient and induce coma until the patient can be transported to a better-equipped facility. The S45 can maintain 8 patients internally, supplying massive infusions of task-educated Molecular machines (Molemachs), and when stationary can support an additional 12 noncritical patients externally, boosting and reeducating the patient’s own Molemachs as needed. The SIL configuration has a major advantage over the standard S45 in that it can reconfigure to an air-mobile version while still maintaining its internal patients. The S45 is produced by Space Armor Systems on Sol IV and Olympus. Civilian standard versions can be found in the hundred or thousands in most inhabited star systems.
Mass: 44,397 kg
Crew: 3
Dimensions (static): L – 6.45m, W – 3.32m, H – 2.88m
Speed (max): 70 km/h
Standard weapon configuration:
– None
Personnel Equipment
Battle Armor System (BAS-12)
Full personnel battle armor, once the province of medieval knights, reappeared in the 2040s during The Last War on Earth, and went through several upgrades until the BAS-12 was introduced in 2144. The BAS-12 Battle Armor System, in either the standard or SIL variant, borrows from Fluid Drive technology, flowing onto or off of personnel as needed, then configuring to whatever form and equipment that will be carried. When fully enclosed, the Augmented Environment of the BAS-12 provides such complete visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile information to the wearer that most claim not to notice they are wearing the armor at all.
The BAS-12 can provide filtered air from the environment or draw from an internal reservoir that is actively replenished from the wearer’s exhalations. The replenishment system isn’t perfect and can provide Natural humans up to 2 weeks of air, while Floaters and Gen have been known to survive for 3-4 weeks. The armor can draw and purify water directly from the environment or carry an internal supply that is actively replenished from the wearer’s sweat and waster products. Food can also be processed directly from the environment or carried as rations. As with air supply, this can sustain a Natural’s life for about 2 weeks and Floaters and Gen for 3-4 weeks. Additionally, if supplied, the armor can administer medications and stimulants.
BAS-12 armor has the Local Combat Information Network (LoCIN) built in, which allows wearers to coordinate fires within their own unit and in conjunction with other units, avoid friendly fire, and act as spotters for other personnel, armor, artillery, and transam assets. Each BAS-12 has an optional twin-KIL grenade launcher mounted in a backpack, with eight grenades total, and allows wearers to mount their personal weapon in shoulder, waist, or hand carry positions. If the grenade launcher is not used, a personal weapon can be mounted on the back and, when a wearer is prone, can telescope the weapon on a “mast” up to half a meter in height. There is also an optional thruster pack for use in microgravity environments.
Mass: 65-105 kg (depending on mission)
Speed (max): Fluid Drive 42 km/h
KIL-2 Kinetic Assault Rifle
The first human-portable railgun, the Kinetic Launcher Assault Rifle KIL-1, was introduced in 2061 and suffered a number of shortcomings that made it highly unpopular with ground troops. Not the least of these shortcomings was the tendency for the rifle barrel to melt from the extremely high temperatures produced in firing the railgun. Fire rates were necessarily low to allow sufficient time for the nitrogen cooling system to cool the launcher, and the weight, almost seven kilograms, made the weapon cumbersome to carry. Advances in alloys and railgun technology led to the KIL-1A in 2067. This weapon didn’t require the elaborate cooling system in the KIL-1 to prevent damage during firing, reducing its weight to 5.2 kg, but it still suffered from a slow rate of fire and remained unpopular. Not until the SIL Revolt in 2141 was a concerted effort made to improve the design, and in 2044 the KIL-2 was introduced.
The KIL-2 uses macromolecular technology and the fluid system developed by Fluid Technologies (makers of the Fluid Drive system employed in vehicles and armor) to vastly improve heat dissipation, allowing the KIL-2 to achieve a 120 rounds-per-minute rate of fire for baki ball ammunition or 60 rounds-per-minute rate with Long-Rod Penetrator (LRP) rounds. The weight was reduced to just 4.6 kg. Warriors can hand carry the weapon using the pistol grip, butt stock, and barrel grip hard points, or attach the weapon to their BAS-12 Battle Armor. When attached to the BAS-12, the weapon will automatically track with the warrior’s eyes, locking onto a target and firing with a finger pull even if the finger is not on the trigger. Muzzle velocity can be adjusted by the operator from 2 km/sec up to 7 km/sec, the higher velocity reserved for single-shot LRP against battle armor.
The KIL-2 can fire two types of ammunition: baki ball or LRP. The baki ball is a shaped, carbon-iron round designed to inflict maximum tissue damage on a flesh target. It flattens immediately upon impact, transferring most of the kinetic energy to its target. The Long-Rod Penetrator (LRP) round, made from depleted uranium, is design to penetrate armor such as the BAS-12 by boring a hole through it and killing the occupant with a combination of heat and pressure (called the “pyrophoric” effect).
Though the theoretical maximum effective range of the KIL-2 is rated at 4,800 meters, most small-arms combat occurs at ranges under 500 meters. A 240-round baki ball magazine and power cell or 60-round LRP magazine and power cell is standard issue in military service, but other capacities are available.
The KIL-202 is an internally mounted vehicular version of the KIL-2, with a higher rate of fire, up to 240 rounds per minute, and a better targeting system which increases its effective range to 5,600 meters.
P-70 Plasma Rifle
When firepower becomes more important than stealth, pulse-plasma weapons are the weapon of choice. Unlike antimatter charges, which are indiscriminate and highly destructive, plasma weapons can be employed with pinpoint accuracy and high effectiveness. Each “shot” has enough energy to evaporate 1-2 cubic centimeters of metallic, advanced plastic, or macromolecular material, and can kill an unprotected humanoid.
The disadvantages of plasma weapons are: once fired the plasma shot is easily detected and traced back to its point of origin, and as it travels the plasma expands and cools, limiting its effective range. The P-70 is a personnel plasma rifle weighing 5.1 kg and having a maximum effective range of 300 meters. It uses a 40-shot charge with a 60 shot-per-minute fire rate. The P-70 can be hand-held or mounted on battle armor.
The P-702 is an internally mounted standard-technology vehicular version of the P-70, with a higher rate of fire, 120 shots per minute, and better targeting and power systems which increase its effective range to 1,100 meters.
The P-760S is a powerful plasma weapon available to SIL vehicular equipment. It can evaporate 2-4 cubic centimeters of metallic, advanced plastic, or macromolecular material, and can kill an unprotected humanoid. It has a rate of fire of 160 shots per minute and an effective maximum range of 1,800 meters.
PG-12 Grenade Launcher
The PG-12 is a battle-armor-mounted, personnel twin grenade launcher that can accurately deliver grenades at ranges up to 1,000 meters. The types of grenades it can fire include: antimatter, fragmentation, plasma incendiary, illumination, chemical, and smoke.