ET-01 Mk IV "Tarantula" Air Defense Mecha

(Version 1.0 - Last updated: 01/15/03)  

Background and RPG Statistics by Kenneth Olson

Based on a design presented in Macross Hobby Handbook

BACKGROUND 

The ET-01 Mk IV Tarantula was a first generation air defense robot designed off the common Earth Trekker chassis to provide air defense for Western Coalition forces and later for the newly formed Robotech Defense Forces.  The first Tarantula was produced in 1997, two years prior to the crash of the SDF-1, and ended three years later after a production run of 427 unit.  A total of 300 units were produced for the Western Coalition forces prior to the crash of the SDF-1 and an additional 127 units after for the newly formed United Earth Defense Forces (UEDF).

The primary armament for the Tarantula are four Scorpion medium range missiles mounted on two launchers on either side of the main body.  Each Scorpion missile is cued with targeting information from the onboard S-Band "Tiger-Eye" surveillance radar; however, once launched the missiles are guided using their own onboard active RF seeker.  The Tarantula is capable of engaging up to four independent targets out to an effective combat range of 80 kilometers at maximum altitudes exceeding 60 kft.

For point defense against low-altitude aircraft and helicopters, the Tarantula mounts two AIM-9X infra-red guided missiles.  Each missile receives an initial cue by the pilot through a display in the cockpit and then is then independently guided with an effective range of 25 kilometers.  A single 20mm single barrel cannon is mounted underneath the pilot's compartment.  Although the placement of the weapon limits its field of fire, the weapon can be used against ground targets and airborne targets flying below 500 meters.  The 20mm cannon can fire either armor piercing or incendiary rounds at a rate of 715 rounds per minute with four hundred rounds stored in a drum mounted in the center torso of the Tarantula to the rear of the pilot's compartment.

The Chobham armor on the Tarantula is typical to that found on tanks during the global civil war of the late 1990's.  The armor is adequate for all small arms fire and light anti-vehicle weaponry (up to 25mm auto cannons).  However, the mecha is disabled by only a couple of direct strikes from medium or heavy anti-mecha weaponry.  The pilot's compartment in particular is quite vulnerable to strikes and a single hit by a 120mm tank round would easily pierce the thin armor and kill the pilot.

A long range Tiger-Eye S-Band electronically scanned radar is mounted on the top of the unit.  The Tiger-Eye is mechanically scanned in azimuth but electronically in elevation.  The system can track up to 250 units units with detection of a 0 dBsm target occurring at a range of 100 km.  The other sensors placed on the Tarantula is typical of tanks in the later decade of the 20th century, with a full suite of infra-red and night vision providing the pilot an all-weather combat capability.

The Tarantula proved to be highly successful against the Eastern Co-Prosperity Sphere (ECS) forces.  A single battery of of Tarantulas (6 units) could provide air defense for Western Coalition (WC) forces for up to 100 kilometers along the forward edge of the battlefield.  Few of the Tarantulas were destroyed in combat as they were always stationed tens of kilometers from the main front.  However, the largest single loss of Tarantulas occurred on July 29, 1998 when 10 ECS assault helicopters were able to penetrate through the WC air-defenses and engage a group of 16 Tarantulas with anti-tank missiles and destroying 12 in the process.

With the operational introduction of the Spartan and Defender Destroids in 2009, the Tarantula was relegated to reserve status and none were assigned to the SDF-1.  By 2010, all had been placed in storage and there was some discussion of giving a couple of units to the Eastern Soviet Independent States and later the Armies of the Southern Cross; however, no units are known to have been transferred.  All the remaining Tarantulas are believe to have been scrapped at the UEDF New Albuquerque base in 2020.
 

RPG STATS

Vehicle Type: ET-01 Mk IV Trantula

Class: Non-transformable Air Defense Earth Trekker
Manufacturer: Vickers
Crew: One pilot wearing Tactical Life Support System

Service History: 

Western Alliance from 1995 until 2002

Robotech Defense Forces from 2002 until 2010

 

MDC BY LOCATION:

	 
NOTES: 

1. * Depleting the MDC of the main body will destroy the mecha. 

SPEEDS:

MAXIMUM RUNNING SPEED:

25 kph / 35 kph (fully loaded / empty)

MAXIMUM JUMPING IN EARTH NORMAL CONDITIONS:

N/A

UNDERWATER PERFORMANCE:

5 kph

STATISTICAL DATA:

HEIGHT:

7.8 m

DEPTH:

3.5 m

BREADTH:

4.1  m

WEIGHT:

15.1 metric tons (dry)

19.2 metric tons (fully loaded)

PHYSICAL STRENGTH:

Equal to a P.S. of 40

CARGO:

None

POWER PLANT:

Avco-Lycoming AGT-2500 2-spool free-shaft, multi-fuel turbine power plant hydro-kinetic transmission; 4 fwd/2 reverse gears.

MAX POWER:

2,500 hp

POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO:

25.00 hp/metric ton

FUEL CAPACITY:

1,500 liters of diesel or petroleum fuel

MAXIMUM RANGE:

Diesel:  208 km

Petroleum: 179 km

 

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. 2 x MEDIUM RANGE SCORPION MISSILE LAUNCHERS:  The primary armament for the Tarantula are four Scorpion medium range missiles mounted on two launchers on either side of the main body.  Each Scorpion missile is cued with targeting information from the onboard S-Band "Tiger-Eye" surveillance radar; however, once launched the missiles are guided using their own onboard active RF seeker.  The Tarantula is capable of engaging up to four independent targets out to an effective combat range of 80 kilometers at maximum altitudes exceeding 60 kft.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Air Defense
   • RANGE: 80 km
   • DAMAGE:  2D6*10 per missile
   • RATE OF FIRE:  Single shots or in volleys of two
   • PAYLOAD: Two missiles per launcher

    

2. 2 x SHORT RANGE AIM-9X MISSILE LAUNCHERS:  For point defense against low-altitude aircraft and helicopters, the Tarantula mounts two AIM-9X infra-red guided missiles.  Each missile receives an initial cue by the pilot through a display in the cockpit and then is then independently guided with an effective range of 25 kilometers.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Air Defense
   • RANGE: 25 km
   • DAMAGE:  1D6*10 per missile
   • RATE OF FIRE:  Single shots
   • PAYLOAD: One missile per launcher

    

3. 1 x 20mm SINGLE BARREL CANNON:  A single 20mm cannon is mounted under the pilot's compartment.  The cannon can fire either armor piercing or incendiary rounds at a rate of 715 rounds per minute with four hundred rounds stored in a drum mounted in the center torso of the Tarantula to the rear of the pilot's compartment.  However, the placement of the cannon prohibits the cannon from engaging targets at altitudes greater than 500 meters.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Air Defense
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-missile
   • RANGE:  Accurate out to 1000 meters against targets below 500 meters in altitude
   • DAMAGE:  Armor Piercing (AP):  2D4 MDC short burst or 3D4 MDC medium burst.   High Explosive Incendiary Tracer (HEI-T):  1D4 MDC short burst or 2D4 MDC medium burst
   • RATE OF FIRE:  Bursts equal to the combine attacks of the pilots
   • PAYLOAD: 400 rounds or 40 short bursts (10 rounds) or 20 medium bursts (20 rounds)

    

4. HAND TO HAND COMBAT:.  The Tarantula lack of arms and hands give the unit only limited hand to hand capabilities. 
   • Kick:  2D6 MDC
   • Body Block/Tackle: 1D6 MDC
   • Stomp: 3D4 MDC (only effective against small (less than 2 meter) objects)
     

STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR TARANTULA

• COMBAT COMPUTER: The Tarantula is equipped with a combat computer which calculates, stores, and transmits data onto the cockpit computer screen or head-up display (HUD) of the pilot's helmet. Patches in with the targeting computer
• EXTERNAL AUDIO PICKUP: Range: 300 ft (91.5 m). A sound amplification system that can pick up normal conversation up to 300 feet away.
• INFRA-RED WARNING RECEIVER:  Selenia Ground Warrior IRWR providing rear aspect protection from IR guided missiles
• HEAT AND RADIATION SHIELDS: Special shielding prevents the penetration of life threatening head and radiation. A radiation detection and alarm system are linked with the shields and will sound an alarm if there is a rupture in the shields and what the levels of radiation are.
• HOMING SIGNAL: Range of the signal is 100 miles (320 km). Most RDF, Southern Cross, and REF ships and veritechs can locate and track a homing signal. The onboard computers will automatically notify their pilots if such a signal is detected.
• LASER COMMUNICATIONS: Long range, directional communication system. Effective range: 100,000 miles
• LASER TARGETING SYSTEM: Range: 50 miles (160 km). Used for increased accuracy in the striking of enemy targets and is partly responsible for the mecha's strike bonus.
• LOUDSPEAKER: A loudspeaker system is built into the craft, which can be used to amplify the pilot's voice up to 90 decibels.
• OPTICS (INFRARED): Range 2500 m. This optical system projects a beam of infrared light that is invisible to the normal eye, but detectable by the mecha's sensors. The system allows the pilot to detect hidden/concealed objects by their IR reflectiveness. The beam will be visible to anyone with IR sensitive optics, however.
• OPTICS (NIGHTVISION): Range 1000 m. A passive light image intensifier that emits no light of its own, but relies on ambient light which is electronically amplified to produce a visible picture.
• OPTICS (THERMAL IMAGER): Range 650 m. A passive optical heat sensor that detects infrared radiation projected by warm objects and converts that data into a false-color visible image. The system enables the pilot to see in the dark, in shadows, and through smoke, and also adds a +10% bonus to pilots using a tracking skill.
• RADAR JAMMER ALQ-54:  On board self-protection jammer providing broadband protection.  Estimated system effective radiative power 30 dBW.  
• RADAR (SURVEILLANCE): Hughes AN/SPS-50 UHF-band radar.  Estimated range against 0 dBsm target 150 km.
• RADAR (TARGETING): Westinghouse TPG-144 X band pulse Doppler phased array medium range radar with battlefield surveillance mode.  Estimated range against 0 dBsm target 40 km.
• RADIO/VIDEO COMMUNICATION: Long range, directional communications system with satellite relay capabilities. Range: 600 miles (960 km) or can be boosted indefinitely via satellite relay.
• RADAR WARNING RECEIVER:  Selenia Ground Warrior IRWR providing all aspect broadband protection from RF guided missiles. 
• SELF-DESTRUCT: To prevent capture by the enemy, the pilot can activate the self-destruct system, which will cause the  mecha to explode after a delay of up to 60 minutes (time is set by the pilot). The explosive damage is contained within a 20 foot (6 m) area and inflicts 1D6x10 M.D. to everything within the radius of the explosion. All internal systems are obliterated.
• STANDARD SURVIVAL KIT: All UEDF vehicles come equipped with a portable survival kit. Inside the small reinforced box is a medium-sized flashlight, two hand flares, one rocket flare, a compass, infrared distancing binoculars, a small mirror, a pocket knife, dehydrated and concentrated food (can be stretched into a five day supply for one person) and basic first aid items (aspirin, bandages, disinfectants, etc.)
• TACTICAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM: The Tarantula's cockpit is pressurized, and also provides additional air feeds to the pilot's flight suit that provides him with pressurized breathing.

COMBAT BONUSES FOR TARANTULA: 

• Zero melee attacks (plus those of the pilot)
• +0 to roll with punch
• +1 to strike
• +0 to parry
• -1 to dodge
• One additional attack at levels six and eleven

RANDOM HIT LOCATIONS

When there is an equal chance of hitting both sides from 1D6

• 1-3 hits the right side
• 4-6 hits the left

When there is a preferred side, roll 1D10

• 1-8 hits the preferred side
• 9-10 hits the opposite side

SOURCES USED IN CREATION OF DOCUMENT

• Palladium's Robotech RPG: Book One Macross
• Robotech Technical Files: ADR-04 Defender
• Macross:  Hobby Handbook-1

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