M-310 ALL-TERRAIN COMMAND SUPPORT VEHICLE "BATTLE BUGGY"

(Version 1.0 - Last updated: 03/08/06)  

Background and RPG Statistics by Kenneth Olson

Based on an original mecha design by Tommy Yune, Jason Waltrip, John Waltrip, and Omar Dogan

Published in Wildstorm Comics "Robotech Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles" Volume 5

BACKGROUND

In the later stages of the Sentinel campaign, the Robotech Expeditionary Forces (REF) began to introduce large number of armored Cyclone riders.  Initially, the Cyclone was designed exclusively as a emergency vehicle to be used if a Veritech pilot was downed behind enemy lines.  However as the war progressed against the Invid Regent, the REF began to appreciate the unique combat capabilities of the Cyclone and issued the mecha as standard equipment to a significant number of ground troops.  Initially, company sized units of Cyclone riders were commanded from either an officer piloting in a Destroid or in the air from a VFA-6 series Veritech fighter.  However, REF command felt that having an officer removed from his troops in such a fashion defeated the purpose of forming a small highly mobile and easy to hide force.  The high command began to investigate the possibility of designing a command vehicle which would better compliment a small group of Cyclone Riders.

The M-310 All-Terrain Command Support Vehicle (aka 'Battle Buggy') was designed to allow company grade Cyclone officers to command their troops from the field.  Although the M-310 can not transform, the vehicle does share many of the same weapon systems and vehicle characteristics as the Veritech Cyclone.  The M-310 is normally manned with a crew of two with the commander/driver operating from the left  seat and a weapon systems operator on the right, although any of the vehicle systems can be operated from either position.  However, in an emergency situation the M-310 could carry several  additional personal on the outside of the drivers compartment and in the rear.  The vehicle is powered by two standard Protoculture cells which provide power to an electric motor which is capable of propelling the vehicle up to 150 kph on paved roads or 80 kph cross country.  The vehicle is armored similarly to the standard Veritech Cyclone with a low mass Chobham plating.  The armor is capable of withstanding most small arms fire, but medium and heavy anti-mecha weaponry will quickly destroy the unit.  In addition, operators of the M-310 are exposed to enemy fire as they are not completely enclosed by the vehicle and thus are required to wear CVR body armor to provide personnel protection when deploying the vehicle in a combat area.

The M-310's primary armament is a turret mounted EP-43 quad-common particle beam cannon.   Each barrel fires 2.5 MJ bursts (10 MJ combined) at a maximum sustained rate of 20 bursts per minute out to an effective combat range of 2.0 km.  The cannon can capable of a full 360 degree traverse in azimuth and from -30 degrees to +90 in elevation with slew times of just under 30 degrees per second.  The cannon is powered from its own dedicated two cell protoculture energizer providing an estimated 1,000 shots before needing replacement.  The weapon can be operated by either crew members in the vehicle; however, normal operation allows the driver / commander to designate targets (left seat) and then the gunner (right seat) to engage.  The turret system was designed to mount a variety of weapon systems.  Instead of the standard EP-43 Quad-barreled particle gun a twelve tube multi-missile launcher can be placed in the turret instead (see notes in weapons section).

Each of the four tires on the M-310 is capable of mounting a single modular weapon system; although, under most combat situations only the front two tires are mounted with weapon systems because of the rear tires more limited field of fire.  The two most common weapon systems are derivatives of those found on the standard Cyclone:  the EP-37B carbine and the GR-97 mini-missile system.  However, developmental versions of some of the other arm mounted Cyclone weapon systems were built and tested. 

RPG STATS

Vehicle Type: M-310 All Terrain Command Vehicle

Class: Two axle all-terrain command vehicle
Manufacturer: Robotech Expeditionary Forces
Crew: 2 (Commander / Driver on right and Weapons Officer in left) a third person can sit between the two crew members if necessary

Service History:  Served with the REF from 2038 until the conclusion of the Third Robotech War (July 2044)

MDC BY LOCATION:

		 
NOTES: 

1. * Destruction of the Main Body will immobilize the unit.
2. **Reinforced Pilots Compartment provides only limited protection to the crew.  40% of all attacks directed to this location will strike the operators
3. If the GM so desires the unit to have MDC values in line with those published in Palladium books for the Cyclone, the values presented should be multiplied by roughly a factor of three.
   

SPEEDS:

MAXIMUM SPEED:

Road: 150 kph

Cross-Country: 50 kph

10-deg upslope: 40 kph

60-deg upslope: 25 kph

Water Depth (1.5m): 10 kph

ACCELERATION:

0-100 kph:  8 seconds with typical combat load

OBSTACLE:

Vertical:  1.0 m

Trench: 3.0 m

SPACEBORNE OPERATIONS: 

N/A

 

STATISTICAL DATA:

LENGTH:

4.8 m

WIDTH

3.7 m

HEIGHT

Main Body: 2.0 m

Top of Turret:  2.9 m

GROUND CLEARANCE

0.5 m

WEIGHT:

800 kg empty 

1,200 kg with combat load

CARGO:

Four standard REF cargo cases mounted underneath the drivers compartment

POWER PLANT:

1x RRG-27A Miniaturized Protoculture-cell energizers providing nearly 10 MW of electrical power.  The power plant provides power to the Siemens electric motor and to the onboard weapon systems.

ENGINE:

[Main]:  1x SIEMENS PROTOCULTURE / ELECTRIC MOTOR: The M-310 has six-speed automatic transmission with 500 horsepower (381 kW) and 300 lb-ft (407 N*m) of torque.

FUEL CAPACITY:

2 standard canisters of Protoculture, providing power for an estimated 300 hours of operation

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. 1 x EP-43 QUAD-BARRELED PARTICLE GUN:  The primary weapon on the M-310 is a turret mounted quad-barreled particle beam cannon.  Each barrel fires 2.5 MJ bursts (10 MJ combined) at a maximum sustained rate of 20 per minute out to an effective combat range of 2.0 km.  The cannon can capable of a full 360 degree traverse in azimuth and from -30 degrees to +90 in elevation with slew times of just under 30 degrees per second.  The cannon is powered from its own dedicated two cell protoculture energizer providing an estimated 1,000 shots before needing replacement.  The weapon can be operated by either crew members in the vehicle; however, normal operation allows the driver / commander to designate targets (left seat) and then the gunner (right seat) to engage. 
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE:  Assault
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE:  Anti-Mecha 
     
   • RANGE: 2000 m
   • DAMAGE:  2D6 per cannon or 1D6*10 from all four cannons firing simultaneously
     
   • RATE OF FIRE: Short bursts up to 5 times per melee
     
   • PAYLOAD:  Effectively unlimited
   • NOTES:  If the GM so desires to have the this weapon more in line with the Cyclone weapon systems published in Palladium books, one should multiply the damage by a factor of x2

    

2. (optional) 1 x MM-12 TURRET MOUNTED MULTI-MISSILE SYSTEM: The turret system was designed to mount a variety of weapon systems.  Instead of the standard EP-43 Quad-barreled particle gun a twelve tube multi-missile launcher can be placed in the turrent instead.  The system has similar traverse capablitys; however, because of the heavier weight can only slew at 20 degrees per second.  Each tube can hold a single hammerhead short range missile or the launcher can be reconfigured to hold up to four GR-105 mini missiles instead.  However, if the system is configured with mini-missiles each missile tube can only fire one of the four subdivided missiles in any given volley. 
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Assault
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Mecha
   • RANGE HAMMERHEAD: 5200 m
   • RANGE GR-105:  800 m
     
   • DAMAGE: 1D6*10 (Plasma) or 1D4*10 (High Explosive)
     
   • DAMAGE GR-105:  3D6 MDC
     
   • RATE OF FIRE: In volleys of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, or all 12
   • PAYLOAD:  12 Short Range Hammerhead missiles, or 48 GR-105 mini missiles
     
   • NOTES:  The weapons can traverse 240 degrees in azimuth, each cannon can only fire in the 240 degree azimuth sector away from the main body of the vehicle, and up to 45 degrees in elevation

   
   

3. 4 x WHEEL MOUNTED MODULAR WEAPON SYSTEMS:  Each of the four tires on the M-310 is capable of mounting a single modular weapon system; although, under most combat situations only the front two tires are mounted with weapon systems because of the rear tires more limited field of fire.  The two most common weapon systems are derivatives of those found on the standard Cyclone:  the EP-37B carbine and the GR-97 mini-missile system.  However, developmental versions of some of the other arm mounted Cyclone weapon systems were built and tested. 
   
   • EP-37B 60 MM PARTICLE BEAM CARBINE:  The EP-37B is a carbine version of the EP-37 rifle issued to most Cyclone pilots.  The gun is capable of firing semi-automatically either 650 KJ or 1.25 MJ bursts out to an effective combat range of nearly 1.0 kilometer.  The weapon can be detached from the wheel housing in an emergency and used as a personnel sidearm in approximately 5 seconds.
     • PRIMARY PURPOSE: Assault
       
     • SECONDARY PURPOSE:  Anti-Aircraft / Anti-mecha
       
     • RANGE:  1000 m
       
     • DAMAGE (low power / high power): (1D4/1D6) for each single shot, (2D4/2D6) for each short burst, or (4D4/4D6) for each long bursts
     • RATE OF FIRE: Single shots or bursts equal to the combined attacks of the pilot
     • PAYLOAD:  Effectively unlimited when powered from the vehicles main Protoculture energizer.  The gun's onboard clip can fire 15 single shots, 5 short bursts or 1 long.
     • NOTES:  If the GM so desires to have the this weapon more in line with the Cyclone weapon systems published in Palladium books, one should replace the EP-37B with a slightly underpowered and under ranged version of the EP-37.
       
   • GR-97 SCORPION MISSILE LAUNCHER:  Two Scorpion missiles are mounted in each wheel missile launcher.  The missiles posses their own passive IR seekers or can be guided directly from the M-310 through the onboard laser designation system.  Each GR-97 can be removed in an emergency and mounted on a Cyclone; however, the process would take several minutes.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE:  Assault
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE:  Anti-mecha
   • RANGE:  1,700 m
   • DAMAGE:  5D6 MDC
   • RATE OF FIRE: Single shots or in volleys of 2
   • PAYLOAD:  2 missiles per launcher
     


4. HAND TO HAND COMBAT:.  As a vehicle the M-310  can not engage in physical combat as a mecha can.  However, the vehicle can ram or crush items in its path. 
   • Ram (50 kph):  3D6 MDC
   • Ram (100 kph):  6D6 MDC
   • Crush (only effective against small targets): 1D4 MDC

STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR THE M-310 BATTLE BUGGY:

• ACTIVE SENSOR JAMMER: Westinghouse ALQ-257(V) internal ECM providing broadband protection.  Estimated system effective radiative power 30 dBW
• COMBAT COMPUTER HP DIGITAL BALLISTIC COMPUTER: The combat computer aids the gunner to identify and track specific enemy targets.  The combat computer stabilizes the main gun while the vehicle is in motion. 
• EXTERNAL AUDIO PICKUP: Range: 300 ft (91.5 m). A sound amplification system that can pick up normal conversation up to 300 feet away.
• 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: The M-310 is equipped with a homing device that enables rescue teams to locate a disabled vehicle.  The range of the signal is 400 miles (640 km). Most REF ships and veritechs can locate and track a homing signal, and the onboard computers will automatically notify their pilots if such a signal is detected.
• INFRA-RED COUNTERMEASURES:  Westinghouse QRC-100 providing protection from IR guided missiles
• INFRA-RED WARNING RECEIVER:  OlDelft Infra-red Warning Receiver (IRWR) providing rear aspect coverage from IR guided missiles
• LASER RANGE FINDER / TARGETING SYSTEM:  Thomson LT-5 multi-frequency laser ranger and designator (Range 30 kilometers)
• 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):  Phillips All-View multi-band camera system range 1000 meters.  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): Phillips All-View multi-band camera system range 1000 meters.  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 2000 meters. 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.
• 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 (SHORT RANGE / FIRE CONTROL):  Hughes APG-118 X-band pulse-Doppler, providing spherical long-range detection and tracking of targets at all altitudes. (Range 30 km against a 0 dBsm "Invid sized" target)
• RADAR WARNING RECEIVER:  Marconi Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
• SELF-DESTRUCT: To prevent capture of the vehicle, the pilot can activate the M-310 self-destruct system, which will cause the vehicle 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. 
  
• SMOKE DISPENSERS (M250): 2 x 6 barrel smoke dischargers (24 rounds each) mounted in the rear.  Smoke canisters can be discharged from the rear of the unit and provide cover for a 20 meter radius.
  
• STANDARD SURVIVAL KIT: All REF 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.)

COMBAT BONUSES FOR M-310 "BATTLE BUGGY": 

• Number of attacks equal to the combine number of the pilot, gunnery officer, and commander
• +2 to strike targets
• +1/+2/+3 to dodge above 20/40/60 kph.

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 Books "The Sentinels":  AAT-30 and AAT-40
• Robotech Technical Files:  M-199, M-304, and M-306
• Wildstorm Comics:  "Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles" Volume 4

Back to Mecha Home