HK-36
The Iron Lord Protector (Neutral Good)
Image: Taken from DeviantArt, a piece called the Imperial Barricades by artist named Kruggar (Link here)
Intent: To provide the Iron Company with documented cover made from Durasteel they can move about the battlefield by utilizing repulsorlifts and stabilize them with mass projectors
Development Thread: If required by Factory Judge
Manufacturer: Abregado-Rae Guild of Hammers
Model: Mobile Durasteel Barricade
Affiliation: Barony of Abregado-Rae, Omega Protectorate
Modularity: Customizable Paint Jobs
Production: Mass-Produced
Material: Durasteel
Description: The Iron Company has adopted the strategy of using durasteel plates as cover for their landing troops for a while now. The large sheets of metal came useful as barricades between the Landing Zone and the chaos of battlefield, allowing them to set up evacuation zones for the wounded as well as bring ammunition closer to the battlefield in case the troops on the front-lines run out. The cover provided by the Durasteel Barricades also makes a perfect emplacement for heavy weapon positions like the E-Webs or Rotary Cannons.
However, the biggest problem when utilizing such Durasteel Barricades was their weight and lack of mobility, a single durasteel barricade required two or three technicians to carry it out into the battlefield to place it, and it's relatively smaller size (previous durasteel barricades were about waist or chest height, providing cover once a soldier would crouch or kneel behind them) did not offer as much protection to the slowed soldiers carrying them out as it would be recommended.
The answer came with the new product manufactured by the Guild of Hammers, the Mobile Barricade. What HK ordered for the Guild to do was fairly simple, slap three smaller repulsorlifts onto the durasteel barricade along with two density projectors and make it bigger.
As a result, the troops were now able to move the barricades out of the dropship onto the field much faster and easier, it still took two technicians to move and set them properly, with the help of the repulsorlifts installed the soldiers were able to move the heavy plates easily above the ground. Once in position, the repulsorlift systems of the barricades were deactivated, allowing the huge metal shields drop to the ground, and their density projectors were activated in turn, anchoring the barricades to the surface they were placed on so that they would not be turned over onto the soldiers behind them when faced with greater impacts, like explosions.
The addition of repulsorlifts also allowed the Gados scientists to thicken the plates and make them larger, shielding the soldiers behind them from debris and shrapnel that would possible fall over-head as well as providing more protection to the technicians who would carry these barricades onto the battlefield. As a result, these metal covers are as tough as armor of medium vehicles and little short of a direct hit from a heavy vehicle or dedicated anti-armor weaponry would be able to penetrate them. While lightsaber can, in theory, burn through them, it would take a few minutes for it to due so, something a soldier nearby would be able to use against the Force user and shoot them while they are busy.
The biggest weakness of these barricades is that they cannot be carried around by soldiers at all times to protect them in their advance. However, they were not meant to do so in the first place, they are meant to be used to secure the landing zone or a post as the troops arrive, protecting them from initial enemy fire, and keep the locations they were placed about secured during the battle. These barricades are a field fortification and their mobility is really used only in setting them up faster than their previous counter-parts.
The biggest drawback of addition of repulsorlifts and density projectors is that there are just more parts that can malfunction. Although advances in technology made such systems much more reliable, as opposed to their Clone Wars counterparts which were known to malfunction, an unlucky grenade or other explosion has potential of damaging these systems, often resulting in the Barricade becoming immobile. This can cause the greatest danger when the Barricade is still being carried by the technicians onto the battlefield, as it can either fall onto the soldiers, causing injury, or grounding itself in incorrect position, creating an obstacle for the soldier or inefficient cover.
Once the density projectors are activated, the barricade's weight is increased from 200 kg to 1 metric tonne, enough to stabilize it against most threats the barricades could face on a battlefield from enemy infantry. However, the weight of the barricades, even without the density projectors, make them unusable in a soft-terrain environment like the swamps, bogs, or deserts. Should the Barricades be placed in such a terrain, they would soon enough start to sink in into the soft soil, possibly tipping over, and most likely being lost without possibility of recovery without proper equipment like a crane.
However, transporting the barricades by means of repulsorlifts was made stable by the three miniature repulsorlift systems being placed in a triangle pattern inside the metal structure of the barricade. Two at each side, placed at the back of the side barricade folds, and the third in the center, keeping the barricade stable while transporting. While moving, the barricade is guided by means of inside railing, a durasteel rail at each side of the barricade allows the two technicians who transport the barricade to accurately manipulate the large shield towards its correct destination.
Classification: Multipurpose Durasteel Barricade
Weight: 200 kg (50 kilograms more than that of Shattergun Rotary Cannon I submitted)
Quality: 10
Other Feature(s): Opening in the durasteel plate for mounting of heavy repeaters like E-Webs or HVKF Rotary Cannons
