Approved Vehicle Sabre heavy mortar carrier

[Jessica Med-Beq]

A Sabre with its mortar roof open and its barrels retracted in the Ringo Vinda desert

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To provide a heavy mortar carrier
• Image Source: Duskie-06 on DeviantArt
• Canon Link: N/A
• Restricted Missions: N/A
• Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

• Manufacturer: Ringovinda StarYards
• Model: Sabre heavy mortar carrier
• Affiliation: Open-market
• Modularity: Yes: ammunition type loadout
• Production: Minor
• Material: Durasteel frame, quadranium hull

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Classification: Artillery
• Role: Heavy Artillery
• Size: Large
• Height: 5.3m
• Length: 17.8m
• Width: 8.0m
• Weight: Heavy (250 tons)
• Minimum Crew: 1
• Optimal Crew: 8 (1 pilot, 7 gunners)
• Propulsion: Repulsorlift
• Speed: Slow (70 kph)
• Maneuverability: Low
• Armament: Very high
• 4 Anoat electromagnetic plasma cannons (2 port, 2 starboard; 180x180 arc)
• 2 Adywan heavy mortars (360 x 45 arc)
• Defenses: High
• Squadron Count: Low (8)
• Passenger Capacity: 0
• Cargo Capacity: Average

SPECIAL FEATURES

• 
  Integrated rangefinder
  
• 
  Long-range communications array
  
• 
  Sensor array
  
• 
  Environmental control equipment (temperature control, air purifier, containment field)
  
• 
  Electronic warfare package (sensor-jamming ECM, ECCM)
  
• 
  Inertial compensator
  
• 
  Tensor field generator
  
• 
  Refrigerator unit
  
• 
  Shield generator
  
• 
  Kreelan ERA
  

Strengths:

• Primary weapon's great indirect firepower (thanks to the explosive firepower of the 220mm mortar)
• Can jam enemy vehicle sensors and defend against sensor jamming attacks
• A mortar can be removed from the vehicle - or can be re-inserted - in the vehicle in 120 seconds
• Heavy defenses

Weaknesses:

• Limited mortar ammunition
• Slow, ponderous
• Infantry must operate some distance away from the vehicle because of the ERA's hazards
• Slow roof retraction time (15 seconds)
• The mortars are exposed from above, rendering it vulnerable to airborne attack, along with its magazines
• The mortars have limited ammunition - can be a problem in prolonged firefights
• The mortars can only be removed from the vehicle one at a time
• When the mortars are being moved in or out of the vehicle, the back door of the vehicle is exposed and sneaky, opportunistic enemies can fire at the then-exposed ammunition magazines during that timespan
• The mortar can't fire at point-blank range, rendering it vulnerable to anti-tank fire at point-blank range

DESCRIPTION: As with its smaller cousin, the Tartarus, the Sabre uses mortars as its primary weapon, inside the same chassis as the Premion light shuttle, which makes it well-suited for indirect-fire operations where guided ordnance is ill-suited. Due to 220mm mortar ammunition being carried inside the vehicle, the usual requirement for crewing Adywan mortars is brought down from eight to three. Also, due to the necessity of keeping the ammunition in cool areas, the ammunition magazine is refrigerated. In addition, a retractable roof hatch is there for allowing the mortar to fire once it's in position to fire, which takes 15 seconds to retract or extend. When the mortar is being reloaded, the secondary weapon, four retractable Anoat electromagnetic plasma repeater cannons, can each fire three shots per second across 180 degrees, and with a separate gunner. Furthermore, the slew of defenses have been upgraded on the Sabre: explosive-reactive armor and shield generators have been added, with a quadranium hull underneath the ERA layer. In fact, the "wings", in which the secondary guns can retract, are part of the shock absorption system, enabling it to limit the impact of recoil on the vehicle when the mortars are fired.

But because the mortar is the main armament of the vehicle, some of the weaknesses of the vehicle are tied to it: the mortar is exposed from above while in position to fire, the mortar can't fire at point-blank range, which renders the vehicle vulnerable from both anti-tank and airborne attacks, and, most importantly, the limited size of its ammunition magazine. Also, while the mortar can be moved in or out of the vehicle, doing so takes time, during which the vehicle is vulnerable thanks to the need to open the rear door, where a sneaky enemy can fire at its then-exposed ammunition magazines during the timespan. For these reasons, commanders wishing to deploy Sabres should deploy them behind a support line, with infantry some distance away due to ERA being a hazard to infantry.

 

[Gir Quee]

Under Review.

 

[Gir Quee]

Can jam enemy vehicles and defend against jamming attacks

We could use a bit more detail about this if this isn't going to be fluff. Is this sensor and/or communication jamming? What techniques or technologies do they use?

What is the importance of the mortars being moved in and out of the vehicle? Is this something that is needed for them to be loaded or fired?

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

[member="Gir Quee"] It seems to be more specific to sensor jamming.

As for getting mortars in or out of that vehicle, how I see this feature used is more about fighting an enemy in an entrenched position, where one would need to ferry weapons from a staging area to a combat zone.

 

[Gir Quee]

[member="Jessica Med-Beq"], I think that this is a bit overpowered right now. Vehicle to vehicle, it has no area of weakness. On a unit level, it's true that this has a slightly lower number of vehicles per squadron than normal, but I don't think this offsets the raw power of this vehicle or its high defense.

I'd recommend lowering an immediate combat-related rating(armament, defense, speed, etc) to something below average. Alternatively, you could add a significant weakness that is easily exploited by most enemies in a combat environment (very limited ammo supply, having to fully swap out mortars to reload, etc).

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

[member="Gir Quee"] Here, reduced mobility stats...

 

[Gir Quee]

[member="Jessica Med-Beq'], my memory could be faulty, but it looks like the defense has been increased now as well along with the maneuverability being dropped.

Lower an additional rating please.

 

[Jessica Med-Beq]

[member="Gir Quee"] Lowered defense somewhat...

 

[Gir Quee]

Awesome. Pending Secondary Approval. Thanks! [member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Approved.