Translation:Ugv ares txt/en

Author: Winter (talk, contrib)

Technical Specifications: Ares UGV

CLASSIFIED LEVEL BLACK

PHALANX Extraterrestrial Response Unit

Technical Document, Sigma Clearance -- Commander's Eyes Only

Filed: 19 March 2084

By: Cdr. Paul Navarre, R&D: Engineering Division, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

---

Overview

Although we are unable to field much in the way of armour or air support for our infantry, one of the more interesting weapons available to us is the UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle). This is a class of remote-controlled vehicles that can come in many sizes and shapes, designed for use in all environments including the tight urban scenarios that PHALANX will often be faced with. Depending on their function they can be as large as a miniature tank or as small as a man's fist.

The Ares UGV is a fairly new design; the first functional units were deployed to the French army in 2074 as part of a 15-year rotary upgrade plan for the whole GEU. After its impressive performance in trials and peacekeeping operations, the Ares was adopted by Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain in 2075 and 2076 as an infantry support vehicle. Over the years it came to be used all over the world as a standard attachment to infantry platoons, practically revolutionising infantry tactics and equipment by itself.

Despite its record it never saw combat until the alien attack on Mumbai, where several Ares units of the Indian army were destroyed defending a mosque containing hundreds of unarmed civilians from an overwhelming alien force. However, they managed to hold off the aliens just long enough for a Commonwealth relief force to arrive and evacuate the civilians. Although the Ares units were all destroyed, they inflicted enough damage to cause the aliens to retreat rather than engage the relief force.

The Ares is a formidable thing on any battlefield. Its heavy weapons and armour can turn the tide if a fight appears to be going badly, able to go toe-to-toe with the terrible alien weaponry and remain functional. Unlike larger tanks, the Ares can keep up with infantry crossing rough terrain and squeeze through narrow passages. It can provide support in the tightest situations and deliver its firepower in many different ways with an assortment of weapon modules that can be pressed into multiple combat roles.

Recommended Doctrine

We recommend deploying an Ares in support of any tactical team to provide armour and heavy weapons support. It is also valuable for its resistance to fear and panic. Because the Ares operator is safely removed from the battlefield, controlling his vehicle from a VR unit at the UGV's home base, he doesn't suffer battle stress in the same way our infantry troops do. If an operator ever appears in danger of becoming irrational, he can be taken out of the control unit and replaced with a fresh stand-by operator in seconds.

You can always count on the Ares to be a beacon of calm, stability and immense firepower on the battlefield.

Addenda

Addendum, Executive Officer Abel S. Howard, 20 March 2084:

Commander, I wanted to add this to the file to warn you. Cdr. Navarre's enthusiastic assessment of this vehicle is mostly accurate, but I used to serve with prototype Ares UGVs on black ops in the Middle East and I know they can be a little more quirky than they seem.

I want to stress that the Ares is fine to deploy in almost all terrain -- it only goes funny in extremely sandy or dusty environments. Large amounts of airborne particles can overload the vehicle's air filters and cause component malfunctions in things like the drivetrain, communications hub, even the turret. Nothing dangerous, but enough to cause an Ares to seize up or shut down on you without warning.

I know for a fact that this issue was not fixed in the production model despite my recommendations, so if I were you I wouldn't bring it into those sorts of climates.

---

Links

• UGVs