Translation:Alien medium armour txt/en

UFOpaedia Entry

Proposal

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

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

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Alien Artifact -- Alien Medium Armour

Commander, we've salvaged a new suit of alien armour from the field. It's much heavier than the alien armour we've encountered previously, and it seems to stop ordinary firearms without taking so much as a scratch. Its trauma plates are made of the densest CNT (Carbon Nanotube) weave I've ever seen. We need to research this armour right away to determine which weapons will remain effective against aliens wearing it, and to try and find a method to replicate it for our own troops. As long as we can't match this technology, we are at a severe disadvantage.

This project will require a significant amount of lab time and funding. Work will start as soon as we have your authorisation, Commander.

--Cdr. Navarre

Result

TO: Base Commander, PHALANX, Atlantic Operations Command

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

DATE: %02i %s %i

SUB: Re: Alien Artifact -- Alien Medium Armour

Where armour is concerned, the aliens' design philosophy seems to be, "If it works, let's use more of it." This new armour is similar in design to the alien body armour, but it does away with the compromises and delicate balances of light armour. Instead of just protecting the torso and head, the medium armour attempts to cover all vital areas with much more dense nanopolymer plates, including major arteries and sensitive nerve clusters. In comparison with the alien body armour, the medium suit has double the number of nanotube strands per square centimetre. As a result these plates are nearly impenetrable to standard human firearms and even the softer mesh covering the joints can stop bullets with disturbing ease.

As I mentioned before, the suit strongly emphasises protection over mobility. The large trauma plates get in the wearer's way no matter what race or size he might be, and the dense nanotube polymers used are so heavy that the overall weight will slow down even an Ortnok. There are numerous mini-servos and other mechanical parts that help deal with some of the weight, but their effect is limited overall. Other devices are integrated into the armour to assist aiming and vision. These are quite interesting and we may be able to replicate them on a larger scale as weapon enhancements.

The aliens seem to have designed this armour with the war against humanity in mind. Besides being virtually bulletproof, its performance against lasers, incendiary and plasma weapons is much improved over the Alien Body Armour, though it's still somewhat vulnerable to particle beams. Aliens wearing this armour will suffer minimal damage from crossing open flame or brief shots from our flamethrower, but prolonged exposure will still overheat the suit and cook the alien inside.

In better news, the armour does not fully enclose the alien, leaving some skin or breathing passages exposed to air. That means blister gas will remain effective, though it will take longer for the gas to reach its full effect.

The alien suits won't fit our troops without modifications that would critically weaken them. We've taken a few stabs at replicating the dense nanopolymers, but our Workshop machinery is currently unable to weave so many nanotubes at once.

Now please excuse me, sir -- I was due in my rack twelve hours ago and I think my eyes are starting to bleed. Goodnight!

--Cdr. Navarre

Links

• Nanocomposite Armour

Research Tree Data

(This information for reference only; do not translate or include in-game.)

Prerequisites:
 1 Alien medium armour
 Alien Body Armour

Opens:
 Nano Heavy Armour
 Weapon Assistant