Design your own infantry unit, starship, etc

[Pu-239]

Also is a gatling style gun firing large amounts of very small caliber caseless ammo practical for a bipod mounted weapon?

[Sea Skimmer]

Also is a gatling style gun firing large amounts of very small caliber bullets practical for a bipod mounted weapon?

No. Several exist. But no one bought them because it's utterly pointless on a ground mounting. A single 7.62mm M240 would be more effective and weight far less then a 5.56 Gatling, which weights about 80 pounds. The need for a link less feed system and a power supply make gatling pretty pointless. In small caliber you also lose what make such weapons useful, the effect at range.

Anything over 1000RPM is pretty much worthless in a machine gun meant for ground fighting. All going higher does is burn out barrels faster and waste ammunition. That’s why while a perfectly good machine gun can be built that fires faster such as the MG42, everyone is building ones that fire about 800 RPM.

[Sea Skimmer]

2.6 inches is pretty thin for protecting such valuable cargo, right? I think a 50 cal would puch through that easily. Make the armor out of steel or something, this is a powered vehicle so who cares about weight (to a point) .

Actually its far too much armor.... Try 20, at best and poor off road performance.

Just to be clear, I'm talking about the Wyvern here

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

In the category of Other (yet again in my own universe):

SF-128E "Eviscerator" Starfighter

Length: 9.1m
Wingspan: 7.85m

Powerplant: Riff & Johnson 4x Cold Fusion MkVI Stardrive
Engine: R&J X-520 Dual Thrusters
Shield System: TX-90 Spec. Radiation/Combat MkIII Shielding Package
Armor: 0.37mm composite micro-filament; 34cm Titanium/Adamantium alloy; 20cm inner titanium
Crew: 1 pilot
Max Speed: 130mps
Max FTL Speed: 33x speed of light

Weapons:
- Twin nose-mounted EMX-2 "Shredder" neutron cannons (theoretical ROF is 57,000rpm)
- Dual wingtip-mounted EMX-9 Plasma cannons
- 6 M-56 "Penetrator" missles (16 kilotons/piece)
- 16 M-27A3 "Wasp" anti-fighter missles with ECCM package(0.54 kilotons/piece)

Auxiliary Systems:
- 3x Redundant ECM Package and multi-wave jammer
- Auxiliary Power Unit (enough for emergency life support, 15% shields, and 66% engine power, EMP shielded)
- 5x Redundant Emergency Life Support System (EMP shielded)
- Emergency Pilot Safety and Survival in Vacuum Unit (EPSSVU, fully self-contained and EMP shielded)
- MkVII Starfighter On-Board Targeting and Information Computer (Mk7SOBTIC)

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Oh, and the corresponding pilot:

Imperial Starfighter Pilot, Lieutenant Junior Grade:

Training:
- 2 months mandatory boot camp
- 2 months mandatory flight school
- 6 additional peace-time months flight school/officer training/tactics, etc.

Equipment:
- SI MkVI Armored Vac-suit, many similar systems as the Marine Combat Armor, mentioned above, only with more flight-relevant information and gear.

- SI flight suit, black/green motif
- EM2506A1 Energy Pistol, 3 magazines
- SI Field Survival Kit
- Navy Officer Combat Knife

[Howedar]

Military Buggy-

Dimensions:
4 meters long, 2.5 meters wide, .7 meters high, not including turret
3 wheels

Weight- ~2 tons- too lazy to calculate weight for everything

Crew of 2- gunner and driver

Weaponry:
1 mk19 fully automatic grenade launcher, externally mounted on sealed roof turret with
1 autoloading RPG with 10 rounds
1 minigun, US M2HB Machinegun, or MK19 fully automatic grenade launcher.

Armour- 3 inches steel and ceramic sandwich, with some tungsten layers in critical parts.

Just how are you getting an off-road vehicle under 3 feet tall?

[Sea Skimmer]

Oh, and the corresponding pilot:

Imperial Starfighter Pilot, Lieutenant Junior Grade:

Training:
- 2 months mandatory boot camp
- 2 months mandatory flight school
- 6 additional peace-time months flight school/officer training/tactics, etc.

Equipment:
- SI MkVI Armored Vac-suit, many similar systems as the Marine Combat Armor, mentioned above, only with more flight-relevant information and gear.

- SI flight suit, black/green motif
- EM2506A1 Energy Pistol, 3 magazines
- SI Field Survival Kit
- Navy Officer Combat Knife

Your pilot training program sucks and to be more like two point five years total, not 10 months. You can't produce a competent pilot in that time. Hell the USAAF gave its pilots more training time then that in WW2.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Oh, and the corresponding pilot:

Imperial Starfighter Pilot, Lieutenant Junior Grade:

Training:
- 2 months mandatory boot camp
- 2 months mandatory flight school
- 6 additional peace-time months flight school/officer training/tactics, etc.

Equipment:
- SI MkVI Armored Vac-suit, many similar systems as the Marine Combat Armor, mentioned above, only with more flight-relevant information and gear.

- SI flight suit, black/green motif
- EM2506A1 Energy Pistol, 3 magazines
- SI Field Survival Kit
- Navy Officer Combat Knife

Your pilot training program sucks and to be more like two point five years total, not 10 months. You can't produce a competent pilot in that time. Hell the USAAF gave its pilots more training time then that in WW2.

Volatile, aren't we?
/cynicism on

Back in the day, around the time of the early 21st century, on-board computer and flight-control systems were primitive and the pilot had to do almost all the work. With the advent of smaller, faster, and more efficient computers pilots were able to take their mind off of the little nuances of flying and concentrate on evasive manuevers and killing the enemy. Not to mention the fact that drag, altitude, air intake and other atmospheric issues are no longer applicable. Yes, new concepts come into play in a zero-g vacuum, but again, the highly advanced computers can take care of such minor details. Landing a craft can be easily slaved to a flight-control computer on the target capital ship. As such, flight training does not have to be nearly as comprehensive or in-depth as it once was. Also keep in mind that this is a completely green cadet, and the training program continues until you are either no longer living, no longer in the Imperial Navy, or are now flying a desk.

/cynicism off

[Knife]

Again, in my own universe:

Imperial Marine Private:
Training:
- 2 Earth-months boot camp, mandatory
- 6 months firearms, tactics, leadership, theory, accuracy, etc. (waived during draft)

Weapons:
- SI EM-27A1 Energy Assault Rifle
- SI Mono-molecular edged Marine Combat Knife/Bayonet
- 3 MkIV Plas-frag Grenades

Armor:
- SI MkI Marine Combat Armor (looks sort of like the armor in Starship Troopers, but more tech-ish and matte black)

Equipment:
- Relevant Battle Dress Fatigues (e.g., Urban, Woodland, Desert, etc.)
- Combat Boots
- 4 SI EM-27A1 magazines
- Canteen, morphine, field rations, etc.
On/In Armor:
- Flashlight, on helmet
- Short-range comm (for local squad communication, otherwise worthless)
- Emergency transponder
- Vital signs monitor/M-5 Corpsman Assistant Unit "Medics' Best Friend"
- Visor HUD, MFD, and night vision (rarely used, limits visibility)

Your realize that modern day Marines go through about 3 months of basic training. After that they used to goto MCT or Marine Combat Training that was about 1 month and then on to their alpha school inwhich the Grunt would go through another month of training in SOI or School of Infantry. I hear that now a days that if your going to be a grunt you bypass the MCT portion of the training and go straight from basic to SOI.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Your realize that modern day Marines go through about 3 months of basic training. After that they used to goto MCT or Marine Combat Training that was about 1 month and then on to their alpha school inwhich the Grunt would go through another month of training in SOI or School of Infantry. I hear that now a days that if your going to be a grunt you bypass the MCT portion of the training and go straight from basic to SOI.

Yes. Was this rhetorical? If so, I have failed to see your point (not being sarcastic, if it was rhetorical, I really did miss whatever you were trying to convey )

[Knife]

Just thought that your training times were a little short for a future super duper unit. Not being an ass, just my constructive critizism.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

An Imperial Marine is not a "super duper unit", and, since draft is rarely instituted, receive 8 months of training as oppossed to the 5 months you mentioned...

[Knife]

Also, I was looking at their gear and do they get inclimate weather gear, some sort of tent or other live out in the field gear. How about a E tool or personal cargo bay(read asspack). Any sort of NVG's or starlight scopes, whats the TO&E and who has a SAW if any. Why do they need SI EM 27a1 magazines for a energy rifle of the same nomeclature? Sorry, I shouldn't nitpick just get defensive about the jarheads.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Oh, and BTW thank you for your decidedly friendly response

[Knife]

An Imperial Marine is not a "super duper unit", and, since draft is rarely instituted, receive 8 months of training as oppossed to the 5 months you mentioned...

Not a super duper unit? Why call them Marines then.........

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

1) Marine Combat Armor is mostly self-contained and supports the wearer quite well so a Marine would rarely require stuff like tents.

2) They have night-vision in their helmet visors, as well as a MFD HUD

3) TO&E? SAW?

4) Well, um, generally weapons require corresponding ammuntion

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Not a super duper unit? Why call them Marines then.........

Are you thinking of WH40K Marines? These Marines are more akin to the Mobile Infantry in Starship Troopers, and specialize in planetary landings, much the same as modern-day marines specialize in coastal landings.

[Sea Skimmer]

Oh, and the corresponding pilot:

Imperial Starfighter Pilot, Lieutenant Junior Grade:

Training:
- 2 months mandatory boot camp
- 2 months mandatory flight school
- 6 additional peace-time months flight school/officer training/tactics, etc.

Equipment:
- SI MkVI Armored Vac-suit, many similar systems as the Marine Combat Armor, mentioned above, only with more flight-relevant information and gear.

- SI flight suit, black/green motif
- EM2506A1 Energy Pistol, 3 magazines
- SI Field Survival Kit
- Navy Officer Combat Knife

Your pilot training program sucks and to be more like two point five years total, not 10 months. You can't produce a competent pilot in that time. Hell the USAAF gave its pilots more training time then that in WW2.

Volatile, aren't we?
/cynicism on

Back in the day, around the time of the early 21st century, on-board computer and flight-control systems were primitive and the pilot had to do almost all the work. With the advent of smaller, faster, and more efficient computers pilots were able to take their mind off of the little nuances of flying and concentrate on evasive manuevers and killing the enemy. Not to mention the fact that drag, altitude, air intake and other atmospheric issues are no longer applicable. Yes, new concepts come into play in a zero-g vacuum, but again, the highly advanced computers can take care of such minor details. Landing a craft can be easily slaved to a flight-control computer on the target capital ship. As such, flight training does not have to be nearly as comprehensive or in-depth as it once was. Also keep in mind that this is a completely green cadet, and the training program continues until you are either no longer living, no longer in the Imperial Navy, or are now flying a desk.

/cynicism off

If your computers are really that good, then the human pilot is pretty pointless, unless for some reason you want your fighters limited to 12g's when airframes and electronics can be built with early 1980's tech that can take 25.

We already have systems today, which can target and release weapons without human input in flight, and evasion requires piloting the craft, either the human is flying or your super computer is. Programming in a tail warning system that’s link to the flight controls is also possible today, the Russian played around with it in the mid 1990's along with trail radars and reward firing missiles. They had some very screwy Su-27's flying around for a few years.

A big chunk of the cost of a modern fighter goes into make it survivable for the pilot, as does a large amount of volume and weight. If your pilot really can get away with about as much training as a tank driver, then he could be very easily replaced with a computer and the performance boost would be very very significant.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

If your computers are really that good, then the human pilot is pretty pointless, unless for some reason you want your fighters limited to 12g's when airframes and electronics can be built with early 1980's tech that can take 25.

We already have systems today, which can target and release weapons without human input in flight, and evasion requires piloting the craft, either the human is flying or your super computer is. Programming in a tail warning system that’s link to the flight controls is also possible today, the Russian played around with it in the mid 1990's along with trail radars and reward firing missiles. They had some very screwy Su-27's flying around for a few years.

A big chunk of the cost of a modern fighter goes into make it survivable for the pilot, as does a large amount of volume and weight. If your pilot really can get away with about as much training as a tank driver, then he could be very easily replaced with a computer and the performance boost would be very very significant.

A computer can calculate like no human being ever could. They can make micro-corrections to flight and target weaponry so that it lands exactly where planned. But a computer cannot decide. Sure, it can tell the difference between something that's true or not, but it can't truly decide. To our knowledge, there is no other entity in existence which can out-think a human. A computer can hit the fighter in its sights at extreme range, but it cannot predict that said fighter will jink to the right at the last second. A human, and only a human could make the tactical decision to fire a tad to the right.

[Knife]

Well might as well throw my half a cent worth in.

The UEMC (United Earth Marine Corps.)

TO&E for one squad:

12 Marines organized into 3 fire teams of 4. Team leader of fire team 1 also serves as the squad leader. Squad might be larger by an organic attachment of heavy weapons team or other mission specific equipment or operators.

Each team consists of 1 team leader armed with a Browning Model 2010 combat rifle. The M2010 is a 5.56mm carbine that is a air cooled, electricly feed, gas operated rifle with semi, burst, and/or fully automatic fire. The standard round for the M2010 is a 5.56x54 ball round with a ceramic cassing. The cassing disinergrates durring the firing process and leaves little if no sizeable pieces after firing. The team leader also has a M82 MkIII projectile launcher capable of firing a wide variety of round including HE/DP, smoke, starclusters, or flechete rounds.

Next is the gunner that carries the HK 246. The 246 is a light machine gun designed to incorperate the 5.56 caseless round, but in a high volume of fire. It can either fire from standard M2010 magazines or utilize a 100 or 200 round drum that uses the electrical feed system.

The Agunner is next, he carries the M2010 and a spare barrel for the 246 and assists the gunner by either spotting or providing flanking protection for the SAW.

Last but not least is the Rifle man. He also carries the basic M2010 and has no where else to go but up.

Equipment common to all:

Battle helm(helmet w/ short range comm system and a digital compass built into the HUD, small FLIR unit attached to the side with a small monocular HUD), multipurpose battle vest(designed to make a 5.56 round hitting you survivable as well as cargo space for ammo, batteries, and other equipment), BDU(standard uniform disigned to help conceal the Marine from IR and FLIR sensors), Combat Boots.

Other equipment: K Bar knife, 8 standard magazines, 8 standard M2010 batteries, 4 standard battle helm batteries, 2 two quart canteens, web belt w/ equipment hook ups, pack, tent(two man tents), various inclemate weather gear avalible, E tool, mess kit, personal hygine kit, and meal packs.

Missions specific equipment: Various gernades from HE, smoke, frag, and other demo are avalible. Side arms and secondary weapons are availible.

Training:
1 year of boot camp. Covers the basics of military life to drill to marksmanship, to tatics and strategy. Last 6 month concentrate on various terrains they could fight in to include Mountains, Desert, Winter or Artic, or urban.

After basic, the Marine is assigned to a FMF unit on a probational basis and could be sent back to basic if the proper skills were not obtained.

Every 18 months, every Marine must undergo basic BST and EST skill test to ensure a constant warfighting capability. If anyone fails said test, they are sent to a boot camp like retraining facility to get back up to speed.

Various school exsist to enhance a basic Marines training and of coarse there are schools for NCO's and SNCO's. Anyone wanting to become an officer in the Marines must serve atleast one term(5 years) as an enlisted man. Due to the back breaking and intensity of the training if not the life we would like to remind you that.... We're looking for a few Good Men.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Here's a standard squad of Imperial Marines:
All squad members are the same as the Imperial Marine mentioned earlier unless otherwise noted.

Same organization as Knife's Marines, above

Team Red (command team):
- Sergeant, has Marine Combat Armor with an extended comm and command suite, also sports an EM-43 Energy Carbine with 4 mags instead of the EM-27A1
- Squad Medic, generally a corporal, also uses the EM-43 and carries medical gear instead of the heavier EM-27A1 and grenades
- 2 Marines

Team Blue:
- 3 Marines
- 1 Gunner, armed with the SM-90A2 9mm Belt-fed Machine Rifle, a hybrid assault rifle/machine gun (think BAR or FG42). Has optional bipod. Instead of grenades, carries 200 jacketed hollow point 9mm rounds for the SM-90A2

Team Green:
- 2 Marines
- 1 Combat Sniper, armed with the EM-160SD semiautomatic rifle, complete with adjustable 10x scope and 5 20-round mags. No grenades.
- 1 Combat Engineer, armed with the EM-43, 6 Plas-frag 'nades, 2 anti-personnel mines, a demolitions/defusal kit, and 1 anti-tank mine

Team Yellow:
- 2 Marines
- 1 Gunner
- 1 AT Marine, using the EM-43 and an AT35 portable RPG. No grenades, carries 3 HEAT rockets instead

[Knife]

1) Marine Combat Armor is mostly self-contained and supports the wearer quite well so a Marine would rarely require stuff like tents.

2) They have night-vision in their helmet visors, as well as a MFD HUD

3) TO&E? SAW?

4) Well, um, generally weapons require corresponding ammuntion

1. Marines don't alway fight, they gotta sleep and eat and even in a combat enviroment, relax. When your suits off, were do they call home. Even a small tent or shelter half is better than the second rock on your right.

2. OK, no problem there then.

3. Table of Organization and Equipment.

4. Yeah, but you nomenclature say's its a energy rifle. Why would an energy rifle need a magazine for?

[Knife]

Oh, almost forgot. SAW is Squad Automatic Weapon. A light machine gun organic to the unit to provide a high volume of suppressive fire.

[SirNitram]

From my novel-in-progress...

Everlasting Glory-class Dreadnought.

Basic dimensions: 6 Km long, 1.5 Km diameter. Submarine-shaped.

Power Generation: 12 antimatter/matter reactors. Each is self-contained, and various safety mechanisms based off a loss of power(Think each reactor is held against a magnetic field by an electromagnetic field. Power drops, reactor is flung.).

300 Capacitors: Store power for silent running(Think the batteries used by a U-boat when underwater).

Stealth materials on hull(Similar to modern stealth aircraft, only not the black. IIRC, blue-black is better for absorbing scans, but black was used for cooler look).

Eka-lead(The theorized stable transuranic) hull to help absorb heat/rads.

Ion drive units, capable of 30G's maximum. Normal running 5G's. Silent running is coasting.

Grav-Buffers to lessen the affects of acceleration. Can negate up to 27G's.

Multi-munition tubes, thirty thousand. Can be configured for pure kinetic kill, nuclear, biological, or antimatter warheads. Reload rate, 90 seconds.

Electromagnetic Field Generators. Built to form a near-solid electromagnetic field over the hull, to deflect incoming radiation/impacts. (Inspired by Mike's thoughts on gravity vs. electromagnetic shields, and the recent success of electromagnetics in shielding an APC from RPG-7's)

Lots and lots and lots of antimissile point defense. Think tiny chainguns mounted all over the hull, and computer controlled.

I think the last tech of note is the Resetter, but it's not standard issue.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

As you know, I fielded #3 in my squad organization, above

1) Marine Combat Armor is more comfortable than it looks, so its rarely removed in a combat environment. Its got a power supply that will last ~5,028 years, so turning it off is not an issue. Each Marine is issued plenty of water and field rations. Also, Imperial Marines are only very rarely assigned to long-term missions without support units nearby. The field rations are generally only used in emergency situations, like being MIA with a busted transponder in the middle of a desert

4) In my universe, energy magazines are incompatable with any weapon they were not designed for. Thus, they are referred to by their weapon's designation. Solid munition mags are another issue, of course