Warrior 2100 Mechanized Combat Vehicle
The beginning of the Twenty-First Century was a time of great technological advancement. Included in this was the incredible material advances during the beginning of the Twenty-Thirties. While many previous advances had been in electronics and could be back-fitted to earlier designs, refitting designs with the new armor materials would result in inferior designs. While the reborn Soviet Union followed this pattern, this was not acceptable for most Western nations including Great Britain. Still, budgets were extremely limited in moth nations and budgets did not allow for completely new designs. Instead, upgraded versions of all ready existing designs such as the British Challenger Tank and the America Bradley fighting vehicle.
Along with the Challenger Main Battle Tanks, the British military had operated the infantry fighting vehicle for decades. British combat experience was limited compared to the United States but the Warrior infantry vehicle had served quite well. It had been successfully exported to Kuwait and other nations. There was some consideration given to just simply adopting the American design but instead it was decided to create an all-new design based on the Warrior design. Some old Warriors were upgraded with new armor, like the Challenger Mk II, to serve while the new design was being introduced but they were retired as soon as new Warrior 2100 vehicles were introduced. It took a few years to bring up production and it was not until the mid part of the Twenty-Thirties that the vehicles begun rolling out of the production lines. The Challenger III tank had a high production priority and started rolling from their factories several months before the Warrior 2100. The design was greatly upgraded during the Twenty-Forties although the designation was not changed. These upgrades included the replacement of the fighting vehicle's power plant. Still, the design was considered dated by this time and it was replaced by the Valiant infantry fighting vehicle in the Twenty-Fifties. Still, some crews preferred the idea of an ungraded version of the Warrior 2100 with a powerful rail gun replacing the 30 mm cannon. Even though the Warrior 2100 was pulled from front line service in British service, they remained in second line roles and was operated by a variety of other nations in front line roles until the coming of the Rifts.
Due to the fighting vehicles service in multiple nations, a small number of Warrior 2100 fighting vehicles survived the coming of the Rifts. Like other pre-Rifts designs, many of the surviving fighting vehicles have found their way into the hands of mercenaries. Like the Challenger Mk III, the Triax company in the New German Republic produces repair parts for the pre-Rifts design. Several post Rifts designs carry similar weaponry although there has been some consideration given towards an upgraded version of the Warrior 2100 including replacing the 30 mm cannon with a powerful rail gun. The design is a bit faster than the Challenger Mk III and can integrate with most post Rifts military designs better than the main battle tank. Still, the armor is a bit weak compared to later designs.
Fuel cell system had become very efficient in the decades before the introduction of the Warrior 2100 and the first production model were powered by a fuel cell system. The tank and armored vehicle designs of many other nations were also powered by fuel cell systems and the Challenger Mk III was initial powered by a similar system. Due to greater power and improved suspension, top speed is about 90 kph on roads and about 75 kph off-road under normal conditions. Range was excellent with a range of around 1000 kilometers although slightly less than the American upgraded Bradley fighting vehicle. Unlike the Bradley, the Warrior is not amphibious although has some fording abilities. The fuel cells operate by pulling the electrons off of an H2 molecule, splitting it into 2H+ molecules and 2 electrons. The electrons pass through the "load" (engines, weapons, avionics, etc.) creating current and powering the systems. Meanwhile, the 2H+ molecules pass from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte. At the other "end", the electrons then recombine with the 2H+ molecules and Oxygen (from the air) and are release as water from the rear of the vehicle. The upgraded version, introduced in the middle of the Twenty-Forties, replaced the fuel cell system with a high efficiency fusion reactor. While top speeds were not improved and power train was unchanged, the fusion reactor gave the infantry fighting design virtually unlimited range. While later designs had much heavier armor, the Warrior 2100 was still much stronger than refitted versions of the original Warrior. Due to the high tech alloys and composites used in the construction, the Warrior 2100 was virtually immune to corrosion, resist general wear, and have an extremely long life expectancy. Similar to the Challenger Mk III, the Warrior 2100 mounted a variety of advanced electronics and was also NBC and EMP protected. Still, it does not have the full systems of later tanks and robot vehicles. While the upgraded version of the American Bradley carries six troops in addition to the crew of three, the Warrior 2100 carries seven troops in addition to the crew of three.
The main gun of the fighting vehicle is a 30 mm Rarden cannon similar to the original Warrior fighting vehicle. While there was some consideration given to an upgraded version carrying a powerful rail gun, the convention cannon was retained in all versions. Still, new ammo was developed to make the cannon more effective. The upgraded version of the American Bradley upgraded to a 30 mm cannon from the original 25 mm cannon. Like the Challenger III, it was decided to mount mini-missile launchers on either side of the turret. This gave the design a considerable defensive punch although payload was limited. Beside the main turret, a 7.62 caliber machine-gun was mounted co-axial to the main gun and is fired by the gunner. With the introduction of new body armors, the medium machine-gun was simply not effective. There were problems with the development of liquid propellant weapons and it had to be retained until the introduction of a pulse laser. With the introduction of a fusion reactor, the cannon was replaced by a pulse laser. The mount was small enough to take the place of the coaxial machine-gun without redesigning the turret. Fuel cell system simply did not produce enough power to support the energy weapons and most retained the medium machine-gun. Many post Rifts crews have replaced the machine-gun with rail guns and/or energy weapons and simply use energy clips to power the weapons. For self defense, two banks of smoke dispensers are mounted on the armored vehicle. In addition to smoke grenades, a variety of other specialized aerosols including tear gas grenades, prismatic aerosol grenades, radar decoying grenades, and thermal decoy grenades.
Model Type: GKN Defense Warrior 2100
Vehicle Type: Armored Personnel Carrier
Crew: Three (Driver, Gunner, and Commander).
Troop Carrying Capacity: Seven soldiers in full gear
M. D. C. by Location:
| 30 mm L21 Rarden cannon (1, Turret): | 75 | |
| [1] 7.62 Machine Gun (1, Coaxial - Early Model): | 10 | |
| [1] Coaxial LMG-60 Automatic Pulse Laser (1, Later Fusion Versions): | 50 | |
| Mini Missile Launchers (2, turret): | 30 each | |
| Weapon Turret: | 150 | |
| [1] Smoke / Gas Dispensers (4): | 15 each | |
| [1] Headlights (2): | 10 each | |
| Rear Hatch: | 100 | |
| Reinforced Crew Compartment: | 100 | |
| Reinforced Personnel Bay: | 100 | |
| [2] Main Body: | 280 | |
| [3] Tractor Treads (2): | 60 each |
Notes:
[1] These are small and difficult targets to strike, requiring the
attacker to make a "called shot," but even then the attacker is -4 to strike.
[2] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is
completely shut down and unsalvageable, but crew and troops may survive
in their reinforced compartments.
[3] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the fighting vehicle
until it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained
crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the
inexperienced. Changing the tread is only advisable when the vehicle is
not under attack.
Speed:
Ground: 55.9 mph (90 kph) maximum road speed; 46.6 mph (75 kph)
off-road. The vehicle is designed to traverse virtually all terrain and
can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a much slower speed (About 10%
of maximum road speed). It can also climb barriers and ford trenches. The
vehicle can also handle side slopes of up to 30%.
Underwater: Can be equipped with snorkel to run underwater down
to 15 feet (4.6 meters)
Maximum Range: Fuel Cell Models: 621.4 miles (1,000 km)
Nuclear Models: Effectively Unlimited (5 years.)
Statistical Data:
Height: 9.16 feet (2.79 meters) to top of turret
Width: 9.95 feet (3.03 meters)
Length: 20.8 feet (6.34 meters)
Weight: 50,265 lbs (22,800 kg) unloaded and 57,100 lbs (25,900
kg) fully loaded
Power Source: Fuel Cell System or Nuclear fusion turbine (Must
be refueled every five years, otherwise effectively unlimited)
Cargo Capacity: Without troops, can carry up to 2.1 tons in
troop compartment.
Black Market Cost: Fuel Cell Models: 1,500,000 Credits
to built. Nuclear: 6,500,000 Credits to build. Add 250,000 if mounting
pulse lasers. Each model usually costs double to triple that to buy one
today. If fitted, any extra weapons systems will add to the cost of the
tank; Warrior 2100 are sometimes found very heavily modified with all weapons
replaced although many retain the 30 mm cannon.
Weapon Systems:
Sensory Equipment
[ Rifts® is a registered trademark owned by Kevin Siembieda and Palladium Books Inc.]
By Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).
Copyright © 2005, Kitsune. All rights reserved.
