Jayne's Intelligence Annual - Earth Vehicles

VC-150 Photinus Heavy Cargo Hauler "I tell you, a ship like this, you treat her proper - she'll be with you for the rest of your life." The Photinus is a VTOL cargo aircraft developed by the United Earth Government to service remote locations. A pure Vectored thrust aircraft, the Photinus is little more than four engine pods, a cockpit, and a large cargo section. The lack of wings was not considered a detriment given the aircraft’s low speed and service ceiling. The cargo section of the Photinus is divided into two bays, with forward facing cargo doors that double as loading ramps. Each bay is 60 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 22 feet tall. The aircraft is capable of carrying upwards of 120 tons of cargo in its holds. Between these two bays are located the aircraft's fuel tanks and much of its internal systems. Situated behind the two person in line cockpit is a small living space with bunk, kitchenette, and toilet, for crew use on long flights. The Photinus can burn either conventional jet fuel or SLMH in its turbines, although SLMH was preferred for the longer range it provided. On conventional fuel it had a range of 1000 miles, with SLMH it could reach triple that. The aircraft has a top speed of 300mph (480kmh), with a maximum flight ceiling of 4000 feet (1219.2m). It possesses only basic communications gear and night vision optics, although military models are fitted with scrambled comm systems and ECM modules for increased protection. The Photinus was first built in 2018, and became a common sight in UEG and non-UEG space. Many civilian cargo services on the edge of UEG territories obtained second hand Photinus haulers, pressing them into service as general purpose cargo and passenger craft. Many of these operators converted a portion of one cargo bay into more permanent living quarters for themselves, their crew, and any families they had. The Photinus also saw military service during the 2020's. Classified as a drop-ship, it was employed primarily to move supplies to military outposts, but was also pressed into service as a drop-ship to move mecha, vehicles, and troops to the front lines. Most were retired from military service in 2025, when they were replaced by more advanced transports. During the war with the masters in 2030 and 2031 however, some civilian Photinus transports were pressed back into service due to combat losses. The type continued in use even after the Invid invasion, due to its lack of protoculture use. While Kerosene based jet fuel was in limited supply in many areas, the long range of the Photinus, even using conventional fuel, allowed many regions to continue to trade. Some resistance groups employed Photinus haulers as mobile bases of operation, allowing them to operate over a wider area and maintain a cover as freelance merchants and cargo haulers. Others found themselves fitted with missile racks and improvised gun turrets, deployed by the resistance as heavy gunships and combat transports. In at least one reported case, such a gunship was employed as an impromptu bomber, dropping several tons of improvised explosive charges out of its cargo bays during an assault on an Invid Hive. During the Invid occupation space parts for the Photinus were in short supply, and many surviving examples employed scavenged or scratch built parts and improvised repairs, a testament to the tenacity of the Patchers and Technicians of earth.

NT.1000 "Ferdinand" Helistat Super Hauler The NT.1000 was a development of the post global war era technological renaissance. Ironically, it represents a development off older lighter than air technology largely abandoned decades before the global war started. the NT.1000 Helistat is a metal-clad rigid airship that also makes use of helicopter technology to enhance its cargo lift capacity. The airship is large, nearly the same length as the 20th century's LZ127 Graf Zeppelin, and far larger in width and height. The NT.1000's outer skin is a thin armored skin that makes it practically invulnerable to infantry scale weapons fire, and resistant to light anti-vehicle weapons. Beneath this armored skin is the lightweight composite airframe, which surrounds the Helium lift gas cells. Along the top and sides of the airship are condensers for gathering water from the air, and small ballast tanks line the interior of the lower envelope for fine tuning the buoyancy. This water can be ejected out multiple ports along the bottom of the airship. Slung beneath the lifting envelope is a gondola cargo bay and engineering module, which extends into the lower envelope. on either side of this gondola are the twin rotors of the helicopter system, which provide both propulsion and additional lift. Unlike airships from the 20th century, the NT.1000's bridge is located at the top prow of the lift envelope. The bridge is lightweight and connected to the crew spaces above the engineering module by a walkway through the center of the airship, along its keel. The NT.1000's cargo bay can carry 90 tons of cargo, and is large enough to house multiple 1st generation destroids. An extendable ramp at the front of the bay allows easy access. The NT.1000 has crew spaces for up to 20 people, including a kitchen, shower facilities, a small lounge, and bunk style sleeping quarters. If pressed into service as a passenger vessel, several hundred people can be housed in the airships large cargo bay, albeit in primitive conditions. Power for the vessels systems and rotors is provided by a flex-fuel fuel cell, which is capable of running on any hydrocarbon or even SLMH. Fuel tanks for the power system are housed interspersed with the ballast tanks, are self sealing, and armored for safety. The rotor system gives the airship a top speed of 80 mph/128kmh, a ceiling of 30,000 feet (9144 meters), and a range of 4000 miles (6400 km), double that using SLMH. The rotor system enhances its vertical take off and landing capability by allowing it to be precisely controlled, and using the rotors the airship can spin in place and fly backwards or even sideways, the latter at only a tenth of the top speed however. The NT.1000 is completely unarmed, although it does have a radar system (range 50 miles) and turreted video cameras for navigation, in additional to a radio system (300 miles) with satellite uplink capability, and an autopilot enabled navigation computer able to use GPS, radio positioning, or terrain matching to determine its location and plot a course. The NT.1000 was produced in Germany, with licensed construction from firms in the United States and Brazil. Although it was far slower than cargo aircraft and required specialized support systems at airports, its range, the size of its cargo bay, and ability to haul heavy loads made the NT.1000 a valuable tool in the time after the Global war ended. NT.1000's were a major part of the UEG's support efforts for Macross Island and the reconstruction of the SDF-1, and became a relatively unknown backbone to international trade. Many survived the Zentraedi 'Rain of Death', and became a valuable tool in the reconstruction. Of particular note was the use of NT.1000 super haulers by the nascent Army of the Southern Cross as troop transports and supply haulers, which provided that organization a mobility it otherwise lacked. The NT.1000 continued in service well into the 2020's, and even saw low rate production during the reconstruction, making it one of the most common civilian cargo aircraft in use. After the arrival of the Invid in 2031, the NT.1000 continued to be employed, largely ignored by the Invid due to their non-combat nature and non-protoculture power plants.Usually refitted to use hydrogen lift gas, NT.1000's became vectors for trade, in some cases even became homes to roving communities similar to the Gypsy's before the robotech wars. The resistance too loved the NT.1000 due to its long range, VTOL ability, and relative invisibility to Invid sensors. A resistance cell with an NT.1000 had massive mobility without sacrificing its supply of mecha, and could easily pass as a civilian vessel. Resistance groups rarely armed their NT.1000's, due to the fragile nature of the airship, instead relying on disguise or embarked combatants for defense.

Cerberus Heavy Hover tank Although constructed from mecha components, the Cerberus Hover tank is classified as a vehicle and not an Improvised Mecha Unit due to the fact it lacks limbs, which are the primary defining trait of mecha. The Cerberus is a hover tank constructed from the main fuselage of a VF/B-9 Beta Fighter. The Beta's internal missile bays are stripped out to make room for sets of VTOL thrusters that allow the vehicle to Hover at altitudes of up to 30 feet (9.144 meters). The intact engines off of the Beta, or salvaged from other sources such as the Conbat fighter, are mounted in place of the beta's fighter mode leg pods, providing forward thrust. Due to the high powered nature of these engines, the hover tank can achieve velocities of up to 180 mph (288 kmh), although at top speed the vehicle is difficult to steer. The Beta's aft sensor pod is removed, in favor of a weapons turret. Typical armament for this turret is three EU-12 Heavy Particle Cannons, although an example with a salvaged MMDS-8 Missile launcher survives, and twin HPW-125A1 Particle Cannon, or multiple EU-11 laser gun pods, EU-113 Pulse Beam Cannons, or MIW-20 Ion Pulse Cannon are known to have been employed when EU-12 particle cannons were not available. Secondary firepower comes from a pair of EU-14 Pulse Beam Cannons mounted atop the hull of the tank, fixed forward. Alternate weapon sources, such as EU-11's, E-20's, and other light energy weapons were also employed when EU-14's were not available. The Standard sensors and power system of the Beta fighter were generally left intact, aside from the removal of the sensor pod, giving the vehicle superior sensors to most non-mecha. The loss of the limbs and the alterations to the controls required to function as a vehicle make it inferior to the parent mecha in terms of maneuverability. (receives no MECT bonuses.) The Cerberus class of hover tank had a very limited operational life, having been developed in 2042, only two years before the final Battle of Reflex Point and the end of the Invid occupation. Generally only constructed when Beta fighters became too damaged for normal repair, Cerberus hover tanks were accordingly rare. All known Cerberus examples came from North America, although there are indications of comparable vehicles used in South America, Australia, and Asia. Most were built by resistance groups, though at least a few made their way into the hands of human bandits and independent militias. Several of these survived the war and are still serve in the regional defense forces of earth. In the last months of 2044, at least one advanced form of the Cerberus was constructed, dubbed a 'destabilizer tank' by the independent militia group which employed it. In design it was a standard Cerberus, however its particle cannons and beam cannons had been enhanced using systems copied from an experimental EP-80 Infantry Destabilizer. These systems gave it's EU-12's the same force field defeating capabilities as the Destabilizer Beam Cannon employed by the VF/A-6X Shadow Fighter. This tank was employed in a failed attempt to destroy an Invid hive, and was destroyed in the ensuing firefight. It is unknown if this model was a one off unit, or whether additional "Destabilizer Tanks" had been constructed and might still be found on earth.

M1119A "Jackson" Armored Reconnaissance/Airborne Assault Vehicle Developed as a joint effort between American, Swedish, and German defense corporations, the M1119 Jackson was the end result of the 'Armored Gun System' program of the late 80's and early 90's, producing a light armored vehicle to replace the M551 Sheridan. The Jackson weighs in at 19 tons in standard configuration, allowing it to be transported and Air dropped by most medium and heavy tactical transport aircraft. The vehicle is equipped with a Flex-fuel hybrid electric drive system allowing it to reach road speeds of up to 72mph (45kph) and off-road speeds of up to 30mph (48kph), with an operational range of 300 miles (480kph). The vehicle is armed with a 105mm smooth-bore gun fitted with a 30 round auto-loader, and a Coaxial .50 caliber machine gun for anti-infantry work. The original model was equipped with relatively simple electronics, but after the start of the Global War all vehicles in active service were refitted with Forward Looking Infrared Night-vision systems, an improved gunnery computer (+2 to strike with main gun), and limited battlefield networking capability (can access friendly combat networks for tactical data, +2 Init). Its most unique feature is its modular armor system, a concept borrowed from the Israeli military. Originally the system was intended with the goal of allowing heavier armor panels to be equipped to give it protection on par with a main battle tank, but weight and mobility issues prevented the idea from being deployed (a full 'level III' armor load doubles the tanks protection, but reduces its speed by 40% and puts high strain on the suspension system and drive-train. a 'Level II' load improves protection by 50%, but restricts the vehicles speed by 20%.) however the system allowed for more rapid repair of the vehicle in the field and allowed for easy refit with improved armor materials as they were developed. This trait proved most useful after the arrival of "The Visitor" in 1999 and the subsequent technological advancements. while most Main Battle Tanks required extensive factory level refits to make full use of the new armor materials being developed,the Jackson could be refit rapidly. The development of the "Main Battle Robot", or Destroid, saw the eclipse of the Tank as the main armored combat vehicle, but the Jackson was chosen by the United Earth Defense Force as its primary armored reconnaissance vehicle for supporting Destroid operations and as the main armored vehicle for 2nd line planetary guard formations. this role saw it fitted out with advanced armor composites that gave it protection on par with the torso of an ADR-04-Mk.X Defender, and equipped it with advanced munitions for its 105mm gun, munitions which would later included in the VHT-01 Spartas Program. The Jackson had several notable variants. the M1119B was a model designed for the UEDF Marine Corps, equipped with deployable floatation screens and a water-jet drive system it could swim across rivers and littoral waters at a speed of up to 4mph (6.4kph). the M1119A2 and M1119B2 model was a fire support model which replaced its gain gun with a 180mm Breech-loading Mortar system and 30 rounds. the M1119A3 was a UEDF effort to deploy energy weapon main armament for its support vehicles, fitted with a compact 155mm Particle Beam cannon (1/4 the range of the model used on the Tomahawk Destroid), powered off a capacitor system providing 10 shots, and tied into an advanced targeting radar (+4 to strike) . Drawing from the vehicles drive system for power, it can recharge 1 shot per minute. This model was not well received due to its limited payload. All variants of the Jackson saw service during operations against Anti-unification rebels, and Post-1st-war the Jackson was put back into production to supplement the Destroids of the rebuilt UEDF and the newly formed Army of the Southern Cross. As a new generation of Battloids was deployed, the Jackson saw its role reduced, and most were traded to UEG member states or sold on the black market to independents. The vehicle saw extensive use during the reconstruction era as a result, but little during the war with the Robotech Masters. During the Invid occupation, the surviving Jackson's saw use with resistance fighters, favored for their firepower and ease of repair, although mecha remained the preference for most cells.