UV-2 "Ursus" Modular Fighting Vehicle

Technically a variety of platform, the UV-2 Modular Fighting Vehicle - codenamed 'Ursus' - is a combat vehicle piloted by an HLAI. The shallow, lightweight body of the Ursus forms a deck equipable with a wide variety of modules to suit a wide variety of combat roles. Ursus pilots are among the most honored HLAI members of the Cobalt Knights-Infantry due to their courage and endurance in the defense of human and near-human populations throughout the Cobalt Protectorate.

Power Generation

Most of an Ursus' internal volume is taken up with foliated capacitor banks used for propulsion, auxiliary sensors, and the maintenance of the HLAI pilot itself. Embedded beneath the vehicle under a layer of protective ceramics and ultra-dense composites lies an induction coil for touchless charing at base. Many modules with open roof space feature either a collapsible solar array or a special induction coil for charing via orbital maser installations. Thus, the only hard limits on the operational endurance of an Ursus are mechanical damage and ammunition expenditure, though the psychology of the HLAI may also play a factor during long deployments.
Certain power-hungry modules, such as laser turrets, come with their own supplemental power supplies or capacitor packs so as not to drain the primary power of the Ursus. These power supplies vary in nature based on the environment and operational requirements, from simple internal combustion engines to atomic batteries, and may also be tapped by a base or other vehicles when not in use by the Ursus.

Propulsion

The Ursus is typically equipped with a set of eight thick wheels, two per suspension arm, driven by independent electric motors located directly behind the hubs. Tracks can be equipped instead to provide additional traction, though Ursus pilots typically place emphasis on speed as a form of defense and prefer the nimbleness of run-flat tires. When intact, the Ursus is amphibious by dint of having no oxygen-breathing engines or crew unless otherwise equipped. Armor skirts protect both the wheels and the modules situated behind them on the deck.
The suspension arms along each side of the Ursus can be willfully articulated by the HLAI pilot for additional maneuverability or stability as required. If the arms are canted all the way forward, will cause teeth along the armored skirts' leading edges to become dug into the ground so as to resist movement. Experienced pilots like to 'bear crawl' around sometimes for fun using this feature, but this behavior can also be useful for negotiating difficult terrain or getting around with a full set of destroyed wheels.

Weapons & Armament

The Ursus is lightly-armed except as provided for by its modules, sporting a set of phased array lasers for light anti-personnel work along its fore and aft extents. This weapon system, which also serves as part of the HLAI pilot's sensory inputs, trades durability under fire for low maintenance costs; sponson-mounted weapons would provide both gaps in the armor to exploit and a point of mechanical failure due to wear of moving parts.

Armor and defense

The lack of an internal crew compartment or substantial mechanics means that the core of an Ursus can sport extra-thick armor. Layers of ceramic, carbon-composite, and titanium mined from low-gravity planets, coupled with the relatively shallow posture of the vehicle itself, ensure that the HLAI pilot is well-protected from most forms of conventional attack. Chemical, biological, and most radiological attacks are similiarly ineffective against the Ursus, as it lacks a biological crew unless otherwise equipped. Unless laden with cargo or modules, an Ursus also moves very quickly across the battlefield, making it difficult to hit with unguided weaponry.
Metallic penetrators which manage to overcome the Ursus' thick armor are dangerous because they can cause an explosion of plasma when they short out banks of fully-charged foliated capacitors. If capture seems imminent, the HLAI pilot may choose to overload these banks intentionally to kill advancing enemies and destroy itself beyond repair. Even if the HLAI decides to go dormant rather than destroying itself, successfully breaking into the HLAI core compartment is nearly impossible without also destroying the core due to its placement within a diamondoid armor sheath amidst several reserve capacitor banks which are always maintained at full charge.

Communication Tools & Systems

The Ursus has physical data ports and two microwave-band antennae for communicaitons, but it can also communicate via line-of-sight laser links via its phased array laser banks (see Weapons & Armament). Modules like an electronic warfare suite or drone controller provide additional avenues for communication with the outside world.

Sensors

Aside from it's built-in multispectral scopes, microphones secreted around the body of the Ursus grant the pilot exceptionally precise hearing. Most modules other than crew carriers provide additional sensory inputs which the pilot can tap into as required.

Hangars & docked vessels

The most defining trait of the Ursus system is its modularity. The Cobalt Knights have an exclusive auto-fabricator license with Umberlake Mechatronics for Urusus module blueprints. Modules provide a great degree of mission flexibility for the Ursus, with notable examples including:

C3 Module: This module provides mobile facilities for command, control, and communications (C3). An atomic battery bank provides power for turret-mounted phased array radar and multispectral scope array to one side of the deck. Up to three crew members sit in a shielded bunker on the other side of the deck equipped with an advanced computer interface for gathering and dispensing intelligence among Cobalt Knights in the field.

Electronic Warfare Module: This module is designed to intercept or jam enemy communications and carry out attacks against enemy network infrastructure. A thin layer of expansion ports sits atop the deck, supporting a colony of up to 144 additional HLAI cores networked together into a commensal intelligence. Numerous antennae and a pair of ball-mounted multi-spectral scopes surmount the module; a small particle accelerator allows these turrets to fire powerful bursts of coherent microwaves at targets, frying electronics and boiling organic targets alive at the expense of a short effective range and being less effective at penetrating monolithic armor. This combination of equipment has proven nearly unrivaled at overwhelming enemy computer systems and has the distinction of being one of the only human inventions ever to successfully scramble a flockmind surrogate.

Crew Carrier Module: This module turns the Ursus into a more traditional infantry fighting vehicle. An Ursus can carry up to two crew carrier modules, one on either side of the deck, a single crew carrier module and a modicum of external cargo, a single crew carrier module and a dugout with two sponson-mounted repeating coilguns, or a single crew carrier and a launch platform for two combat drones. Each crew carrier can hold up to four Knight-Infantrymen or Knight-Espatiers in full combat gear. Alternatively, a given crew carrier can also house up to eight folded-up HLAI infantry platforms or an indeterminite number of tightly-packed remote-piloted Litebodies for more unsual mission profiles.

Anti-Air/Anti-Infantry Module: This module includes a turret sporting four repeating coilguns, an additional phased array laser bank for additional visible- and infrared-spectrum detection, and a small radar dish for tracking targets without sufficient low-emission coatings. The coil guns can be aimed at ground targets to perforate enemy infantry or lightly-armored vehicles.

Anti-Tank Module: This module turns the Ursus into a light battle tank and includes a turret-mounted large gauss rifle, a pair of coaxial ultraviolet-spectrum pulse lasers in an over-under configuration, and tubes containing four guided missiles. An additional powerplant provides for the operating needs of this power-hungry module. Some Cobalt Knight gauss rifle rounds are 'smart rounds' that have a limited capacity to steer themselves in flight and reconfigure their payloads to suit different target compositions which, when combined with the extremely high muzzle velocity of the weapon, can allow the Ursus to strike targets over the horizon.

Drone Control Module: This module allows the Ursus to control up to ten combat drones simultaneously, applying the multi-tasking hardware of some pilot-oriented human cybernetic augmentations to the HLAI pilot. Four of these drones are of the recoverable six-rotor variety armed with pulse lasers and can fly indefinitely on long wire tethers or be released to fly independently for a more limited period of time. Twelve additional drones are arranged along the outer perimeter of the landing pads and are of the fixed wing loitering munition variety, allowing the pilot to scout out enemy locations from a safe distance before dashing in to deliver an explosive payload. An additional microwave antenna and numerous small laser diodes to the front and rear of the module provide improved communications, but are not considered powerful enough for use as weapons beyond dazzling optics.

Class

Platform

Nickname

Ursus

Manufacturer

Umberlake Mechatronics

Owning Organization

Cobalt Knights

Complement / Crew

1 HLAI

Cargo & Passenger Capacity

Varies based on modules equipped