ADVENT Engineering Report 1024
Subject: Vehicular Improvements
Author: Dr. Lien Mercado
Introduction: As the aliens continue to take offensive action against ADVENT, the need to achieve technical equality or superiority in a land war increases. Currently, our generation of vehicles is capable of holding their own against alien infantry, but not alien vehicles and mechanized units - intervention with elite special forces and XCOM squads notwithstanding.
Additionally, the alien control of the skies prevents us from employing our most effective weaponry, and consequently reduces tactical options. Thus, regaining control over the land and sky is of prominent concern as the war continues. To this end, we have been progressing in how to integrate recent weaponry advances into existing vehicles, as well as proposing newer generation models.
This document intends to discuss advances in tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and planes firstly. Future reports will cover other vehicles.
TANKS
Laser: As the SHIV model has proved, mobile laser weaponry is a reality, and effective for mobile point defense. Given the ability for a vehicle to house a larger power supply than a human could carry, this also allows the vehicle's weapon power to increase commensurately. However, the MDU model is currently loaded with a laser that is only mildly larger than the largest of infantry models, and thus, is not subject to the problems that a tank caliber laser would have.
The foremost issue is integration into traditional tank formats. Traditional tanks are configured for a ballistic model of attack. The most noteworthy example of this is the design of the barrel, which is meant to focus the gas propelling the shell for maximum effect. Fortunately, even this model does not need to be entirely phased out, as loading the barrel with focusing lenses will allow for it to adjust its focal length to target enemies at a variety of distances with more efficiency. If this model is paired with an on-board laser targeter, an automatic system could be installed that shifts the lenses to put the focal point on the target, negating the need to have manual adjustments to the lens array.
Alternatively, shortening the barrel means that it cuts down the profile of the tank, making it a smaller target. Additionally, it has an advantage over the long profile variant (LPV) in that the LPV suffers a loss in accuracy if the barrel were to be cut short, whereas the short profile variant's (SPV) focusing is done inside the body of the tank, where damage would be an integral failure to begin with. Thus, the SPV has more survivability, or at least resilience. However, it does lose power at long ranges as the length of the barrel prohibits extensive focal lengths.
To this end, utilizing both models will get the maximum effect; SPV's for close combat where distance to the target isn't as important as maneuverability and resilience, and LPV's for long range encounters. They do both still share a common core of weaknesses, however.
Laser Advantages: In exchange for these downsides, however, lasers boast a host of benefits. Firstly, laser fire to contact time is nigh instantaneous, preventing enemies from taking evasive action. This also means that all but the longest shots can be treated as though hit-scanning. This is particularly effective against fast, aerial, or other high mobility units. On the other end of the spectrum, large, heavily armoured units will find themselves under constant assault from a laser arsenal, resulting in their heavy armour being stripped away or pierced. While slower on first touch than penetrating ballistics, it also cannot overpenetrate at first contact.
Combined with this specialized purpose, laser cannons are effective because they are also powerful anti-personnel weapons against weakly protected soldiers. As XCOM has demonstrated in many of the missions they gave us access to the footage of, scores of enemies can be taken down on a single pull of the trigger, as the laser remains deadly as long as it is powered. By sweeping the barrel across the target area, every hostile runs the risk of being killed. This is particularly effective in long, open areas where the enemy is forced to approach, such as a no-man's land. Lasers can also have a large range of utility functions, such as reshaping the environment for tactical effect, being utilized as improvised cutting equipment, or even starting deliberate fires.
Laser Weaknesses: Targets with high levels of heat resistance or energy dispersion will be more protected against lasers, rendering the advantage moot. Heavily-to-moderately armoured targets will take a few seconds of sustained fire to burn through a single point of contact. Additionally, sufficiently refractive material may be able to reflect them, turning them against allied positions. The precise nature of lasers also means that collateral damage to vehicles is unlikely, so the laser must be aimed more precisely in order to ensure the target is going to inflict maximum damage. This does mean that collateral to friendly units is unlikely in exchange.
Additionally, environmental factors such as humidity or air clarity can affect the dispersion and distance of the lasers. For instance, presence of high levels of water in the air can cause the laser to dissipate or lose energy beyond medium engagement range. Finally, the lasers project in a straight line, making them unable to arc over targets or the landscape. This makes submerged or entrenched positions harder to target. As a final warning, once a laser penetrates a target, it can keep going, so make sure the range behind the target is one that can be targeted freely.
Constraints: While the force of the shot is not comparable to the kinetic kick of a shell, the laser exerts a more constant force that can put strain on the components supporting the barrel and aiming systems. As a result, the segments supporting these components must be restructured and built to withstand a lower, but more constant pressure.
Additionally, the laser weapon will fire in mostly straight lines (within the scale of most battlefields. See report 1024-B for spaceflight constraints), meaning that the crew will have to be trained to keep this in mind compared to the standard training for tank operators. Training with basic laser machinery is also a recommended in order to manage field damage and repair.
Plasma: Currently one of the most powerful components of ADVENT's arsenal, it has only recently been adapted to personal weapons. However, just because the tech is new, does not mean we should restrain ourselves to a slow progression. Rather, experimenting with the thresholds of size and energy will allow us to determine the governing mechanics of plasma weaponry.
For its increase in firepower, plasma also introduces an equivalent amount of issues, combining the best and worst aspects of conventional ballistics and laser weaponry. There are two primary forms of plasma weapons; discrete and continuous. Discrete plasma weapons are capable of producing "globs" or masses of plasma that are used as the ammo of the weapon. While the cycling rate may allow such weapons to produce these munitions at a high rate, each "packet", as they shall be referred to from now on, is a separate component.
Continuous plasma weapons produce a constant stream of plasma, often projected along a magnetic field. Currently, continuous plasma weaponry has only been utilized by the alien forces, but we are working to adapt the technology, both for offensive and defensive purposes. The advantages, weaknesses, and constraints of both will be discussed in the following sections.
Plasma Advantages: Plasma has an obvious kinetic advantage over laser weaponry in that its impacts hit harder, potentially damaging systems underneath the target area. Additionally, the high energy nature of plasma means that it tends to have a mild corrosive effect on surfaces it contacts. Materials with low electrical resistances break down much quicker, whereas materials that can handle the electron infusion can resist for longer, though they still suffer damage. Plasma can also be generated from the surrounding atmosphere, given enough time and energy, so ammo is constrained only by these factors. Currently, none of our weapons have this system, but prototypes for atmospheric plasma generators are under development.
Discrete plasma systems have an advantage in that they are cheaper to produce en masse. By only having to create packets of plasma, the system is subject to less stress in order to meet the output demands. By allowing the weapon to choke output, creation of new output packets can occur during the "locked" state. The staging would look something similar to an artillery weapon. Additionally, by allowing the weapon to stage its emissions, modular power settings can be introduced. Tuning the weapon to lower output states could result in faster firing, but weaker projectiles, while allowing it to build up more before emission will result in a slower production cycle, but stronger projectiles. In this way, a single weapon can alternate between various weapon modes.
Continuous plasma systems have many of the advantages of laser weaponry, such as the ability to sweep targets, and real time aim adjustment. Additionally, because of the higher kinetic impact of plasma munitions, targets under assault by continuous plasma weapons will experience a significant force, making it possible to topple resilient targets regardless of actual damage. This is also useful against alien melee units, as this force may result in a couple more seconds of time for units engaging them in close range.
Plasma Weaknesses: The biggest problems regarding plasma come from its very nature. Plasma is very rarely found on Earth in large quantities, or with a long lifespan. The most common form most civilians would be familiar with is lightning, which lasts less than a second.
This is because plasma is a separate state of matter in which the electrons have been stripped out of their atomic associations. Such a high energy state is inherently unstable, and tends towards a more stable state, such as a gas. As a result, plasma exposed to the atmosphere rapidly deteriorates into a gas, or even a lower state of matter. Without outside influences, plasma projectiles that leave their weapons may almost immediately evaporate.
The solution is magnetic field systems projecting the plasma to the target. By creating a potential difference between the plasma's target path and the surrounding air, the plasma's longevity can be increased relative to the strength of the magnetic field. However, the magnetic fields can only project so far, and thus plasma is currently a close range to mid range weapon at best. Stronger magnetic systems could lead to increases in plasma distance. (See 1024-A for MELD based suggestions on this system)
Additionally, plasma's interaction with magnetic fields means that significant magnetic fields can change its course, or completely deflect it, as our own PDS Shieldbearers, and the Standardbearer Prototypes, have proved. Thus, soldiers wielding plasma weapons cannot be deployed near PDS systems, or any other magnetic systems, as the interfering fields may result in their aim being thrown off at best, or catastrophic system failures at worst. Furthermore, since plasma is a mass, it is affected by gravity, meaning that unlike lasers, it has a maximum effective range. Additionally, gravity is capable of forcing the plasma projectile out of the ion channel after enough distance, furthering relegating plasma to a close range role.
Constraints: Given that plasma is larger than laser weaponry, it has a more significant impulse upon firing. This means that weapon systems using them must either be mounted in such a way to take the strain, or that they must partially vent the resulting plasma in order to equalize the force. Given that the latter involves venting plasma backwards towards the user, the former is preferred. This impulse is particularly noteworthy in continuous systems, as tanks were designed to have single shells launched at a time, giving the barrel time to disperse the force. In a continuous plasma system, the force is continuous as well, putting the barrel under a constant pressure. As a result, new barrel mountings and designs must be included in adapting plasma to tank weaponry.
A mechanical constraint is that a large plasma generation chamber must be included in the vehicle design, forming a large weak point. Given that the chamber will be flooded with plasma, any damage could cause the ionized gas to flood into the operator compartment, harming or killing the crew. Thus, it must be armoured, but still accessible for maintenance. Further, the nature of the plasma weaponry means that the entire vehicle must be carefully EM proofed, as magnetic weaponry targeting the vehicle may cause the plasma to react dangerously, leading to the above problem.
PLANES
Laser: Many of the same advantages and disadvantages of lasers apply to planes, but the intricacies of three dimensional combat become more apparent here. Given that there is much overlap between the engineering issues in planes and tanks, only the special factors and considerations regarding aeronautics will be discussed here.
Laser Advantages: Perhaps the most important, but underappreciated, advantage laser would have in air combat is the simplicity of targeting. In a dogfight, pilots are expected to lead their shots based on both the direction they are facing, and the direction their enemy is moving. Even with automatic systems, these equations are complex enough as to make aeronautical fights far from a precise thing. Lasers, in contrast, have a near instantaneous flight time, travel in straight paths, and can be mounted in ways that conventional weapons cannot.
In this way, a plane loaded with swivel mounted laser weaponry can target opposing air vehicles with extreme precision regardless of direction or relative velocity. Aiming up or down is merely a matter of checking whether the shot will hit friendly position. Relative position is only tracking where you need to aim. Once a target is visually locked, the automatic targeting systems can track its motion independently, and wear a target down while the pilot focuses on flying. This could even be a way to implement point defense systems, allowing for defense against missiles and other projectiles given time and the appropriate programming. Of course, these technologies still retain excellent utility for even slow moving vehicles, such as the Thunderbird project.
Laser Disadvantages: One of the major weaknesses present in all forms of laser technology is the Line-Of-Sight targeting. Given the speeds of a plane, targets accessible only via a narrow angle are much harder to target. Compared to a missile, the ability to correct the trajectory, or arc around obstacles, is almost non-existent. Entrenched positions protected by natural features will be exceptionally difficult to damage with plane mounted laser armaments.
Additionally, the constant force of the laser may cause the plane's motion to change. Thus, care must be taken with the placement and spacing of the lasers. A laser placed on the wing that is firing at a constant rate will cause the plane to rotate around the laser as a torque is applied to the plane's body. Thus, care must be taken to ensure the pilots are both trained to counter this motion, and that the systems integrated mitigate this to the best of their capabilities. This might include minor system adjustments such as manipulating the opposite flaps to create a counter torque. The overall result will mildly slow the plane, but not on a level that will impact operation.
Plasma: Similar to lasers, many of the factors affecting tank operation also apply to plane weaponry. Thus the major differences will be described here, rather than recapping the entire list.
Plasma Advantages: Unlike lasers, plasma is subject to gravity, allowing it to arc, meaning that plasma weaponry can potentially hit targets lasers cannot. Additionally, when plasma explosives can be created reliably, plane mounted missiles can be used to deliver plasma strikes to targeted locations.
Plasma is also more effective against enemy aircraft, as even a glancing hit begins to strip into the material and cause system damage. The electrical effect may also temporarily scramble enemy systems, and possibly even cause permanent damage or loss of functionality. The impact also has significant force, throwing enemy aircraft off course.
Plasma Disadvantages: The severe force exerted by plasma weaponry, both continuous and discrete, makes flying a plasma- capable plane a challenge. Discrete weaponry is less likely to make the plane stall, but may kick the plane's nose up or down, possible causing the plane to spiral out of control. Additionally, the sheer power means that the weapon must either be mounted under the plane, or be symmetric. In the latter case, both weapons must fire in order to prevent the torque from spinning the plane out of control. If one weapon is disabled, it significantly affects the stability of the vehicle.
This problem is especially compounded by continuous systems. The wings must be capable of taking both the point force, and the sheering from torque. Additionally, as the force is constant, the plane must have a greater force propelling it in order to avoid stalling. This limits the maximum height the plane can operate in combat to the strength of the engine.
As noted before, plasma is a short range weapon, and does have a flight time, making it best for taking out either stationary targets, or making sweeping attacks. Precision attacks against fast targets is inadvisable, and so plasma as an anti-air measure is not recommended.
IFV
Project Proposal: Project Vector
Project Vector is an early phase experimental proposal to harness the power of dynamo psions for armoured vehicles. As of the current phase, only the theoretical idea exists. As the other phases are contingent upon ongoing psionic research, it is likely the idea will move into more concrete phases as these goals are reached naturally.
Overview: Project Vector is meant to create a working prototype of a "psionic tank"; an armoured vehicle capable of harnessing and utilizing psionic energy. Dubbed the "PDAC (Psionic Dynamo Armoured Carrier)", the PDAC will be able to contend with most other heavy units, and still retain usability against lighter enemies. The unmatched destructive potential of dynamo psionics means that enemy material composition or position aren't factors, only the strength of the psion(s), or more importantly, their effective strength.
Phase One consists of ongoing psionic research into two factors, dubbed Alpha and Bravo for usage outside the department. Alpha is research into the mechanisms of dynamo psionics in general. This is to ascertain qualities such as the rate of destruction of different materials based on their properties, or the range and control dynamos have over their psionics. The PRIEST Division Research Branch is pursuing active research on this front.
Bravo is research into the psionic "pin" system observed in a number of inorganic psionic systems, most recently the units dubbed "Sectoid Vanguards." Despite their low Trask scores, these Sectoids were capable of utilizing destructive weaponry from an inorganic holster. Sectoids tend towards telepathy as a discipline, so for them to be able to manifest dynamo psionics in such a way implies the Vanguard Gauntlets are capable of taking the psionic energy and turning it into a specified form. It is unknown at this point if there is any link between discipline and power. Most of the research on this front is being headed by XCOM and their Templar program, but some research is being performed by the PRIEST Division Research Branch.
Phase Two is working on the firing apparatus. In theory, by using pins we should be able to create a focus, or foci, that allows one or more psions to channel their power. Similar to how the pins were able to enhance and focus the minimum psionic power of the Vanguard, the Focus System should be able to increase the effective power of even weak psions. Not only will this allow weaker psions to see more active usage, but it will free more powerful psions for independent usage.
In theory, once the exact science of pins is discovered, a working prototype should follow. This prototype will be capable of directing psionic energy in a lance-like stream, allowing for accurate, and highly deadly, attacks. However, given that the effect is intended to be projected at a distance, rather than in contact, there may be complications. Thus, this project might come to completion shortly after the completion of research, or be delayed until the remote problem is solved.
Either way, once the technology is created, Phase Three will be implementation and experimentation. Branching this onto other vehicles, or perhaps even personal weaponry is a clear evolution, and increasing the power to things like psionic bombs or artillery may be possible.
Only time will tell. For now, consult the attached reports for further clarification on potential expansions on the topics.