British Valiant Infantry Fighting Vehicle:


The British needed a new Infantry Fighting Vehicle to replace their aging designs which had served faithful for many years. The older designs simply did not have the firepower, range, or speed that was desired by the Army and Marines. At first, the American Maverick Infantry Fighting Vehicle was strongly considered but it was decided that a better native design could be developed. The result was the Valiant class infantry fighting vehicle and it entered service just three years after the Firefly tank entered service. The vehicle was popular for the most part with crews although they did consider there to be some problems. The vehicle's firepower was heavier than any other design at the time of introduction and was considered to be almost a tank by many. The Ill Fated Ark Royal task group that was believed to have been lost when Argentina attacked the British Task Force carried a large number of these vehicles.


Interesting was that even though a new Infantry Fighting Vehicle was developed, the Morgan Missile Vehicle was adopted by the British military and it is based on the chassis of the Maverick Infantry Fighting Vehicle. The British did make a few minor changes with the most major being that an automatic grenade launcher replaces the secondary weapon mount. Some people in Parliament criticized the developed of a new design of Infantry Fighting Vehicle because the considered it to be far more expensive than simply purchasing the American design.


The Valiant ended up being similar in concept to the Russian BMP-3 design with respect to carrying a very heavy cannon for an Infantry Fighting Vehicle and a rapid fire medium cannon. The main weapon on the Valiant is an 80-mm electro-thermal cannon as the main weapon and the secondary weapon is a 30-mm heavy chain gun. The electro-thermal cannon is identical to the cannon carried on the American Maverick. It is considered very useful in the infantry support role. The 30-mm chain gun was an old design but new ammunition was developed which made it quite effective. Coaxial to the two heavy weapons is a pulse laser which is a copy of the main British Squad Automatic Weapon. The Commander of the vehicle has a top mounted grenade launcher. Also on top of the vehicle are four mini-missile launchers for use against incoming missiles which were first mounted on the Firefly Expeditionary Tank.


While most of the weapons copied from Firefly were popular, the Claymore anti-personnel mine system was not. It was seen that an anti-personnel mine system would help to protect the vehicle from being overwhelmed but the system have a tendency to fail in identification of targets. Several software changes were made to the system to attempt to improve target recognition but they never seemed to work. Because of this, the system was usually put on manual control by the crews and even removed in some cases.


Like the Firefly, power was provided by a fusion reactor and the tracks were well designed for high speed operation. High speed was not as important as in American designs and the Valiant was designed with the same top speed as the Firefly and was quite a bit slower than the Maverick. One advantage of the Valiant over the American design is that it carries heavier armor than early versions of the Maverick. The Valiant Fighting Vehicle has a crew of three and carries a total of eight troops.


Model Type: GKN / Vickers Valiant
Vehicle Type: Armored Personnel Carrier
Crew: Three (Pilot, Gunner, and Commander).
Troop Carrying Capacity: 8 soldiers in full gear


M.D.C. by Location:

Main Turret:200
80 mm Electro-thermal Cannon (Turret):100
30 mm Bushmaster Chain Gun (Turret - Coaxial):80
[1] LMG-60 Co-axial Pulse Laser:50
[1] Automatic Grenade Launcher (Top of Turret):60
Mini Missile Launchers (4, Turret):30 each
[1] Smoke Dispensers (2):20 each
[1] Headlights (2):10 each
Main Hatch (Rear):150
Reinforced Crew Compartment:120
Reinforced Personnel Bay:120
[2] Main Body:380
[3] Track Treads (2):80 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 is unsalvageable.
[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 (two 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: Cruising speed on land is 65 mph (104 kph) on roads and 60 mph ( 96.6 kph) off road maximum. 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%.
Water: On the surface at 28.8 mph (46.3 kph / 25 knots). Cannot travel underwater.
Maximum Range: Effectively Unlimited (Engine should have an average lifespan of 10 years).


Statistical Data:
Height: 9.0 feet (2.75 meters)
Width: 12.5 feet (3.3 meters)
Length: 23.6 feet (7.2 meters)
Weight: 30.9 tons (28 metric tons) fully loaded
Cargo Capacity: Minimal storage space in pilots compartment; about three feet (0.9 m) in side dimensions for extra clothing, weapons, and personal items. Three laser carbines and two hand-held Missile Launchers with 5 loads each are stored in a compartment behind the driver's seat. Without troops, can carry up to 6 tons (5.4 metric tons) in rear troop bay
Power System: Nuclear Only (Should have an average life span of 10 years).
Black Market Cost: Not Available but would likely cost 30 to 40 million credits on the black market


Weapon Systems:

  1. 80 mm Electro Thermal Cannon (1): Main weapon of Infantry Fighting with a 30 mm automatic cannon and a pulse laser sharing the same mount and fire control systems. The turret can rotate 360-degrees and can aim upwards 65 degrees. This allows the mount to engage low-flying aircraft and creatures. The cannon is controlled by a gunner inside the turret compartment. The vehicle has a special fire control computer that helps to aim the cannon. Gives +2 to strike with the cannon and vehicle does not have minuses to fire when it moving. The projectile is loaded into the barrel, behind which there is a “propellant,” which is a dot of light metal. A powerful electromagnetic force is applied to the metal, which causes its atoms to “switch” directions. This happens so violently that the metal turns to plasma, and this expanding gas then drives the projectile forward. Special anti-tank rounds are mostly carried so the Valiant can engage other Armored Personnel Carriers.
    Maximum Effective Range: 2.2 miles (3.5 km).
    Mega-Damage: High Explosive rounds inflict 1D4x10 with a blast radius of 16 feet (4.9 meters), Fragmentation rounds inflict 6D6 with a blast radius of 24 feet (7.3 meters), and High Explosive Anti Tank does 1D6x10 with a blast radius of 8 feet (2.4 meters). Special Discarding Sabot rounds inflicts 2D6x10 (optional rule is that cannon gets a critical on a natural 18, 19, or 20 due to its high penetration) which are mainly used against other armored vehicle and are carried only in small numbers.
    Rate of Fire:Maximum of four per melee.
    Payload: 40 rounds. Normally 10 rounds are of standard anti-armor slugs.
  2. 30 mm Co-Axial Chain Gun (1): The weapon is mounted together with the 80 mm Electro-Thermal cannon and aims wherever the main cannon does and shares the same fire control and bonuses (+2 to strike and can be fired while moving). The weapon is dual purpose and can be used against both which is affected against the heaviest armor types. Weapon fires a combination of armor piercing and explosive rounds to inflict heavy damage on targets.
    Maximum Effective Range: 6,000 feet (1,830 meters).
    Mega-Damage: A burst is 20 rounds and inflicts 2D6x10. A single round does 3D6 M.D.
    Rate of Fire: Equal to the gunner's hand to hand attacks; each burst counts as one melee action.
    Payload: 600 round magazine (30 bursts)
  3. Automatic Grenade Launcher: Mounted on top of the turret in a powered remote controlled mount. The commander can operate the grenade launcher from inside the Valiant and does not need to expose himself. Aiming is aided by the use of the fire control computer of the Valiant. Normally only fragmentation grenades were fired from the launcher.
    The mount can rotate 360 degrees and has a maximum elevation of 60 degrees.
    Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 ft (914 m)
    Mega-Damage: 3D6 for single shot of Fragmentation with a blast area of 12 ft, and 2D4x10 for a burst of ten rounds of Fragmentation with a blast area of 40 ft.
    Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner
    Payload: 200 Rounds
    Bonuses: Has a special fire control computer that helps to aim the grenade launcher. Gives +1 to strike with launcher and launcher does not have minuses to fire when the Valiant is moving.
  4. LMG-60 Coaxial Automatic Pulse Laser: Basically the Squad Automatic laser rifle mounted above the cannon barrel and linked directly to the Valiant`s power pack. It`s special cooling system allowed for extended bursts which, in combination with a unlimited payload, made up for the somewhat low range of this weapon. Maximum Effective Range: 2,000 ft (610 m)
    Mega-Damage: 2D6 per single shot, 6D6 for a rapid fire three shot burst, or use machine gun burst rules for higher burst setting (See Machine Gun burst rules).
    Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner
    Payload: Effectively unlimited.
  5. Mini Missile Launchers (4): Two mounted on either side of the turret. These look suspiciously like smoke grenade launchers, but the canisters are really mini missiles. These missiles are supposed to be used to protect the Valiant from enemy missiles, and as such fragmentation warheads are standard issue. Enterprising crews have been known to switch some or all of the fragmentation rounds for AP or Plasma rounds, giving the tank a considerably enhanced anti armor punch at the expense of defensive capability.
    Maximum Effective Range: Varies with missile types, mini-missiles only (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
    Mega Damage: Varies with missile types, mini missiles only (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
    Rate of Fire: Can fire missiles one at a time or in volleys of two (2), four (4), six (6), or twelve (12) missiles.
    Payload: each launcher carries 6 mini-missiles for a total of 24 Mini-missiles.
  6. Claymore Mines (16): Five mines are mounted on the sides of the infantry fighting vehicle, and three more on the front and the back. Normally computer controlled, they are a last-ditch weapon against enemy infantry. The crew can override the computer, and fire the mines (or not) when needed. Since the computer was easily confused by such mundane things as mud or dust on uniforms, the system was usually set to manual...
    Maximum Effective Range: a cone 50 feet (15 meters) long and 30 feet (9 meters) wide.
    Mega-Damage: 6D6 for targets 30 feet and further away, 1D4x10 for targets closer than that.
    Rate of Fire: Can activate one (1) mine at a time.
    Payload: 16.
    Special: Uses the onboard computer to identify friend or foe, and fire the mines. Computer has a skill of 65%.
  7. Smoke generator (2): Mounted on the either side of the rear of the Valiant, these generators create dense clouds of particulate smoke.
    Effect: Creates a cloud of smoke 40 ft (12 m) in diameter:
    Rate of Fire: Two per melee (continuous production)
    Maximum Effective Range: Around tank, when moving creates smoke curtain (max. 40 meters long, 5 meters wide and 4 meters high.)
    Payload: 10 clouds per generator.


Sensory Equipment:



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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).


Copyright © 2002, Kitsune. All rights reserved.


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