Hi-Scout
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Hi-Scout | |
Production information | |
Manufacturer | ScolTek Associates |
Mission | Scout/Drone Carrier |
Type | Tracked |
Technical specifications | |
Mass | 60 tons |
Armor | ArcShield V Standard |
Engine | Vlar 300 ICE |
Speed | 65 km/h |
Crew | 1 |
Armament |
|
BV (1.0) | ??? |
BV (2.0) | 347 |
Description
The Hi-Scout Drone Carrier is a reconnaissance combat vehicle produced by ScolTek Associates since 3000. Gathering information equals gathering ammunition on a modern battlefield, and while throughout most of the Succession Wars scouting duties were performed by 'Mechs (such as the Locust or the Stinger), fast vehicles or satellite-systems, the Hi-Scout provides an alternative that is less susceptible to enemy counter-operations.[1]
The vehicle's sensor suite includes infrared, seismic, sound, motion, radio, radar and hyperpulse to detect any unit within 60 kilometers. It also comes with a 15-ton drone hangar capable of housing 3 NapFind hover drones and 3 PathTrack tracked drones. The StealthMat-Q Communications with MultiTrack Coordination system was able to transmit and monitor over 500 channels simultaneously, and allows each Hi-Scout to control its fleet of drones. The drones act in coordination with each other and their mother vehicle to create a "sensor chain", increasing the vehicle's detection range by over one hundred percent. The only downside to the system is that unusually-high amounts of background radiation can interfere with the MultiTrack system.[1]
The Hi-Scout serves as a ground-based early-warning network for less important planets and, if it came to an invasion, as a communications and reconnaissance asset for the planetary defenders. Slow and lightly armored, the Hi-Scout was not build for direct combat, instead proving to be one of the most specialized, and effective, scout vehicles in existence before the recovery of the Helm Memory Core or the Clan Invasion and the subsequent development of newer C3 Network technology. Its tracking and communication systems were superior to anything other than a specialized command 'Mech or dedicated C3-complex at its time.
Armament
Armed with only a single SRM-2 and one ton of ammo, the Hi-Scout needed to be protected against both detection and enemy fire. 5 and a half tons of ArcShield armor offered token protection against enemy scouts, but everything beyond a light hovercraft was surely beyond its capabilities.[1]
Drones
- PathTrack - The PathTrack was a tracked, three-ton drone common aboard Hi-Scout's. It packed a sensor load of 0.75 tons and reached speeds of up to 129 kph. A half ton of armor saved it mostly from environmental influences, but the great mobility and high data output made it the backbone of a usual drone-fleet. It had a sensor range of 20km, using infrared, seismic, sound and motion detectors, and was able to intercept enemy radio communications.
- NapFind - The NapFind was a hover-based, two-ton drone aboard the Hi-Scout. A sleek and incredibly fast hover drone, it lacked the sophisticated listening devices of its greater cousin and only had a sensor range of 10km, but retained the same sensor package and used its incredible speed of up to 400 kph to quickly reconnoiter the enemy. BV (1.0) = ??, BV (2.0) = 13
Variants
No variants are known, but for special missions a Hi-Scout could always load specialized drones such as underwater units or null-g models. As those drones were very expensive, they were only employed when absolutely necessary.