Zephyr Assault Hovercraft, TL8
Although there are severe limitations to using hovercraft in combat, there are certain applications where they are useful. One of these roles, coastal patrol, it the primary mission of the regrettably misnamed Zephyr assault hovercraft. The Zephyr is a high-speed craft designed to replace conventional boats in normal military patrols and anti-piracy and anti-smuggling operations. It has sufficient weaponry to deal with most boats and is light enough to float (which allows it to 'camp out' near shorelines). It is also used for river patrols, though the Zephyr can rarely make use of it's high speed in such situations. Some have also been used in deserts, though, like all hovercaft, it throws up an impressive sand cloud.
The first reaction many soldiers have to the Zephyr is "That's a POS hovertank." Of course, that's the problem -- the Zephyr is not a tank, despite some commanders trying to use it as one. One of the better descriptions was to "think of it as an ampibious helicopter with a lot of guns that flies really, really low." Generally, the Zephyr is better handled by naval/marine forces than the army.
The main gun, an autoloading 105mm howitzer, feeds from two 35 round magazines. Space is provided for five spare rounds, which must be handloaded by either the gunner or commander (both located in the turret). Type varies by user and mission, but the extra shells are usually are FASCAM or ICM; flares are also possible. The hull-mounted 10mmC VMG is a bit of an anachronism and the driver is usually too busy to properly aim it; however, few Zephyr drivers are willing to give it up. The pintle-mounted chaingun is also a bit of a throwback, though it is the only air defense armament that is standard equipment (however, many buyers install an M136 missile pod on the rear of the turret, reducing the cargo weight).
A more expensive version, with advanced armor, is available. It costs $685,000 more, but increases all hull and turret DR by 50%.
Subassemblies: Body +4, full rotation Turret +3, full rotation
Open Mount -1, GEV Skirts +4
P&P: 2250 kW turbo ceramic w/35,000 lbs lift fan and two
1000 lb thrust fans, rE-cell, 250 gallons diesel (fire chance: 7) in self-sealing
tank, 3.7 hours fuel
Occ: 3 CCS
Cargo: 20 cf body
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| Body | 6/400 L | 5/150 L | 4/100 L | 4/50 L | 4/100 L |
| Turret | 6/400 L | 5/180 L | 4/60 L | 4/50 L | |
| Skirts | 4/80 | ||||
| Gunshield | 4/100 |
Weaponry
105mm howitzer [Tur:F] (35 HE, 35 HEDP, 5 FASCAM or ICM)
2x10mmC gatling gun [Tur:F, Body:F] (4000)
15mmC chaingun [OM] (570 AP)
Equipment
Turret: 20 mile thermograph [Scan 19], 2x short range laser
comms, laser rangefinder, 1 mile searchlight, 2 terminals, HUDWAC
Body: 2x medium range scrambled radios, short range lasercomm,
4x LLTV (10x [+3/+6], three 5x [+2/+4]), advanced radar/laser detector,
2x IFF, military GPS, 8 dischargers (4 hot smoke, 4 prism), 2x hardened
small computers, terminal, full fire suppression, 3-man NBC kit
Statistics
| Size: 13'x11'x22' | Payload: 5150 lbs + 400 lbs cargo | Lwt: 34,866 lbs (17.43 tons) |
| Volume: 1163 cf (Size: +5) | Maint.: 21 hours | Price: $1,241,381 |
HT: 12
HP: 1280 [body], 911 [skirt], 616 [turret]
| aSpeed: 126 | aAccel: 1 | aDecel: 8 | aMR: 2 | aSR: 5 |
Design Notes
Frame is heavy for 600 cf body, 200 cf turret, 3 cf open mount and
360 cf skirts. Structural and surface features include sealed, basic IR
cloaking and basic stealth. The turret weaponry is fully stabilized and
cannon ammo is in anti-blast magazines.The open mount CG is in a univeral
mount.
Weapons