HOME | DD

Description
For NationStates; Modeled in DoGa with custom parts and oddball textures.

----

After the conclusion of the Dominion-Republic War the 'bones' of the Ynij military-industrial complex were quickly picked over by various interests with a wholesale sell-off of surplus military hardware as well as the minds responsible for its creation. One of the primary recruiters was the Outer Systems Alliance - OSA - a paramilitary law enforcement organization based in the Republic whose membership consists mostly of minor colonies and outlying star systems. Their primary interest was in acquiring the Chosen Dominion's ground assets but with these came a good number of technicians and designers eager for a paycheck. The Paladin Tank was the first result of that 'meeting of the minds' but...

It wasn't supposed to be a tank.

The initial interest was in the various models of Ynij Exoskeleton 'walkers'. Before their exile to their new homeworld of Juniper, the Hauyht (who make up the largest proportion of the OSA by percentage) had experimented with decidedly low-tech mecha. While they had not proved the turning point they'd hoped there remained a distinct fascination with the idea and this coincided neatly with their use and acquisition from the remains of the Dominion. The goal was to combine Ynij expertise with Hauyht resources to produce a 'modern' bipedal fighting platform - a BattleMech.

Of course a tank is not a 'mech but when the team began to review combat footage from the War they came to the rapid conclusion that these over-sized warriors would stand little chance against actual modern tanks - never mind that the Typhoons they were basing these conclusions on were not exactly middle of the road. But their bosses still wanted a mecha so the decision was made to combine the two - three - concepts. The result would be a fighting platform that could both hover and (to a limited extent) walk.

The name? Well, units of 'mechs are Lances and by the limited imagination of the OSA's leadership that made their members Knights, Cavaliers - Paladins. That the name had been used hundreds of times previously was not a concern.

Like many designs fielded by both the Qi and Hauyht, the Paladin is distinctly over-gunned. The primary armament is a linear accelerator with a 3° off-bore engagement cone, allowing for highly accurate at-or-over the horizon engagement of similar platforms. This is augmented by a large set of box launchers - typically tasked to engaging aircraft - and two dedicated anti-infantry UV-band lasers. Eight small launchers on the oddly shaped turret are used for launching spotting and sapping drones. In keeping with the Qi 'Warrior' ethos there is only one operator that is then supported by a fair amount of automation.

To maintain the 'mecha' aspect, the four 'legs' - which also contain the 'hover' units - can be used as both landing gear and as legs with the idea that the unit can then land on hillsides, underwater, or otherwise position itself in places that other 'hovercraft' cannot. Whether this is useful remains to be seen.

Description
For NationStates; Modeled in DoGa with custom parts and oddball textures.

----

After the conclusion of the Dominion-Republic War the 'bones' of the Ynij military-industrial complex were quickly picked over by various interests with a wholesale sell-off of surplus military hardware as well as the minds responsible for its creation. One of the primary recruiters was the Outer Systems Alliance - OSA - a paramilitary law enforcement organization based in the Republic whose membership consists mostly of minor colonies and outlying star systems. Their primary interest was in acquiring the Chosen Dominion's ground assets but with these came a good number of technicians and designers eager for a paycheck. The Paladin Tank was the first result of that 'meeting of the minds' but...

It wasn't supposed to be a tank.

The initial interest was in the various models of Ynij Exoskeleton 'walkers'. Before their exile to their new homeworld of Juniper, the Hauyht (who make up the largest proportion of the OSA by percentage) had experimented with decidedly low-tech mecha. While they had not proved the turning point they'd hoped there remained a distinct fascination with the idea and this coincided neatly with their use and acquisition from the remains of the Dominion. The goal was to combine Ynij expertise with Hauyht resources to produce a 'modern' bipedal fighting platform - a BattleMech.

Of course a tank is not a 'mech but when the team began to review combat footage from the War they came to the rapid conclusion that these over-sized warriors would stand little chance against actual modern tanks - never mind that the Typhoons they were basing these conclusions on were not exactly middle of the road. But their bosses still wanted a mecha so the decision was made to combine the two - three - concepts. The result would be a fighting platform that could both hover and (to a limited extent) walk.

The name? Well, units of 'mechs are Lances and by the limited imagination of the OSA's leadership that made their members Knights, Cavaliers - Paladins. That the name had been used hundreds of times previously was not a concern.

Like many designs fielded by both the Qi and Hauyht, the Paladin is distinctly over-gunned. The primary armament is a linear accelerator with a 3° off-bore engagement cone, allowing for highly accurate at-or-over the horizon engagement of similar platforms. This is augmented by a large set of box launchers - typically tasked to engaging aircraft - and two dedicated anti-infantry UV-band lasers. Eight small launchers on the oddly shaped turret are used for launching spotting and sapping drones. In keeping with the Qi 'Warrior' ethos there is only one operator that is then supported by a fair amount of automation.

To maintain the 'mecha' aspect, the four 'legs' - which also contain the 'hover' units - can be used as both landing gear and as legs with the idea that the unit can then land on hillsides, underwater, or otherwise position itself in places that other 'hovercraft' cannot. Whether this is useful remains to be seen.