Before we begin, I should explain the article and why it exists. This VotW special is brought to you for a simple purpose- raise your hands, how many of you have used WiGE units in a game at all? OK, out of the very small number who raised their hands, how many have used them more than a handful of times? And out of the very few people with their hands raised… how many are lying? ;) Thing is, these are recently introduced units to our game, with very few models available to us even in 3145, and it’s high time we have a discussion about what these things are, and how to use them. So… here we are.
One more thing before we dive in. The author, in addition to being the usual author of the VotW column on these forums (among his other hats around here) is a graduate of Colorado Aerotech, where he studied aeronautics with a specialization in aviation electronics. Along the way, he developed a love of two things- speaking about himself in the third person, and wing-in-ground effect vehicles. So the introduction of the Hiryo, and the rules to use it, were a very happy day in the author’s Battletech career, to say the least. The rules are actually pretty true to the concept, but they do take some getting used to, particularly for players who struggle with mobile battlefields. After you read this, hopefully that won’t be you anymore.
So… what the hell IS a WiGE? Glad you asked. Sit right down, my little friend, and I shall spin you a tale of rules, use, history, and… that… stuff.
It all started with a phenomenon known as ‘ground effect’, something that pilots know well- basically, as an airplane travels low to the ground (say, during landing), the ground stops wingtip vortices from forming- effectively, it forms a sort of cushion of air under the wing, and causes the aircraft’s lift and drag to be greatly reduced. (And yes, I’m keeping this as simple as possible while still keeping it accurate- for more detailed discussions on this, you know what Google is.) Now, something to note- the lower the wing is to the surface, the better the effect works, so a high-winged design (like a Cessna 172, or… well, the Hiryo… won’t work as well as something with a low wing. Just how it is.
Something we see in this effect is that the cushion of air reduces drag and increases lift efficiency, which means the engines have to work far less to achieve the same level of performance that they would if they were higher up. The result is a craft with impressive speed for its power level compared to what you’d get from a more conventional airplane- assuming, of course, that you’ve built a craft designed solely for ground effect use and not an airplane.
KM-class ekranoplan, the 'Caspian Sea Monster'. Note the location of the engines behind the cockpit and in the tail, keeping them free of salt spray at speedBut who would build such a craft? The answer is a man by the name of Rostislav Alexeyev, who was fascinated by the concept (which he called an ‘ekranoplan’, a term which the author will use more often than WiGE, do try to keep up!). Alexyev was fascinated by the ground effect concept, and built prototype ekranoplans to try to sell to the Soviet military in the era following WWII. His most famous design became known to NATO as ‘The Caspian Sea Monster’, seen above- a massive craft, larger than most modern cargo planes, which scooted along the surface of the water at over 400 kph despite not being able to really fly higher than the waves if conditions were bad. The huge ‘KM’ was just the start- the Soviets experimented with assault craft, civilian ferrys, and even the ‘Lun’, seen below, an anti-ship missile platform intended to attack and destroy NATO forces in the event of the Cold War warming up.
Lun-class ekranoplan, showing its similarities to the KM, and its battery of P-20 Moskit anti-ship missiles on the spine. In the first shot, note the altitude above the water the craft maintains- that's what you're looking at for WiGE operations. However, the concept never really caught on outside the Soviet Union, and even within it was a victim of politics and budgets. Alexeyev ended up being removed from his studies following the crash of the Sea Monster (after over 15 years of operation, mind you), and died in virtual anonymity- only in the post-Soviet era did his work begin gaining public recognition, though few of his ekranoplans operate today- those that do tend to be small craft intended to carry passengers.
So. That was fun. Now you know what a WiGE is, you have the basic idea of how one works, and you know the bare bones history behind the idea. Like I said, to keep this from going TOO long, I’m keeping things basic, but I do recommend looking around the internet for more detailed information if you find the idea as interesting as the author does. It’s a fascinating concept.
Now, a thousand-odd years in the future, the ekranoplan concept has made its return. The first sign of this was the Draconis Combine’s Hiryo design, which… honestly, would make for a terrible WiGE with its wing design, but we’ll ignore that for now. The Hiryo was the first time we’ve seen this concept in Battletech, and if you’re going to be first, be a GOOD first. The Hiryo definitely does that. Whether as an attack craft or as a battle armor taxi, the Hiryo was a great first effort, followed by Lyran efforts such as the Fensalir and Swallow, among others. There’s still less than half a dozen ekranoplan designs in the Battletech canon universe, but those that exist are all pretty good units when you factor in their rules.
So let’s discuss those rules. The first order of business is to open up Total Warfare. Go on, I’ll wait… hurry up, people are waiting… ok, all set? We need page 55. The basics are that a WiGE has a lot in common with a hovercraft. That’s not a surprise, really- when you get right down to it, a hovercraft is also moving around on a cushion of air, just created and utilized in a different fashion. A hovercraft relies on lift fans and skirts to create that cushion, while a WiGE uses its momentum and the lift created by its wings. And here we run into one of the big differences between the two in terms of Battletech rules- because while a hovercraft’s lift system allows it to remain in one place, a WiGE has some trouble with that.
See, a WiGE has to always remain in motion- like I said, the movement of the craft creates the lift under the wings that create the cushion it rides upon. That means that if you stop moving, or even just slow down too much, you’ll lose that ability. (Airplanes have wing stalling, a similar issue when you slow down too much). So, a WiGE must maintain at least a five-hex movement per turn to remain in ‘flight’. If you don’t do that (or can’t), you’re going to be on the ground. If you’re on the ground, you can still move- you’re treated as a hovercraft with an MP of 1 (for all intents and purposes in terms of terrain restrictions). Transitioning between this grounded mode and flight is simple- if you have 5 MP, you can take off. If not, you can’t. If you want to land, that’s a free action, no MP needed. A WiGE, unlike a hovercraft, operates at an altitude of 1 when in flight- now, that’s an important distinction. At an altitude of 1 (as in, one level above the terrain), it IS subject to things like flak attacks the way a VTOL would be- so watch out for those Partisans!
That need to be constantly in motion is key here. It means that you have to be a bit careful on how you use a WiGE in ways that you don’t have to worry so much about with a similar unit like a hovercraft or VTOL. Planning your movement is very important- if your target is four hexes away from you, you can’t just move three and get up in its face, otherwise you’ll land (like it or not) at the end of the move. So, you’ll have to figure out a five-hex movement path that still allows you to make an attack. That’s five HEXES, not five MP- big distinction there, you can’t just spin a 360 in place. Now, that makes things interesting, doesn’t it? Think about things like minimum ranges for things like LRMs, or trying to stay out of range of a Hunchback’s AC-20. Not as easy as it looks in a hovercraft, is it? This is a whole different ballgame.
Of course, it’s not even as easy as THAT makes it sound. You have to worry about landing- only clear hexes can be used for landing a WiGE. So if you land- again, wanting to or not- in a hex that is anything else, you’re done for. Note that since you’re treated as a hovercraft, you can land in a clear hex and move INTO another hex if you wish to (so long as you’re able to do that as a hovercraft), but not land in it. The exception is water- if you have a flotation hull (as the Swallow and Ryu do, for example), you can land in water. Worth noting- modern ekranoplan designs like the Lun do not have the ability to land anywhere BUT water, so this is an interesting turn- one that had to be made though for balance. After all, how often do you find that you don’t have water on a Battletech map at all? ;) Another thing to note is that since they travel at Lv. 1, they cannot enter woods hexes (which stand two levels above the terrain, of course) unless a road runs through the woods hex- then they cruise along the road under treetop level.
So, what you’re thinking at this point is probably “so it has all the disadvantages of a hovercraft, but has to always keep moving, like a crappy 31st century version of the bus from ‘Speed’.” And you’re not entirely wrong- WiGE units are HARD to use in a lot of situations. It may look simple- but give it a try and you find quickly that there’s a lot of limitations that make this VERY hard to do in some terrain choices. However, there are advantages as well- because you’re moving above the terrain, you don’t have to pay for penalties in rubble or rough terrain, for example. Most WiGE units feature high speeds, very handy for slashing attacks on an enemy or for rapid delivery of infantry (“Oh god, where the hell did all these Void suits come from!?!?!?”) Players will note that these qualify for hovercraft as well, however, as well as VTOLs.
It gets worse though. Are you on that roadway in a woods hex? Tough, because you’re above the ground the rule states you can’t get that woods bonus to hit you. Crud. You’re always treated as though you’re in a clear hex one level above the ground, no matter the situation. Fortunately, you’ll always have a decent move modifier since you, you know, can’t stop moving (or anyway, SHOULDN’T). And several designs, like the Fensalir, don’t really mind taking a few hits here and there- they’re pretty tough cookies. Of course, as with most vehicles, it’s not getting your armor shot through that kills you, it’s things like motive hits. And with that +4 modifier on the motive hit table… well, Swallows never once died in my testing from being blown apart in mid-flight, let’s just say that. Being left helpless on the ground due to their flight abilities being reduced below their needed MP will kill it far sooner.
So… Where are the advantages a WiGE has over other units? I won’t lie- there aren’t a lot of them. The rules say you can be dropped from within an atmosphere from a Dropship, which is rather handy. Of course, the very nature of a WiGE’s movement abilities mean that’s virtually impossible, but the rules say you can, so… yay rules. Do NOT try that with a hovercraft. (Or do, it’s kind of funny, particularly if you owe the driver some money). But here’s the big advantage. Do you want to move up from Lv. 0 terrain to Lv. 1? Go for it. You don’t pay anything for altitude changes like a VTOL, or extra MP like you do in a hovercraft- you just GO. No penalty to change elevation other than the usual one MP to enter a hex. You are ALWAYS one level above the terrain, no matter what (so long as you’re in flight). But what if you go from Lv. 0 to Lv. 2? Well... you can't. Suck it.
Going back DOWN a level works the same, but if you go down multiple levels… maybe you want to keep some altitude? You can sort of glide down if you wish by using 2 additional MP- so if you drop from Lv. 4 to Lv. 0 (terrain levels), and you want to stay at that Lv. 5 altitude you were at, you can do that as long as you wish so long as you have the MP to do so. If you run out of MP, you’ll drop down to the new elevation level (well, a level above it) as normal. That’s a pretty huge advantage over VTOLS or hovercraft- depending on the terrain, of course. In a wide-open Serengeti area, not so much. On an urban map, or something resembling Utah with its plateaus and lack of woods? YES. Plan accordingly.
An A-90 Orlyonok ekranoplan, showing its impressive cargo capacity. Note that this one is propeller-driven, unlike the previous examples- and unlike any Battletech equivalent.There’s two basic types of WiGE- combat types, like the Fensalir and Hiryo, and transports like the enormous Ryu. (There’s also the oddball racing WiGEs from TRO: VA, but those are unlikely to be on your battlefield unless the race went horribly wrong) Using a transport WiGE is simple- dash in to where you need to be, land, drop off your cargo, and get the hell out of the area before someone has the wise idea of turning you into a target. Combat WiGEs are a little tricky, as I alluded to earlier, so you may have to play the long game in terms of finding a way to hit your target. Most of the time, the best bet is to make long, high-move-modifier dashes at a target, firing as you approach, then turn after you’ve passed and come back at the target from another angle, much the way an aerospace fighter would. Do NOT land unless you absolutely need to- a grounded WiGE is going to be lucky if an enemy ever lets it take off again.
This went long- would you believe this was the edited version with much of the history and science sections reduced greatly in size? Regardless, there’s some great WiGEs to use out there. Thanks to this primer, you know how they’re used, how they shouldn’t be used, the good and bad points, even a little about their background. So… why are you still here? Go run some ekranoplans, raise a glass to Mr. Aleksyev, and return here with stories.
I’ll finish today, in fact, with one. A few years ago, the DC-area group ran a four-army battle of Luthien (Jihad edition), featuring the Combine and Nova Cats facing off against the Word and Word-backed mercenaries. Among the DC forces was a single Hiryo. It had a good time zipping around and shooting people, dropped off a load of some infantry or other at one point (I don’t remember what kind, I wasn’t running it)… well, at one point it came off a Lv.1 hill and declared a charge against a WoB Banshee. Because it was a level above the terrain when it cleared the hill, it was at Lv. 2- so the charge hit the BNC in the rear punch table. Surrounding Word of Blake forces must have been very surprised- and horrified- to see a WiGE emerge from the head of the Banshee- nearly every point of damage was to the head. The Hiryo survived, and even made it away to friendly lines for repairs- safe to say that crew never bought drinks again. ;)
Bartini-Beriev VVA-14 ekranoplan, abandoned, showing its unusual wing configuration- the cushion here is held in by the wing shape, increasing efficiency of the lift body. Due to poor engines, however, the craft failed to perform up to spec, and so its job of hunting NATO submarines was left to more conventional units. The stub wings have been removed- the wing root can still be seen high on the body towards the rear.ADDENDUM:This article, intended merely to shed light on a unit that needed it, has produced real changes to how WiGEs work, courtesy of our good friend Welsman's efforts! Effective immediately, these rules are now in effect:
+ WiGEs DO get the benefit of woods hexes that they are in, since they are below the level of the treetops. (This makes sense, since a two-level tall Battlemech gains that cover!) This does, of course, still require a road to be through the hex- otherwise the WiGE cannot exist in the hex with the trees and is destroyed, which makes the woods cover modifier fairly meaningless ;)
+ ALL WiGEs now have the flotation hull ability built into their bodies. This makes a lot of sense, based on how the Soviet units were created, and hopefully will make them a much more attractive option for water-heavy worlds.
