Justitiarius Assault Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Base Tech Level: Experimental (IS)
Level Era
-------------------
Experimental -
Advanced 3079+
Standard -
Tech Rating: E/X-X-F-E
The Justitiarius (Judge) was developed as a high end counterpart or competitor to the Palmoni, a dedicated assault infantry transport able to wade through enemy fire and deposit a massive force of assault troops or battle armor. Like the Palmoni, the Justitiarius is a huge vehicle with a prodigious infantry compartment, actually fifteen tons heavier than its competitor, but unlike the Palmoni, the Justitiarius leans heavily on advanced technology, particularly its engine compartment and armor plating. Nearly a third of the vehicle's weight has been allocated to advanced hardended armor, while an extralight powerplant allows it to maintain a serviciable speed. The shear weight of armor and the infantry compartment means the weapons load of the Justitiarius is fairly light, best suited to driving off attacking infantry, and particularly lacking in ranged firepower. However, when properly supported by other vehicles, it was believed that the Justitiarius would be a potent assault unit, tough enough to shrug off any attack or barriers put in its way. This was never tested on the battlefield, however. Citing the higher price tag and the dependence on still new technologies, the Justitiarius was passed over in favor of the more modest Palmoni. Following the defeat of the Word of Blake, the plans for the vehicle were siezed by Coalition troops and currently reside in the Republic's military archives in Geneva.
Variants:
It is believed that the Justitiarius was actually loosely based on an obscure assault tank from the early Succession Wars. This vehicle, the Liberty IV, was similarly massive and was designed for the same mission profile, however it was significantly less advanced, relying on only the most basic of technology, but paradoxically better armed.
Alongside the plans for the Justitiarius, Coalition forces recovered a second set of plans for a dedicated tank, possibly a potential escort vehicle. This machine, tagged the Mephisto, dropped the infantry bay and existing weapons to increase the vehicle's protection to truly ludicrous levels. The plans called for additional hardened armor, combined with a protected motive system. The vehicle's sole weapon would be a turret mounted gauss rifle. Like the Justitiarius, the Mephisto was never built, and likely never would have been given its high cost and questionable practicality.
Weight: 100 tons
BV: 1,774
Cost: 18,731,000 C-bills
Movement: 3/5 (Tracked)
Engine: 300 XL
Internal: 50
Armor: 256 (Hardened)
Internal Armor
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Front 10 52
Right 10 51
Left 10 51
Rear 10 51
Turret 10 51
Weapons Loc Heat
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Large VSP Laser TU 10
Light Machine Gun (ST) RS 0
Light Machine Gun (ST) RS 0
Light Machine Gun (ST) LS 0
Light Machine Gun (ST) LS 0
Heavy Flamer (ST) RS 5
Heavy Flamer (ST) LS 5
MML 7 TU 4
Ammo Loc Shots
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Heavy Flamer Ammo BD 10
Heavy Flamer Ammo BD 10
Light Machine Gun Ammo [Full] BD 200
MML 7 LRM Ammo BD 17
MML 7 SRM Ammo BD 14
Equipment Loc
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Vehicular Sponson Turret RS
Vehicular Sponson Turret LS
CASE BD
Carrying Capacity
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Troops - 12.0 tons
