UCT BA Design Requests

[maxcarrion]

As per https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,82616.0.html each Urban Combat Team of 64 BA suits is supported by 2 Battlemechs and 6 light vehicles.  I have some pre-conceptions about what the BA might look like but I am looking for designs/suggestions.

IS tech only, any era, no concerns with availability/politics etc.  Dropship mounted so expensive is acceptable where justifiable. 

I would expect several different suit designs - for example a recon suit, an infantry suit and a fire-support suit, but they should be specialized towards Urban Combat.  (for example high ground MP and MGs)

[AlphaMirage]

Is there any reason you can't just use the Gray Death series? Unfortunately BA doesn't have a lot of depth to its rules. You'd want jump jets and a modular mount so you can swap out MG (Anti-Infantry), Missile (Tear Gas), and Laser (Anti-Armor). Other than that I think you can find what you'd need from canon designs (but I'm as always open to being surprised)

[Daryk]

Being DropShip mounted means they should have at least one real jump jet.

[maxcarrion]

Is there any reason you can't just use the Gray Death series? Unfortunately BA doesn't have a lot of depth to its rules. You'd want jump jets and a modular mount so you can swap out MG (Anti-Infantry), Missile (Tear Gas), and Laser (Anti-Armor). Other than that I think you can find what you'd need from canon designs (but I'm as always open to being surprised)

We "can" just use the Gray Death Standard - but can we do better?
 - Would a jump jet so it can drop from dropship or VTOL be beneficial?
 - How about a TAG SSW - we could load the support vehicles with SG-LRM and Homing AIV
 - The Lurker Urban Suit is a recently posted custom medium suit that mounts 2 MGs - seems like it would outperform the Gray Death with 1 MG or with 1 SL - is it worth the armour difference/loss of MWM?
 - Do we want 64 GD Standard?  Do we want some lighter scout suits or heavy shootier suits for different roles?  Do we need at least some suits with armoured gloves to manipulate keyboards etc. 
 - Should we have capacity for other equipment?  ECM, Active Probe, Search lights, internal mission equipment?
 

[AlphaMirage]

You see that is the question. What are the battle armor going to do that our mechs and other units cannot? A Dropship hot drop into occupied urban terrain sounds like a death sentence and recipe for collateral damage so that probably doesn't need to be a capability inherent in a UCT.

Do they all need to be airmobile? If you are transporting them that way then jump jets are good, something the GD Scout can do, and if so can those scouts carry infantry TAGs for calling in guided fires. However, regular indirect spotting might be sufficient in some cases.

Will they march in, deploy from IFVs, or be transported in soft skins until contact? If so to what end?
Are they a screening force meant to clear buildings ahead for enemy units or detect ambushes? Or are they a defensive force meant to secure captured areas or protect the rear or flanks? The 'slow' ground speed of battle armor is less of a detriment when your own force is moving cautiously.

Do you intend to support Omnimechs? If so against what or in what fashion? If they are mechanized then they don't 'need' jump jets if they are on an omni equipped with them.

I recommended the Grey Death ones because they have better sensors than the IS standard so that is key for finding hidden enemies and mines in an urban battlefield. That said the most optimal mix is probably a squad of GD Assault, Kanazuchi, or Fenris (for harder targets), four-five squads of GD Scouts or unit with better sensors and jump ability (a point unit plus advance and lagging squad for both flanks), and the rest GD or IS Standard with a mix of modular weapons based on the threat environment and mission.

[Retry]

Sure, I'll bite.

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UCT Heavy (Fire Support)
Type: UCT Heavy
Manufacturer: Unknown
     Primary Factory: Unknown
Tech Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Chassis Type: Biped
Weight Class: Heavy
Maximum Weight: 1,500 kg
Battle Value: 311
Swarm/Leg Attack/Mechanized/AP: No/No/Yes/No
Equipment Slots Mass
Chassis: 300 kg
Motive System:
    Ground MP: 2 80 kg
    Jump MP: 0 0 kg
Manipulators:
    Left Arm: Battle Claw 15 kg
    Right Arm: Manipulator (Basic) 0 kg
Armor: Advanced 5 560 kg
    Armor Value: 14 + 1 (Trooper)
Weapons and Equipment Location Slots (Capacity) Mass
Parafoil Body 1 35 kg
BA Recoilless Rifle Right Arm 3 325 kg
SRM 5 Body 3 175 kgThe logic behind this suit is that while infantry do enjoy an obvious advantage in the cities, the enemy will likely bring some manner of vehicle or 'Mech fire support, and those units may not be below leveling entire city blocks trying to kill you.  In that case, it's best to have a capability to quickly reduce them to rubble.

A parafoil allows for combat drops like Jump Jets but (by fluff if not rules) is safer and quieter, and in the case of a Heavy chassis quite a bit lighter.  Ground speed won't beat a medium (obviously) but it's at least fast enough to cross the street and enter another building in a single turn.  Armor is great for an IS trooper and can help it take heavy weapons fire, but its weapon array, a Heavy Recoilless Rifle and SRM5, are well suited for inflicting heavy damage to vehicles and possibly even heavier 'Mechs when massed.  The stopping power and range of the RR should be enough to keep most IS BA, and possibly many clan BA, honest.  Not recommended in doing floor sweeps due to the potential for collateral damage, but if any enemy conventional infantry are caught in the open it can still take a convenient pot shot at 'em.

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UCT Medium (Recon)
Type: UCT Medium
Manufacturer: Unknown
     Primary Factory: Unknown
Tech Base: Inner Sphere (Standard)
Chassis Type: Biped
Weight Class: Medium
Maximum Weight: 1,000 kg
Battle Value: 177
Swarm/Leg Attack/Mechanized/AP: Yes/Yes/Yes/No
Equipment Slots Mass
Chassis: 175 kg
Motive System:
    Ground MP: 3 80 kg
    Jump MP: 0 0 kg
Manipulators:
    Left Arm: Manipulator (Basic) 0 kg
    Right Arm: Manipulator (Basic) 0 kg
Armor: Advanced 5 320 kg
    Armor Value: 8 + 1 (Trooper)
Weapons and Equipment Location Slots (Capacity) Mass
Machine Gun Right Arm 1 100 kg
Active Probe Body 2 250 kg
Parafoil Body 1 35 kg
TAG Left Arm 1 35 kgSame idea here, takes advantage of the light Parafoil to allow paradropping while fitting goodies.  Good ground speed, Light Active Probe and TAG is for the recon role, and it can just barely fit enough armor to take a large laser shot.  A MG is also mounted in a pinch against small infantry groups or very weak BA models but it really should just either be TAGging stuff or withdrawing and let actual BA infantry do the heavy work.

Ordinarily I'd use a light suit for this role but the UCT seems more limited by bay space and the ridiculous cost multiplier of Dropships than the direct cost/weight of the suits themselves.

[Daryk]

Parafoils will still require a pod of some kind for orbital drops.

[maxcarrion]

OK, I've been giving this some thought and I think I have proposals down for my thoughts on this

The 4 Platoons per dropship will each be assigned a specialisation and will consist of 2 specialist squads and 2 infantry squads

Platoon 1 - Recon
2 Recon Squads
2 Infantry Squads

Platoon 2 - Tech
2 Tech Squads
2 Infantry Squads

Platoon 3 & 4 Heavies
2 Heavy Squads
2 Infantry Squads

Making up half the BA Company the Urban Infantry Suit brings rapid fire anti-infantry weapons to bear on a tough and mobile frame.  A squad of Urban Infantry Suits should easily outmatch a rifle platoon in close quarters and be able to comfortably outrange them when longer sight lines are available.  They come with Improved Sensors to help them detect threats among the clutter of an urban battlefield and TAG to bring in accurate fire from their supporting units.

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Urban Infantry Suits
Weight: Medium (1000KG)
Chassis: Biped 175KG
Ground MP 3 80KG
Jump MP 1 50KG

Armour - Advanced - 8 - 320KG - 5

Equipment
Machine Gun RA 100KG - 1
Light Recoilless Rifle RA 175KG - 2
Improved Sensors Body 65KG - 1
Light TAG Body - 35KG - 1

Tasked with ranging ahead of the main force and locating the enemy the Urban Recon Suits have excellent speed on the ground but also great jumping capability to escape and evade enemy fire as well as reach more difficult to access areas.  Stealth armour gives the Recon Suits an edge when it comes to detecting the enemy first and remote sensor dispensers can ensure the Urban Combat Team is aware of enemy movement over a wide area.

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Urban Recon Suits
Weight: Light (750KG)
Chassis: Biped 100KG
Ground MP 3 60KG
Jump MP 3 75KG

Armour - Stealth, Standard - 5 - 300KG - 4

Equipment
Machine Gun RA 100KG - 1
Improved Sensors Body 65KG - 1
Remote Sensor Dispenser Body - 40KG - 1
Mission Equipment Body - 10KG - 1

Urban Tech Suits protect specialists in the field.  Light suits with armored gloves allow computer techs, medics, field engineers and demolition experts to do their job under tough conditions, with 125KG of equipment per suit these specialists will be able to carry all the equipment they need.  The suits are far from defenseless though, with the same movement profile as the infantry suit and a pair of machine guns standard infantry would be mistaken in thinking that Urban Tech Suits aren't every bit the threat that the larger infantry suits are with plenty of armour to keep the valuable meat inside safe. 

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Urban Tech Suits
Weight: Light (750KG)
Chassis: Biped 100KG
Ground MP 3 60KG
Jump MP 1 25KG

Armour - Advanced - 6 - 240KG - 5

Equipment
Machine Gun RA 100KG - 1
Machine Gun RA 100KG - 1
Mission Equipment Body - 125KG - 1

Bringing the heavier weapons to the party the Urban Heavy Suits are well equipped to go toe to toe with armoured vehicles.  A modular loadout that can be customised to mission profile and expected resistance the Urban Heavies are about as tough as they come and can bring over 400KG of weapon systems to bear.  Their default loadout brings a good punch of missiles with a solid secondary weapon and has opportunity for specialised munitions but they can bring a wide variety of weapons to suit their needs.

Twin Heavy Machine Guns or Flamers for room clearing
Twin Small Lasers for prolonged anti armour fire.
Twin Light Recoilless Rifles for longer sightlines
An SRM 5 O/S and SRM 3 O/S gives a blistering single shot ambush at the cost of any prolonged fire.

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Urban Heavy Suits
Weight: Heavy (1500KG)
Chassis: Biped 300KG
Ground MP 2 80KG
Jump MP 1 125KG

Armour - Advanced - 14 - 560KG - 5

Equipment
Modular Weapon Mount Body - 10KG - 1
Modular Weapon Mount RA - 10KG - 1


Right arm has 2 spaces and the Body 3 spaces with 415KG of space remaining for weapons. 
Default Load - SRM 3 - 4 shots (arm), Machine Gun (body)



[truetanker]

 

https://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,28285.0.html

TT