M103 Salamander Light Artillery Carrier

The is a UNSC armoured vehicle. Classified as a light artillery piece, compared to the larger 155mm SPMA, the Salamander provides fire support to highly mobile expeditionary and scouting units. It's powerful 105mm howitzer can fire quickly and accurately, allowing it to severely damage targets, before quickly retreating in a "shoot and scoot" manoeuvre.
The vehicle is built up from a titanium alloy chassis with bolted on mixed titanium/composite/AEGIS ceramic plating, giving it enough strength to withstand up to 70mm high velocity guns, though its armour is compromised near-instantly. It is powered by a powerful V8 hydrogen powerpack which burns the hydrogen fuel at a very high temperature with a synthetic carbon/silicon catalyst to achieve even better fuel consumption, allowing it to reach speeds of 107KPH. The engine powers all eight wheels. These powerpacks also power the on-board communications, sensors the gun and other electronic systems. The wheels each have independent adaptive suspension using adaptive Magneto-rheological dampers to ensure comfort, stability, control and agility. They use nanotube skeleton run-flat tires, providing all the benefits of normal tires, with none of the drawbacks while being nigh-indestructible. On top of that, each wheel has titanium composite rims and fully articulate and individual suspension, with the front four being supported by titanium alluminide/AEGIS composite tire shields, protecting them from further harm. Each wheel can, individually, have its pressure modified to adjust its cross country ability. It features a V-shaped sealed hull, with a high concentration of non-newtonian material with heavily sloped armour. It has the ability to become amphibious, to a limited extent, allowing it to cross rivers and lakes to combat the enemy. Its raised engine exhausts also feature thermal shrouds to disguise the vehicle during operations. The vehicle contains a weight transference system linked to gyroscopes to achieve a perfect balance even over rough terrain, transferring built-in weights and fuel to keep the vehicle balanced and stable. The computer controlled power distribution system can distribute the power to each wheel accurately enough to maintain enough traction to keep it mobile, with all wheels being operated through a triple redundant drive-by-light control system. Like all hydrogen powered vehicles in the UNSC, it features a inbuilt AMG H/G Actuator. It is capable of converting up to 12 litres of water (from any source) into hydrogen quickly and efficiently, compacting any non-convertible detritus within the water on board and allowing a range of 200 kilometres just from overnight condensation catchments. This allows it to operate almost indefinitely in the field so long as there is a plentiful supply of water. The vehicle has a hydraulic ram door to the back and doors on each side, all three being equipped with emergency explosive bolts to remove them in case of severe damage or emergencies. On the turret, it has a hatch, often used by a loader. The armour is covered in radiation protective liquid glass resins, infra-red suppressive paint and LIDAR/RADAR absorbent paint.
The Driver is sat in the up armoured 'combat tub' which is the forward chamber, with heavily upgraded armour and has single crystal quartz glass windows. These have self regenerative, self polarising protective features (from blinding LASERs and bright flashes) and gold tinting to protect the crew from electromagnetic interference. They can resist even heavy fire from 70mm cannons, at least for brief periods. The Driver can lift up the forward screen to allow easy access, escape or just raise it slightly for unhindered observance. Sat behind the driver is the main gunner, with a holographic weapons station for controlling the main gun system, with a universal bus that allows any single vehicle to be adapted to use any number of weapon systems. Sat to the left in the main hull in the 'operations' seat is the Commander, who has access to the defensive turret, and the electronic warfare and defensive systems, allowing him to provide short-range support for disembarking soldiers. 
The chassis has been modified to fit the large turret needed to house the 105mm howitzer. This gun is powerful, with excellent range, and in order to fire quickly, it has been fitted with a revolver-type loader. It is preloaded with six shells, and fired quickly, dumping all six shells in ten seconds. It can also fire them in such a way to achieve Multiple Rounds, Simultaneous Impact (MRSI) on a target. This is the reloaded by the two loaders. The gun features four heavy duty buffers to reduce recoil. The turret is fitted with a discreet commander's sight, and a ground targetting RADAR that can be used for long range target detection. The Turret also mounts the PALADIN Weapon Station and the active protection system.
==UNSC Remarks==
Category:UNSC Vehicles