M9D Mantis Armour Defence System

The is a UNSC light assault walker, intended to be the replacement for the Great War-era M13 Dragon Modular Assault Walker. As a middle ground between the nimble Wolf ATAAS and the heavily armoured Ogre ATABW. Fast, nimble, well defended and with modular weapon load outs, the M77D represents one of the most balanced platforms available. 
==Design==
Whereas the Wolf focuses on emulating human movement and capabilities, and the Ogre focuses on shear survivability, the Mantis attempts to make a nimble and agile design. Slightly smaller than the Ogre in dimension, as well as much more lithe and slender, it has a significant height advantage over most armoured platforms. The extremely powerful legs are capable of running at 58 kilometres per hour, across all terrain, and are extremely powerful, allowing it to leap and capable of destroying targets with a single, powerful stomp. It can also navigate difficult terrain, using the on-board Guidance Assistance Intelligence (GAI). The GAI is a neural intelligence, with an advanced learning system, that is patched into all the sensors of the Mantis, and make nanosecond by nanosecond adjustments to the Mantis' gait, posture, balance and grip, ensuring top speed and maximum stability at all times. This allows it to also execute advanced motions across rough terrain, such as side stepping, jumping and crouching. The Mantis is crewed by a single individual, linked into the vehicle's central systems by a neural link. They've got two analogue controls, on the left is the motion control, a joystick that decides the direction of motion, and given the pressure applied, the speed, with three button controls for the ability to jump, crouch and stomp. The right joystick direction controls the direction of the upper torso. It has a primary trigger, for firing the main 25mm cannon, a button on the peak of the joystick in a flipcase for firing the secondary weapon, and two controls on the inside of the grip, for the index and ring finger, for firing the shoulder armament. The main screen shows the video feed from the Target Acquisition and Designation Sights, which covers the forward arc. On each side are screens showing the left and rear left, then on the right it shows the right side camera feed and the rear right camera feed, giving a near 360 degree camera feed. 
The Mantis can be equipped with four retrorocket packs, allowing it to perform high speed orbital descents, effectively evading the need for a specialised drop pod and slow and visible parachute defence. It can free fall to 200 metres and active it, coming to a safe descent speed before landing. The rocket packs are then ejected and the Mantis can walk freely. 
==Armament==
The Mantis' primary armament is a heavy 20mm rotary cannon, mounted on the right armature. The 20mm cannon is fitted with a dual feed mechanism, usually fed with a mixture of high explosive incendiary and armour piercing incendiary, which usually is enough to tear through light to medium armour and shred infantry. The cannon is mounted on an adjusting armature, allowing it to nearly always be on target, and engage targets at both high and low angles. The gun barrels are coated in a doppler-effect laser cooling bank, allowing it to fire for a prolonged period of time without having to stop to cool.
On the secondary armature is a modular weapon mount, capable of taking a variety of arms, for taking on different enemies, and performing different roles. It can mount five MSR-54B Fortune rocket tubes, 2 MGM-54 Fang ATGW tubes, 12 MASR-79 Calliope rockets or a modified M68B Asynchronous Linear-Induction Motor, better known as the 25mm gauss gun. These armaments are also mounted on the same model armature as the 20mm rotary cannon, allowing high degrees of movement in the X, Y and Z axis. Both guns can be replaced with claws, allowing it to pick up and lift objects, making it useful for carrying cargo or ordnance. It carries all the sufficient programming to allow it to change functions without adjustment. 
On each shoulder is a pair of smaller weapon points, that are mounted on tracking armatures for engaging targets tracked by the driver. These usually carry lower scale weapons, for close ranged engagements and engaging infantry. These include a W/AV M6B G/GNR, a AIE-486I 7.62mm HMG, a M247H2 .50 calibre HMG, a triple barrelled 102mm missile/rocket launcher, MX93 directional microwave weapon and M460C Automatic Grenade Launcher.
All weapons are fully stabilised, and the tracking systems linked into the TADS, allowing the driver to direct fire simply by looking at the enemy. 
==Armour==
The Mantis maintains light armour, compared to other vehicles, in order to maintain is low weight and high acceleration. Its armour is closest in thickness to the Unified Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle. Even the selection of which components to armour has been carefully reviewed to ensure the best mixture of weight and defence, with focused plating on the cockpit, legs and leg joins, while the torso and arm joints are small and covered enough by other armour components to protect them.
The Mantis is built upon a hardened titanium super-alloy chassis, selecting a variety of metals, exotic and common, to create an extremely strong and light weight alloy, that is resistant to corrosion and shock. The armour is bolted directly onto the chassis, in the form of a triple layer made up, from outermost to innermost, thick titanium plating, heat resistant kevlar, AEGIS tile inserts and then non-newtonian shock absorbing layer. This allows the Mantis to take substantial fire from low level ordnance, including several repeat impacts from a 70mm cannon, or a single 25mm gauss round, though 102mm missiles and 90mm and above cannons usually cause instant and catastrophic damage, crippling or outright destroying it. The armour can be augmented with additional bolt on armour, including SCALE non-explosive reactive armour, which uses a high power capacitor to release an electrical discharge, vaporizing or dispersing kinetic, HEAT and energy munitions, which works as a one shot against almost any munition. The second is the CHITIN Stand-off Cage Armour, which uses slats of titanium alloy to prematurely detonate munitions before they can hit the vehicle itself, detonating explosive and plasma munitions before they can make contact. 
The main defensive system of the Mantis is a regenerating energy shield, capable of surviving substantial punishment. Powerful enough to survive direct impacts by anti-tank munitions, the energy shield allows the Mantis to often take on heavier armour and survive. 
==Sensors and Guidance==
The Mantis, due to its large, and somewhat unwieldy nature, requires significant amounts of sensors in order to navigate and detect its targets. Its primary sensor is the forward facing Target Acquisition and Designation Sights (TADS). This is linked directly to the pilot, tracking his head and eye motions, allowing the pilot to aim all four of the weapons without analogue input. This stabilized TADS contains two turrets, carrying independent sensors, mounted on the upper and lower surfaces. The lower TADS carries a full-colour optical camera, with 10x zoom capabilities and a hybrid night-vision/thermal sight capable of projecting targets with little to no illumination and projecting high heat sources, with a 10x zoom. The upper turret carries the LASER system, which consists of a cluster of three LASERs capable of operating in three modes, as LASER range finders, as a LASER designator, or as LIDAR, giving an accurate 3 dimensional image of the area ahead. 
The Mantis carries a number of other sensors, including a low power ground reading RADAR for aiding the GAI in direction, autonomous diagnostic sensors spread throughout the body to report on damage and maintenance issues, a magnetic array, for acquiring targets behind cover, a cluster of full colour optical and night vision sensors on the left, right and rear left and right of the vehicle for all round vision, a duplex motion sensor that uses thermal sensors and ultrasonic detection, and a single flat pane active electronically scanned radar, with limited traverse capabilities, that can acquire targets at long range, and is resistant to jamming.
==Stealth features and Countermeasures==
In order to maintain it's stealth profile, the Mantis uses several stealth technologies to make it extremely difficult to detect in the field. First of all, its lithe and streamlined design is naturally sensor resistant, making it difficult to detect on the field. The Mantis is coated in RADAR absorbent paint, that absorbs RADAR waves, leading to no 'return' on the enemy RADAR. This is coated in a liquid glass laminate to render the exterior invisible to ultra-violet light. The Mantis has sophisticated heat control and cooling systems, allowing it to maintain close to background temperature at all times, and be totally invisible when inactive. 
When it's stealth technology fails, the Mantis has numerous countermeasure systems, in order to defeat enemy munitions with hard and soft kill systems, all of which are controlled by the Area Defence and Interception System. Its first line of defence against enemy ordnance is the NEMESIS Decoy Launcher. The NEMESIS uses two launchers, each containing three barrels, which are independently fed by a 50 round magazine of caseless grenades. The choice of three grenades can be selected and launched within 1.5 seconds of launch detection, usually enough time to break the lock on or confuse the missile. It can fire flares, that affect optical, infra-red and ultra-violet sensors and when properly configured by the ADIS can blind these sensors, or accurately replicate the sensor appearance of the Mantis. It can also fire ion flares, which produce strong magnetic disturbances, either creating false signals or emitting wide band jamming, usually to confuse magnetically guided munitions. It can also fire the more classical smoke grenade, emitting a cloud of high temperature smoke that can hide multiple vehicles. The decoy launcher an also fire grenades that disperse the RB-3 Aerosol, which disperses directed energy weapons such as plasma, particle and LASER weapons with a 79% effectiveness. It can also fire RM-11 composites, which contains a fine titanium dust that prematurely detonates incoming plasma projectiles. It can fire high grade chaff dispensers that disperse disruptive composites, blinding RADARs. Its last available grenade is the advanced AN/ULQ-399 Variable Mission Programmable Radio Decoy (VAMPR), which is a high power radio transmitter which can blind sensors, produce false targets or spoofing the enemy RADAR. It has the CARAPACE Dual Active Protection System, which has two shielding emitters, to fire a 'one-shot' bubbleshield for a brief time, stopping high power anti-armour weapons, and a high power magnetic shield, capable of stopping fuel rod, plasma launcher and concussion rifle munitions dead in their tracks, though incapable of stopping larger plasma munitions. It also has the REBOUND Passive Defence System for stopping laser guided munitions. In the event of a LASER lock on the vehicle, it will deploy the emitters, usually placed strategically to defend the vehicle. It will then modulate and adapt the beams to the wavelength of the tracker, which takes between 0.4 and 0.6 seconds and then initiate decoy beams, giving the missile alternating and confusing signals, in the hope these will send it off course. In fact, missiles over 200 meters away can be sent straight back to the launcher, with comical results. It also has the NOCTURNAL Passive Defence System, which in the event of a infra-red lock on the vehicle, it will deploy the emitters, usually placed strategically to defend the vehicle. These beams emit infra-red light and are used in a 'dazzle' attack, blinding their target. This modulating dazzle beam causes missiles to rapidly lose their lock on and deviate from the flight path, perhaps even chase a phantom target. Its last passive system is the BLINDER Passive Defence System, that uses a radio transmitter to blind RADAR, GPS and radio guided missiles. Its last ditch defence is the M980 Weapon Anti Ordnance/Anti Material Defence Weapon, better known as the Aurora LASER, which uses the on-board sensors to direct fire against ordnance, being capable of detonating most missiles and shells in a single pulse, but is ineffective against energy weapons and armour penetrators. 
==Powerplant==
The Mantis is powered by a pair of 750 kilowatt microfusion reactors. These are in each shoulder, and can be used for double redundancy, allowing the Mantis to fight on after one has been disabled. These power literally every system on the Mantis. and can keep it running for upwards of three years, and are fed with Boron-11 and Proton fuel. These generators are extremely efficient and extremely clean, producing little waste, most of which is internally scrubbed and released. 
==Role==
The Mantis is used in a similar role to the M85 Coyote Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle. Light, fast and with enough shields and armour to get into a stand up fight with heavier armour, the Mantis is usually used to scout ahead of the main force, support armour advances, and support infantry, being able to navigate narrow and complex terrain, and is extremely deadly in urban combat, where it can get almost anywhere and has a height advantage to fire down on defenders. The Mantis is also used in small numbers to support special forces, in a similar vein to the Wolf exoskeleton.
==Users==
The Mantis is used in large armoured and scouting formations by both the UNSC Marine Corp and Army. It is also used by special forces, with small amounts issued to Marine and Army special light infantry, and as support for top tier forces in unique squadrons. 52 are used by the 117th regiment for special support during extreme circumstances.
==UNSC Remarks==
Category:UNSC Vehicles