VM-9 Silverback

Conceived as a heavy support unit for the Cyclone series, the **VM-9 Silverback** is a Veritech ground vehicle used by the UEEF.

## Background

The Cyclone series had been a massive success for the UEEF, providing them with a highly mobile and versatile mecha for their infantry forces. However, while its compact size was an asset, it also served as an upper limit to the amount of weaponry and equipment that the Cyclone could carry. As a result, the UEEF began development on a larger support mecha to compliment the Cyclone. By abandoning the idea of using it as a pilot escape vehicle and allowing for a greater size, the designers were able to come up with a far more powerful and heavily armed platform.

Inspired by the Southern Cross' VM-5 Typhoon, the resultant VM-9 Silverback was less of a power armour as it was a fully-enclosed Mecha. Abandoning a motorcycle mode for reasons of scale, the Silverback's vehicle mode instead resembled a four-wheeled buggy more than anything else. In battloid mode, the pilot was almost entirely enclosed within the body, with the limbs being entirely mechanical in design. This configuration not only offered greater protection than a Cyclone, but also a greater capacity for carrying weapons and equipment into combat. The Silverback shared numerous components with the Cyclone series ranging from motors and electronics all the way down to weaponry, a factor which accelerated production and deployment while also reducing logistical requirements.

The UEEF ordered three models of Silverback; the **VM-9L Ranger** light combat/recon variant, **VM-9H Knight** heavy combat variant and **VM-9E Bishop** electronic warfare and surveillance variant. While not fully modular, the three had a high degree of parts commonality and differed only in detail, further easing logistical considerations. Furthermore, it was found that due to the shared components and design elements, the Silverback proved to be remarkably easy for Cyclone riders to learn to operate. The UEEF began deployment of the mecha both as a support element to existing Cyclone teams, as well as in dedicated heavy mechanised infantry roles. In the latter, the Silverback was able to displace a number of legacy infantry transports still in UEEF service.

While the vehicle was developed for combat against the Invid, its first active deployment instead was during the UEEF Civil War, where Silverbacks were fielded by the loyalist faction against T.R. Edwards' renegade forces. The Silverback acquitted itself well in battle on Optera, including the final assault on the central hive, where it faced off against both Edwards' renegade Cyclone forces as well as those Invid now under his control. Silverback forces further proved themselves in the mopping-up of remaining renegade holdouts.

The delays in production caused by the Civil War prevented the Silverback from seeing large-scale deployment with the second Recapture Force, but none the less a small number were present for use by infantry forces. Most of those were destroyed in space onboard their carrier craft, but a few made it to Earth where they were employed by resistance forces. The Silverback proved to be an effective weapon, providing a heavy punch that most Cyclone models lacked and offering resistance forces a limited ability to engage larger Invid types like the Enforcer and Grappler. The degree of parts commonality with the Cyclone made it comparatively easy to support in the field by resistance groups.

Full production of the Silverback began in 2043, with Silverbacks entering board service with the UEEF later that year. Examples of the mecha were among the forward recon forces deployed to Earth in 2044 in the lead-up to the third Reclamation Force. The Bishop model proved to be especially important to these operations, helping to gather data about the Invid presence on Earth and their growing numbers and capabilities. Silverbacks fought on the frontlines during the second battle of Reflex Point, where they proved to be a vital asset against the large numbers of advanced Invid designs deployed during the battle.

The Silverback remains in service with the UEEF. Given both the unstable situation on Earth and the risk of further Haydonite attacks, it is likely to remain in use for some time to come.

## Capabilities

The Silverback is a two-mode ground-based Veritech mecha. The Battloid mode is broadly humanoid, with a weapon turret sitting in place of the head, while the vehicle mode is a four-wheeled buggy. In both modes, the Silverback has a crew of two, one driver and one gunner. In vehicle mode, the two sit side by side. In Battloid mode, the driver sits inside the torso in a mostly enclosed cockpit, while the gunner is positioned behind the main weapon turret. However, the mecha can operate on a single crew if needs be. Unlike the Cyclone series, the crew do not need to wear any form of body armour for transformation. However, it was standard procedure for both to be wearing CVR-3 armour to improve survivability.

Power for the Silverback was provided by a pair of modified Cylone Protoculture engines mounted inside the body. The Silverback's set up provided the same functionality as the Cyclone, giving it excellent mobility in both modes. In Battloid mode, the Silverback had a maximum running speed of up to 96 km/h, depending on the variant. Furthermore, due to its humanoid form, the Silverback ws highly agile and could engage in melee combat in Battloid mode if needs be. In vehicle mode, motive power came through four independently driven wheels with a maximum speed of 192 km/h. The vehicle mode had excellent off-road capabilities courtesy of independent suspension and computer augmented breaking control. In addition, the Silverback's vehicle mode features boosters that allow it to make assisted leaps.

Due to its size, the Silverback featured a far more extensive electronics fit than the standard Cyclone. The sensor fit was headed up by a short-range, omni-directional battlefield radar with both air and land target tracking capabilities. Secondary sensors included passive infrared detection, optical systems (such a low-light, thermal and so on) and a laser target designator. In both modes, sensory information was relayed to the pilot through multi-function displays built into the dashboard as well as an integrated heads-up display. The main weapon also featured its own independent targeting system for when it was being used by the gunner, but it could also be directly slaved to the main fire control system. The cockpit of the VM-9L model was open in both modes, allowing secondary visual detection. Conversely, the cockpits of the VM-9H and VM-9E models were enclosed, with the crew being entirely dependent on display screens for awareness.

Furthermore, the VM-9E was fitted with an extensive electronics suite in addition to its standard systems. The main turret was replaced with a multi-function land and air search/track radar with long-range surveillance and detection capabilities. Secondary sensors included advanced stereoscopic imaging systems with excellent resolution and target identification capabilities. This was further supplemented with an OSS-60 Mobile Data Acquisition System, a more sophisticated version of the OSS-44 used by the VR-038M Scout Cyclone. This system gave the VM-9E excellent data recording and storage capabilities, allowing it to act as an advanced scout for infantry units, as well as for independent operations.

The Silverback's armour was an advanced, lightweight plastic-ceramic composite that is designed to prevent both kinetic and energy based attack. The armour is immune to small arms fire, and provides fair to good protection against heavy infantry weapons (such as a 12.7mm machine gun round) and moderate protection against heavier weapons (such as a Zentraedi 22.3mm autocannon round). The crew compartment of the VM-9L was partially exposed in both modes, while the VM-9H and VM-9E were fully enclosed. Standard procedure was for both crew to wear CVR-3 body armour to improve survivability.

## Weapons and Equipment

(E)

* **OSS-60 Data Acquisition Unit:** Military recording camera, for archival and reconnaissance in battlefield environments. Camera set includes IR-illuminator, and night-vision capability on a high-resolution wide-bandwidth CCD chip and six low-resolution narrow-band CCDs for full optical, near- and far-IR, and UV color imaging. Camera is capable of digitally storing fourty-five minutes of footage at highest resolution, or eighteen hours at the lowest. Unit is also capable of three-color hard-copy production of single frames.

(E, L)

* 2 **GR-97 Missile Launchers:** Dual 45mm x 260mm **Scorpion** mini-missile tube mounted on the forearm plates (front wheel covers). The two Scorpion missiles are laser-guided, have plasma warheads, and a range of 1.7 km.

(E, H)

* **HRG-70 'Crusher' Accelerator Rifle:** Mounted on the shoulder. An electromagnetic railgun with a rate of fire of approx 24 rounds/minute. Fed from a 100-shot internal magazine and tied directly into the Silverback's targeting system. May also be used as a shoulder-mounted support weapon by unmounted infantry without benefits of additional targeting systems.

(H)

* 2 **EP-40 40mm Pulse Particle Beam Guns:** Mounted on the foreamrs. It can pierce almost any armor, and stores 45 rounds per energy magazine. Magazines can recharge from the Silverback's main generator, but at a slow rate. Weapon is also targetable from Cycle mode, though the arc of fire is limited. A targeting camera is mounted in the front, uplinking with the Silverback's main targeting system. Action is semi-automatic.
* 2 **GR-103 Missile Launchers:** built into the Silverback's shoulders. The launcher holds six 60mm x 150mm **Recluse** terminally laser and radar-guided rocket-propelled grenades in each side of the chest for a total of twelve. The missiles are armor piercing or high explosive, and have a range of 0.8 km.

(H, L)

* **HRG-140 Railgun:** Mounted on the turret in both modes. A double-barreled electromagnetic railgun with a rate of fire of approx 24 rounds/minute via staggered fire. Alternatively, both barreles can be fired at once for increased penetration at approx 12 rounds/minute. Fed from a 100-shot internal magazine and tied directly into the Silverback's targeting system.

Furthermore, due to the open cockpit design, the crew of the VM-9L Ranger could use hand-held weapons while operating the vehicle. The H-260 Valliant Rifle was the most commonly issued, but other weapons could be used as needed.

## Variants

* **VM-9E Bishop:** Advanced scout, surveillance and electronic warfare model
* **VM-9H Knight:** Standard frontline combat model with heavy weapons
* **VM-9L Ranger:** Light combat model featuring reduced armour and increased mobility

## Notes

* Design Notes
* Image Gallery