Armored Combat Uniform

The Armored Combat Uniform (ACU) was an advanced armored uniform developed for fielding by the New Republic Defense Force’s combat personnel, especially within the Army, boasting similar capabilities to Imperial Stormtrooper armor.

## History

### Predecessor

In the early days of the New Republic Army, they had fielded mildly upgraded versions of the basic mix of uniforms used by the Rebel Alliance. By 12 ABY, a standardized uniform was adopted consisting of a multi-pocketed tan jumpsuit, later replaced by one of two camouflage jumpsuits, sturdy black boots, a basic plastoid chestplate similar to those components of Stormtrooper armor, and a basic tan and green, open faced, combat helmet. The helmet provided little more than basic protection on its own, but was compatible with a basic head-worn comlink; a separate respirator mask was required for inhospitable environments; and any advanced visual capabilities were provided by standalone goggles. Finally, a basic load carrying vest could be worn to facilitate the carrying of extra ammunition, grenades, or survival supplies. The newer, camouflaged, versions of this uniform would remain the standard into the late 20’s ABY, and only two camouflage patterns were created for it: a foliage pattern, and an arid pattern.

### Project Blue Mantle

In 24 ABY, loosely following the union of the Sith and the Imperial Remnant, the Defense Force’s, Military Research Division (MRD) was tasked with developing a new, improved, and more protective combat uniform that would more closely match the capabilities of the armor worn by the recently formed Galactic Sith Empire’s soldiers. Development was largely split up, with a network of small developmental teams focusing on one or two components that would ultimately come together to form this new armored uniform. Notable developments include: the EVS-12 Enhanced Optics Suite, a component which provided for the helmet’s enhanced visual and auditory capabilities; a flexible soft armor material based on older TYI flex armor and armorweave; and, eventually, a flexible plate armor component made using layers of thin duraplast disks and armorweave, developed to improve mobility. After the uniforms initial fielding, Project Blue Mantle continued at a reduced pace, now focused on providing upgrades as necessary, such as the flexible plate armor or a weaponized vambrace inspired by and developed in response to Mandalorian armor.

### Fielding

By the second half 28 ABY, the first units were beginning to receive the Armored Combat Uniform with a prioritization towards those units closest to the Core. By the time Mandalore captured Coruscant in the Sith-Mandalorian War, all Army and Defense Fleet combat units in the Core region had received the advanced uniform and training in its use, however production and fielding of additional uniforms was halted by the Republic’s temporary relocation. Production would begin again after the Republic and Tirannan Industries had driven off Coruscant’s Mandalorian conquerors.

When the Mandalorian Empire began targeting weakened New Republic worlds on its outskirts, most units had received the new armor, which may have allowed for a greater fighting chance as Republic soldiers fought to defend against Mandalorian warriors and Canderous tanks, however none of those battles successfully repelled the Mandalorians’ assaults. When Mandalore again hit Coruscant, the combined defense by the New Republic and Tirannan Industries was ultimately a loss due to the sheer numerical advantage that Mandalore had over the defenders.
Production would begin again at a slower pace months later, when the New Republic began to reestablish itself and, in this case, its military production capabilities. Around this time, those still working on Blue Mantle finished development on a weaponized vambrace, which would begin to be fielded alongside newly finalized flexible armor plates for the vest, to replace the vest’s original rigid plates. The Armored Combat Uniform also was overlooked in the creation and planning of Project Rebirth in regards to the New Republic Shock Troopers’ equipment, in favor of the Tirannan Industries designed Cassur-type armor.

## Design

The Armored Combat Uniform was a significant departure from the New Republic’s prior uniform designs, which emphasized an open face helmet to preserve the soldier’s humanity rather than a completely enclosed helmet which covered the wearer’s face, leaving doubt of whether they were alive or simply a battle droid. It also departed from the traditional, lightly armored, design, allowing almost unrestricted mobility where it mattered most. To answer the second problem, the materials used in the armor panels were specifically chosen for their protection, weight, and mobility – wherever possible, newly developed soft armor panels were used, such as on the upper arm and upper leg, and in parts of the vest; alternatively where hard components were required, such as in joint protection, the shin guards and vambraces, parts of the vest, and the helmet, plastoid and armorplast were used.

The helmet and vest were excluded from garrison wear, with the former being substituted with a matching uniform cap.

### Helmet

The helmet was a serious upgrade over the previous helmet designs in every area of use. An integrated, encrypted, comlink was installed in every helmet, its frequencies set on a synchronized auto-rotation plan along with the rest of the unit; this rotation would be wiped should the helmet be removed without pressing a hidden control stud on the underside of the helmet.

A built in enhanced optics suite removed the need for separate, sometimes bulky, equipment. A row of sensors on the brow of the helmet provided: night vision and thermal signature reading, the latter including multiple display palates for different purposes; electrobinocular capabilities including up to 175 levels of magnification and basic rangefinding; and video capture. Additionally, built in auditory sensors amplified lower sounds and functioned as smart hearing protection, selectively muffling sounds past a safe hearing range. The automatic flash polarizing visor would darken the otherwise translucent visor to protect against certain bright light, especially sudden; alternatively, this could manually be engaged by the wearer when contact was expected.

The helmet featured a comprehensive filtration system, able to filter out both smoke and toxins, including those man-made for warfare. The helmet also could draw from an internal rebreather, allowing for up to 10 minutes of oxygen without the need for an external rebreather tank which could connect on the front of the helmet. When combined with the suit’s bodyglove, the helmet could create a seal to protect from the vacuum of space, or from limited radiation. Lastly, the helmet featured a protective seal around the hydration pouch connection hose when being used, which fed to an internal straw with a bite valve.
The visor provided an intricate Heads Up Display, which provided a targeting reticle and information such as: navigational overlays and maps, IFF readouts, and vital health information.

### Vest

The ACU protective vest consisted of front and back halves, connected by a secure and unobtrusive quick release system, containing flexible armor panels. The front, back, and sides of the vest had slots to fit a set of hard armor panels, later replaced with flexible hard armor panels following the Republic's relocation, which were optional but recommended for conflict. The back of the vest featured a built in, reinforced section which held: IFF circuitry, a power supply that could last up to 240 standard hours on a single charge, a cooling system, and a personal shield generator that withstood 5 shots from an E-11 Blaster rifle on a full charge and had a three minute recharge rate. Additionally, the back of the vest had a reinforced grab handle near the top, intended to drag the wearer. Lastly, the vest was covered in Modular Attachment Tab-and-Close Hooks (MATCH) loops, for configurable pouch placement.

### Bodyglove

The base of the uniform was a sealed and weatherproof bodyglove. It featured a zipper running almost the full length of the torso for ease of putting on and taking off, and would pressurize around any light clothing worn underneath. The torso section of the bodyglove featured armorweave reinforcements, which provided very light blaster protection. When worn in conjunction with a sealed helmet, such as the uniform’s armored helmet, it could provide protection against the effects of space exposure and from light radiation. Lastly, the bodyglove would contract to help stem blood flow should a deep cut or dismemberment occur.

### Vambraces

A pair of vambraces were part of the uniform. While providing for basic protection, such as being reinforced to intercept vibroblades, they incorporated technology and, after a post-Evacuation upgrade, weapons. While the older generation vambraces distributed various components such as a comlink and control interface between the pair, the second generation vambraces integrated all non-weaponized components into one and all weaponized components into the other - usually the off hand and dominant hand respectively.

The weaponized vambrace incorporated a miniaturized ion blaster, a stun blaster, and a laser cutter. The non-weaponized vambrace featured a suit control interface, a combined comlink and chronometer, an electronic compass display, and a holoprojector that could optionally display maps and link with the Heads Up Display for real-time tracking and updates. Lastly, the non-weaponized included a No-Show device, controlled separately from the rest of the suit, which served as a last ditch concealment tool at the expense of cutting off the wearer's sensors and their location from the rest of their unit.

A pair of gloves were worn that could be powered up to shock an opponent in close-quarters combat and to augment the wearer's strength, sometimes capable of breaking bones. Additionally, they were fire resistant.

### Boots

The uniform included a pair of magnetized, protective boots, made with layers of duralumin for shock absorption. The boots could adequately protect the wearer’s foot in kicking a metal object, such as a door, and were completely waterproof.

## Camouflage

* Tundra
* Desert
* Arid
* Transitional
* Foliage
* Urban. Light
* Urban Dark
1/7
Keeping with New Republic Defense Force doctrine regarding personal camouflage, patterns were developed as part of Project Blue Mantle to effectively conceal the wearer in most conventional environments against most unassisted eyes and simple sensors. A total of seven patterns were fielded, with the potential for development of other specialized patterns as needed.

### Urban

Two urban camouflage patterns, one light and one dark, were developed for use in developed city environments that would render other environmental patterns ineffective. Both of these patterns relied on varying shades of gray and black. Additionally, both of these patterns were in use by Naval combat forces, primarily the lighter variant, and the darker of the two was approved for nighttime operations as needed.

### Desert

Designed for those environments in which the arid pattern would not work, a desert pattern was developed for use in lighter, sandy, environments. The overall design of the pattern was unique in that it did not have some variant of the striped appearance of the patterns, instead relying on a vertical, “brushed” pattern to provide breakup in an otherwise blank, yellow-tan field of sand.

### Arid

Opposite the desert pattern, an arid pattern was developed for environments in which most or all foliage is absent, and usually rocky. This pattern was also one of the lesser used patterns that the ACU was fielded in.

### Transitional

One of the most commonly used patterns, the transitional pattern was developed for those areas in which an arid or foliage uniform would be too extreme, or when movement between the two was heavily anticipated. As a result of this, it was also often used as a “universal” pattern.

### Foliage

The conceptual opposite of the arid and desert patterns, the foliage pattern, also referred to as the woodland pattern, was made for heavily forested environments; whether temperate or tropical, the foliage pattern’s combination of deep greens and brown was ideal, and also was effective in certain marsh-type environments.

### Tundra

Rather bold out of its environment, the tundra pattern, also known by many other names – all synonyms for cold or snowy – was designed with just that in mind. Its blend of light grays and white easily disappeared in most snowy environments without the aid of visual enhancing technologies.