Striker RAM Heap

[Old_Dr_Skull]

I was testing out some TL-14 battle dress guys vs som TL-10 CES guys. Realizing that their normal weapons are a useless against AV-18, I gave the Tl-10 guys some RAM rifle grenades. By gum, they really just turn battle dress troops into grease spots.

But, is the RAM grenade penetration (rifle or launcher are the same) correct? It seems pretty high. I mean, below 300 meters or so, a battle-dress trooper would be better off with a RAM auto-GL than a PGMP or FGMP, what with better penetration and an auto-fire bonus. Ammo would be a drag, but the fight would probably be shorter.

 

[Omnivore]

No longer a contributor to this board.

 

[samuelvss]

Grenade launchers have been, and it is logical to imagine, will continue to be, an important part of the battlefield tactical mix; combined arms is like an incredibly complex game of rock-paper-scissors.

If I did have an issue, it would be shooting a grenade at a moving, man-sized target with the same accuracy as rifle-type weapon. That said, shoot enough of them and, well...

The real deal, which doesn't come through the rules, is that grenade launchers tend to be slow. That is ballistic grenade launchers, though, and presumably RAM has a much quicker direct fire flight time. We mix HMG's with Auto GL's, though, at TL7, because the HMG's are SO much quicker, can carry a lot more ammo, and more flexible (no standoff/arming); and the GL's have Really Pretty terminal ballistics.

The FGMP-15 is an uber-rifle concept, not a support weapon; the nice thing about Battle Dress is that they can carry support weapons (like RAM Auto GL's firing HEAP) around like they were sidearms. No armor or weapon system beats everything, all the time.

 

[jappel]

Some years ago, Tod Glenn posted some pictures (in the Ship's Locker forum) about something called the LOSAT, essentially a vehicle-mounted, hyper-velocity kinetic kill missile launcher. Tod then came up with the idea for something he dubbed SLOSAT, a disposable, shoulder-launched version - it clocked in at around 10 kilos total.

I crunched the Striker numbers and came up with an armor penetration of 39. This is more than adequate to take out any battledress in the game, and can actually whack a TL-13 version of the Imperial APC example shown in Striker (have to drop down to plain superdense from bonded superdense).

Oh, and the SLOSAT can be made at TL 8.

Sure, it's unguided, but it's cheap.

Original thread including tactical discussion here:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=5446&highlight=SLOSAT

 

[77topaz]

Some years ago, Tod Glenn posted some pictures (in the Ship's Locker forum) about something called the LOSAT, essentially a vehicle-mounted, hyper-velocity kinetic kill missile launcher. Tod then came up with the idea for something he dubbed SLOSAT, a disposable, shoulder-launched version - it clocked in at around 10 kilos total.

I crunched the Striker numbers and came up with an armor penetration of 39. This is more than adequate to take out any battledress in the game, and can actually whack a TL-13 version of the Imperial APC example shown in Striker (have to drop down to plain superdense from bonded superdense).

Oh, and the SLOSAT can be made at TL 8.

Sure, it's unguided, but it's cheap.

Original thread including tactical discussion here:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=5446&highlight=SLOSAT

If "SLOSAT" can be made at TL 8, could they currently be made on Earth?

 

[Ackehece]

If "SLOSAT" can be made at TL 8, could they currently be made on Earth?

Saab Bofors CS AT4
raytheon / Lockheed Martin FGM 148 Javelin
Milan (guided)
RPG-32 Hashim

all between 6 and 18kgs in weight and all can kill tanks (some like the AT4 only from the side or rear and others like the Milan from any aspect)
they do not have the insane speed of the Slosat but they have reasonable rates of fire (or disposable) and travel fast enough that you could easily hit a man with one.

 

[jappel]

From some messages later in that thread, as of 2004 there were some firms working on a guided version of the SLOSAT. Hard to say where that development is - but the potential to build them today sure seems to be present!