NationStates Jolt Archive


Helicon Inc. Presents the X2 Spider Mine

Kroando
18-07-2007, 02:33
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/8882/bac7snzf5.png
X2 Spider Mine

Background

Tank warfare is a tricky business. There are few nations with the engineering genius to create tanks operable on the modern battlefield... there are even fewer with the intellectual know-how needed in order to wage a proper armored war. The vast majority of modern tank commanders squint through their binoculars, see the enemy on the horizon and shout 'charge', as if he were a Medieval Cavalry Captain. This terrible tank strategy is... sadly... effective, only because both commanders adopt it. Now I know you're sitting there reading this saying, 'Bullshit! Im feckin' Erwin Rommel you bastard!' And im sure you are... but... if I can kill you're 10 Million dollar tank with a nasty little mine... why not?

Design

Unlike its failed predacesor, which aimed to flip a tank, the X2 desired no such power... but sought to deliver a much more devestating result. The cylinder like mine held in it's center an altered APFSDS Anti-Tank round, typically fired from the barrel of a cannon. However, a smaller round, forged from Depleted Uranium was cut, scraped, hammered and welded until it fit into the 'shell', then sat ontop of an explosive charge. This Kinetic Energy projectile is capable of puncturing the front armor of most modern MBT's, should it be fired from a high velocity cannon, but we need not focus on puncturing frontal armor. The X2 Spider Mine fired a 'bullet' of sorts, a bullet which need only penetrate the thinest armor the tank has to offer. No tank on earth armors the rear as much as the side. No tank on earth armors the side as much as the front. And no tank on earth armors the underbelly at all. Why? Because tanks dont get shot at from underneath... well... they didn't anyways.

The mine is triggered through high preasure readings, only given off by vehicles over 25 tons so as to avoid detonation from infantry and otehr light vehicles. Once the preasure detection devices are tiggered, an electronic current is sent into the explosive propellent packed underneath the Uranium Rod, triggering the explosive, forcing the rod forward. The rod, only loosly held in place be the steel casing, rockets upwards, through the tin roof of the mine, through the dirt above and into the soft underbelly of the unlucky tank.

This APFSDS rod, unlike the standard projectile, contains an explosive, roughly a half kilogram of OctaNitroCubane. The explosive, immidietly set on a time charge from the time at which the mine is triggered, explodes once inside the tank. Though not much in the way of explosive, a half kilo of the most explosive non-nuclear material on earth was more than enough to kill highly valuable tank crews, and completely ruin the inards of any tank... making it, for all intents and purposes, destroyed. Varients of this mine do not contain explosives, but replace the OctaNitroCubane with chemical gas, or even radioactive material. If you desire to steal some enemy technology, sarin gas is a nice alternative, that wont ruin the tank (save a small hole in the bottom). If you dont want your enemy repairing the bastard, twenty ounces of radioactive goo is enough to make him rethink bringing the tank back to shop.

Finally the X2 Spider Mine is covered in a rubbery substance which can delay and even destroy the effectiveness of mine detectors. The rubber reflects the electromagnetic current, meaning it never hit's the metal casing of the mine. If it never hits the metal casing, it never goes beep. This is not a 100% counter measure however, if a mine sweeper stays over the mine for a considerable length of time, it will go through the rubber outer layer. Ergo... a mine sweeper may go right over the mine, and never pick it up. Five minutes later a tank might go over... and... bingo.

Price: 1,700

"But how on earth are we supposed to dig those things into the ground so quickly? Those things look heavy! What if we need to lay a mine field fast? What if they're coming and we dont have much time?! KROANDO! WTF DO WE DO THEN!?!?!?!"

Do not fret. The X2 Spider Mine is easily deployed by the X2SM Support Vehicle. A large fire-truck-like looking vehicle which a pitch-digger on the back. The operator only need press a small black button, and a powerful, air pressured circular cutting device shoots down, digging into the dirt, digging a circular hole one foot wide, three feet deep. A hydraulic spinner then moves the cutting pole, and a robotic arm is pushes a fully loaded X2 Spider Mine down a metal slide, right into the hole which was just dug. The circular digging utensil then spins back, dumping the dirt back in the hole. For further camoflauging of the dirt, infantry may spread leaves or grass overtop. In long duration wars this remains useful, even once you are out of mines. Your enemy may become accustom to avoiding areas with such dirt patches. If this be the case, simply dig the holes with the X2SM Support Vehicle, and dont put a mine in. Scare the bastard away with nothing more than upturned dirt.

Finally the X2SM holds several 'shrapenal shooters'. These massive canisters spray metal bits of scrap metal into the air, which land as far away as 175 yards. The canisters release the same metal that the mine is made of, so your enemy is never going to find a way to distinguish between the mines 'beep', and the decoy 'beep'. Ergo... mine sweeping teams are going to have to literally dig up every inch of land to find your mines.

X2SM Support Vehicle Price. $140,000