AVX-78 Chiroptera
Assault Drone Frame (Antimech)
Standard Heavy Configuration

--- USER MANUAL ---

CONTROLS:
Standard VTOL Flight Controls
Throttle - VTOL Thrust
VTOL - Cannon Elevation
Trim - Forward Thrust
LandingGear - Retract Legs (Assault/Speed Mode)
AG7 - Extend Antenna
AG8 - Gyro-Stabiliser (there is no reason to deactivate this)

Cannon: Select "Rocket" and fire. Firing interval of 2 seconds.

Missile Pod: Select "Inferno" and fire. Lock time of 1 second, firing interval of 0.25 seconds, lock range of 0.1 to 3.0 miles.

[ ! ] You lose a lot of manouverability, and may lose stability at high speeds. Use pitch and thrusters with care.

( i ) Stable hovering altitude at 40% Throttle in Assault Mode.

( i ) The form of hovering involves visible thrust ports at the back and hidden balancing rear thrust ports in front. The unit moves forward slowly even without pitch control.

--- End USER MANUAL ---

The AVX-78 "Chiroptera" is an advanced Assault Drone Frame for anti-armor purposes. It is designed to replace the older internally-manned Assault Frames.

[SIZE] DEFAULT / POSE-A / POSE-B
L: 4.03 / 4.03 / 4.03 m
W: 5.11 / 5.11 / 5.11 m
H: 4.36 / 4.85 / 3.64 m

Empty Mass: ~3,200 kg (unarmed)
Config Mass: ~4,500 kg

It specialises in attacks on Combat Walking Systems and tanks, both of which generally lack any form of dedicated anti-aircraft guns. The high agility of the unit allows it to circle a target, preventing it from being able to lock on, and hit a weak spot.

Click to view 4: Assault Frames can land anywhere, unlike their oversized, spinning counterparts.

DESIGN

The AVX-78 has a visually distinct main chassis which consists of a head-torso, legs, and hardpoint-arms. On this frame, additional panels are added for armor, aerodynamic stability, and aesthetics. An armored antenna is found on the back of the head unit.

A large main turbofan forms much of the head, this powers the thrusters on the side of the head and the backs of the upper legs. The fan also powers the forward thrusters if activated.

The "wings" on the head hold one light hardpoint on each side, while an arm extending from under this part holds a heavy weapon.

Top hardpoints have no horizontal guidance and very limited vertical guidance (7.5 degrees of depression only, no elevation), and thus guided weapons or weapons with their own guidance control are preferred. This is in contrast with the arm hardpoints, which allow for practically free movements of the weapons.

ARMAMENT

Standard-Heavy Anti-Armor configuration

8x 100mm close-range multipurpose guided missiles. Range 4.8 km.

2x 130mm/L16 cannon/rocket-launcher. In its standard design, each cannon can hold 5 shells and, using an autoloader, is able to fire every 4 seconds (15/min). With flare launcher in the side armor panel.

PRODUCTION

AVX-78 units are produced in a pre-built, stocked, scheme, from 2078 onwards. Units start from roughly $20 million each.

The number of AVX-78 Frames produced is classified, and is estimated to be around 500. Only large corporations without criminal history or affliation and government organisations may purchase AVX-78 units. The use of AVX-78 units on Earth and populated areas is forbidden.