Fusilier

Specifications
Use	Hovertank
Production Code	NM-23CA-01
Manufacturer	Neill Motorworks
Height	2.6 meters

The Fusilier was designed to provide Port Arthur and the NSDF an inexpensive, rugged light hover-tank. The Prowler series of light hovertanks utilized by PAK have required a massive investment of maintenance time and labor. While associations with the Humanist Alliance did provide Port Arthur with replacement parts, a design that could be produced locally was needed. The Fusilier project was developed during the same period as the Hetairois, but met with little success till TN1935, when Port Arthur brought in Neil Motor Works engineers in to assist in the design process. NMW engineers approached the vehicle with an eye on simplicity, and began stripping many of the complex components from the original design.

After a cycle, the joint design teams produced the first prototypes, which were field tested by PAK during the Monday Blues incident. The cockpit configurations of the prototypes mimicked the Prowler series, but the GREL crews found the performance differences too unnerving, which resulted in the prototypes seeing very little combat exposure during the conflict. After additional field tests, Port Arthur decided to continue using the Prowlers as their primary light hover-tank, but the Humanist and NMW engineers successfully brought the Fusilier into the HAPF and NSDF forces by TN1938.

The majority of the Fusiliers produced from TN1938-TN1943 were made by Neil Motor Works and sold primarily to local NSDF regiments. Neil Motor Works continued to produce the Fusilier for the NSDF, but in TN1945, the company began limited production on the PAK variant for Port Arthur. After TN1943, Javelin Systems started production exclusively for HAPF forces, and the Fusilier is now commonly seen next to the Hetarois.

Usage

Since its introduction to the NSDF and the HAPF, the Fusilier has seen very little active combat beyond hunting rovers and participating in patrols. All of that has changed since the second CEF invasion. Fusilier crews are on the front lines of the Barrington and Pacifica theaters.

The light hover-tank has proved itself well against its CEF counterparts, and the simplicity of the design gives the Fusilier staying power on the field. During the Wolf Brigade’s campaign to retake Port Arthur, forty-three Fusiliers were heavily damaged in the fierce fighting. By the time the Wolf Brigade left to pursue fleeing CEF forces, forty one of the Fusiliers were back to operational status and engaged in the chase.

Gallery

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