Sidewinder

Specifications
Use	General purpose Gear
Production Code	OACS-04M/SU
Manufacturer	Territorial Arms/Dynamic Systems
Height	4.4 meters
Speed	Walker: 47 kph SMS: 77 kph

The TN 1880s were a period of impressive achievements for Territorial Arms. Long thought of as maintaining their dominance of the Gear market through sheer political might TA finally proved that it had the design skills to match its size and power. The release of the Iguana in TN 1879 and the Spitting Cobra a few cycles later secured the industrial giant a place of prominence in the scout and fire-support Gear markets, areas where it had floundered in the past.

TA’s next step was to consolidate its hold on the general purpose market and a new soldier-model was called for. In TN 1887, TA signed an agreement with Dynamic Systems to design a new model; the engineers resurrected the venerable Rattlesnake and its flaws, which had been nearly insoluble a hundred cycles before, were corrected. By the end of the design process, the new Gear bore only a passing resemblance to its forefather, but they shared many internal design concepts.

The Sidewinder was designed during the so-called “safety minded” period, when the survival of its carefully trained Gear pilots was deemed vital to an understaffed Republican military force. The torso and head armor was thicker around the cockpit, forming a heavily protected “box” that surrounded the pilot. In the event of a cockpit breach, an automated medical pack ensured that the pilot not only survived the wound but remained conscious and able to fight. Using molecular steel alloys and a powerful WV-733TC/d engine, the new Gear was able to have both increased armored protection and excellent speed.

Like the Rattlesnake, the Sidewinder was given heavier weapons than the Jäger, including a PR-50 autocannon and a FSRP-42N rocket pod. The FSRP-42N, developed by the Rucker Group, was a low-maintenance system using one 18-rocket pod on top of another. This configuration made replacement parts easier to find, although it did require a tighter firing angle. A HLB-16 anti-personnel grenade launcher was also included in the Sidewinder design for infantry defense.

The new Gear’s electronics were also improved as compared to other general-purpose Gears, with the principle sensors and communications array fitted into a head with a distinctive crest.

Usage

The Sidewinder was not designed simply as a next-generation soldier Gear. Rather, Territorial Arms decided to produce a machine both for the Republican Army and for export to the Badlands, where Paxton Arms had long enjoyed a nigh-exclusive market. The TN 1889 release of the Sidewinder was accompanied by a concerted marketing effort in the equatorial desert which bore fruit. By the middle of the TN 1890s many of the various local militias and petty armies of the Badlands counted some Sidewinders in their arsenal.

The Republican Army made significant purchases as well, often for border units where the Sidewinder was assigned to strike cadres and occasionally served as a makeshift command unit. The MILICIA was not targeted by Territorial Arms’ initial sales plan, but by the time of the War of the Alliance many regiments had at least a few examples of the model in their ranks. Distribution of the Sidewinder was made difficult by a bitter corporate rivalry which developed between TA and Dynamic Systems, each accusing the other of theft of intellectual property. After many legal battles, TA was left with the model but Dynamic Systems won the right to use its design in the development of their own Gear, the Black Adder. Rumor holds that some Territorial Arms executives argued for an early retirement of the Gear to protect themselves from further legal entanglements.

Sidewinders were extremely popular assignments for pilots. The machine’s layers of special protection for the pilot, good speed and impressive firepower made it a very competent fighter. Of course, the Gear was not perfect, being less maneuverable than scout units and carrying lighter firepower than fire-support units, but it spent several decades as a prestige as combat vehicle. During the War of the Alliance, the Sidewinder served with distinction in both the Republican Army and the Peace River Army, but it was already being eclipsed in the public eye by TA’s new Black Mamba. The arrival of the Mamba sounded the death knell for both the Desert Viper and the Sidewinder as the standard Gears of the southern military, but both continue a fruitful career as export models to the Badlands and as vehicles for second-line units. Pilots who continue to use the Sidewinder consider themselves privileged.

Gallery

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