Shock Runner Mech, part I

Here is the first post on the Shock Runner cybertank -or Mech.

The model 6 Shock Runner is designed and built by machines, more specifically by the Rheinmetall automatic design bureau Anton/ Talos, in the underground installations beneath the Rhur. The first assembly line began operating in 2073, and the model 6 was accepted into service a mere 2 years later.

Its main characteristics are moderate cost and complexity. It is built around a Thales-ThyssenKrupp MD400 cybercore [canis vulgaris] and its main locomotive gear -an advanced  2+2 leg adaptative-gait unit. Model 6 can run, crawl, gallop, even climb small obstacles using two or four limbs. Top speed in uneven terrain is well over 80 kph without forcing, and walls over 2.5 meters can be jumped above. The front limbs possess claws that allow for precise and fast swiveling of the chassis -very useful when firing its low velocity assault gun.

The design of the 'torso' and lower body is such that it can withstand the explosions of most mines in service. Indeed, mines have been the bane of all early combat walkers, as their legs are very vulnerable to cheap explosive devices. The slanted undersides of the model 6 direct the force of the blast to the sides, just as the forearms and the articulation-less frontal claws.

Note the amount of equipment lashed onto the mech: an extra limb is even carried on the back.

The weapon systems greatly benefit from a hybrid fire-control center and panoramic all-weather sensors. Model 6 is fully integrated in the battlefield noosphere, and can use all information and decision-making assets in the C5i environment. The main armament is supplemented by a dorsal turret with an anti-personnel/ AA /PD blue-wavelength laser. Miscellaneous sub-munitions and smoke dispensers are located to either side and behind the walker. Furthermore, mines or extra fuel are routinely carried on hardpoints behind.

The cylinders beneath the mech are smart mine containers

The model 6 was to be the fighter of the future: autonomous, adaptable and with great learning capacity. It played a non-negligible role during the Catharsis, wiping out scores of human troops in the fighting around the glass craters of Jerusalem, Aleppo and Tyr.

the first sketch of the model 6 Shock Runner