Fenrir Dynamics GV-44 'Warden'

Alright, listen up! We've just received these babies from HQ, so I want to make sure that you understand the rules. No racing, no drifting, no puking and absolutely no goddamn cheese in the cooking station, have I made myself clear?

— Sgt. Miller, 368

The Warden, commonly referred to as the Universal Ground Vehicle, or UGV, is a family of ten-wheeled amphibious armored vehicles designed and manufactured by Fenrir Dynamics for the Vestan Defense Forces. Conceived as a universal platform, the Warden forms the backbone of the Vestan Ground Defense Force, its hull presenting an excellent balance of protection and mobility for the various roles it has been assigned.

After fifty years of exclusive use by the military, some variants of the Warden were developed for the civilian market. Despite their high cost and limited features compared to military variants, these quickly became a popular hit among police forces and private corporations alike.

History

Development

In the late 290s, the Vestan Defense Forces had adopted a large number of vehicles, covering a variety of roles in different environments. While each of them performed well individually, maintaining and upgrading such a vast and diverse fleet of vehicles was proving to be an arduous task, even for the impressive industrial capabilities of the Federation. As time passes, more and more of these vehicles start to show their age, further accentuating the need for a replacement. Seizing the opportunity, the Vestan Ground Defense Force launched in 298 the Universal Ground Vehicle modernization program, aimed at replacing and unifying its current inventories of ground vehicles. The initial requirements were vague and sometimes contradictory, leading to numerous exchanges between the branches of the VDF and well-established defense contractors. With two hundred years of historic combat data and reliable projections for the next century, the first proposals emerged in the early 300s.

Competing against other designs, the Warden initially proved to be average, if not mediocre, in most of its early trials. Major issues were the poor agility in rough terrain, poorly arranged crew cabin and engines reliability. Still, with the UGV contract destined to be the most profitable success of the century, Fenrir Dynamics poured a significant portion of its engineering teams into the program. These quirks were eventually resolved and other aspects were further improved, turning the Warden into a reliable and versatile chassis. Over the course of two decades of trials, the Ministry of Defense almost cancelled the UGV program five times due to its cost overruns (costing nearly six times the initial budget), but pressure from the GDF, along with the early retirement of numerous vehicles, kept the program afloat until its completion. In 324, Fenrir Dynamics was officially selected to mass produce the newly adopted Warden. The GDF placed an initial order of 50 000 vehicles, with the first batch delivered for the 325 Unity Day parade in Bel Avenir.

Recent history

For the next sixty years, the Warden served as the primary armored vehicle of the GDF, forming the bulk of its mechanized forces. While no major wars were fought during this time, the Warden proved to be a capable vehicle during anti-piracy operations and wildlife control operations. The Maian Insurgency of 379 also showed that it was effective in asymmetrical urban warfare, and constant upgrades and exercises ensure its readiness for any major conflict. All in all, the Warden has become a signature vehicle of the Vestan Defense Forces, with more than half a million units produced and no plans envisioned to replace it.

Design

The Warden is designed to be deployed anywhere, at anytime and under any conditions. For this purpose, it is built around a pressurized compartment housing its crew and potential passengers, with a rear door and two side doors. Its standardized construction facilitates the installation of upgrades, while its passenger compartment can easily be converted into other roles. Another side effect is that repairs and maintenance are greatly simplified by using common parts across the entire family.

Armament

While the Warden's primary armament varies greatly from one variant to another, its secondary array of eight 52mm grenade launchers, four on each side of the crew's compartment, remains accross all variants. These launchers are loaded externally and generally used as close proximity anti-personnel weapons. The 52mm smart grenades have the capability to strike all around the vehicle, with a minimum arming distance of 80cm.

Warden IFV by Peter Prime

Manufacturer
Fenrir Dynamics
Unit cost
23.7 million PLV
No. Built
~540.000
In service
324-present
Mass
Military - 13.1 to 17.8 tons
Civilian - 7.8 to 8.4 tons
Length
8.45m
Width
3.35m
Height
3.2m
Crew
2 (Driver, Commander)
Passengers
1 to 13 passengers
0 to 2 drones
Armor
Class I - Polymer composite armor
Class II - Calfen-reinforced composite armor
Class III - Non-explosive reactive armor
Main Armament
IFV - RF8 60mm autocannon (210 rounds), 4x Lance ATGM
FSV - C51 146mm gun (56 rounds)
MLV - 3x Modular Launch Pod
ADV - EWS-5 280kJ rotary gun
Secondary Armament
"Shredder" 8kJ machine gun, 8x SGL52 52mm grenade launchers
Propulsion
10*80hp permanent magnet synchronous motors / 12 multi-vector maneuvering thrusters / 2 electric waterjets
Operational Range
550-1200 km
Maximum Speed
128 km/h

Mobility

Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Construction by How a car works

Each of the Warden's ten wheels is mounted on an independent suspension and equipped with polymer-reinforced run-flat adaptive tires. These tires are sufficient for urban and off-road terrain alike, but are often replaced by more specialized tires in harsher terrain. Each wheel is propelled by a 80hp Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM), totaling 800 horsepower. These motors are powered by an array of six hydrogen fuel cells located at the front of the crew compartment, providing an operational range of 550-1200 km depending on the environment and loadout. The Warden is also equipped with an array of twelve multi-vector maneuvering thrusters spread across the hull for low-gravity maneuvers and two waterjet engines for amphibious movements.

With the heaviest variants weighting less than eighteen tons, virtually any Warden vehicle can be airlifted by the AC-56 aircraft, allowing it to be deployed virtually anywhere. On the field, the Warden is a maneuverable vehicle that can reach speeds of up to 128 kilometers per hours on the roads of Vesta, and even more on low-gravity planets like Sowings. Its high ground clearance and maneuvering thrusters allow it to cross rough terrain and small obstacles unassisted, while its waterjets allow it to cross bodies of water or similar fluids where it would float. Should the Warden encounter a denser fluid where it would sink, it can remain mobile and watertight up to a pressure of 4 bars.

Protection

The Warden is primarily built out of calfen and titanium, with a V-hull design to protect its crew and passengers from mines and IEDs. EM shielding provides protection against EMPs while class I composite armor is providing further protection against anti-material weapons, shrapnel and spalling. Six smoke launchers are installed to provide concealment, and an Apollo Active Protection System provides effective counter measures against anti-tank projectiles.

Optional upgrade packages can be installed, with class II applique armor plates to protect against large-caliber autocannons and class III reactive armor to increase survivability against the various anti-tank projectiles that the Apollo APS does not intercept. These upgrades would of course make the Warden slower and heavier, making these upgrades a decision that field commanders have to make carefully. Despite this, most Wardens are now equipped with their class II armor panels, as near-peer conflicts appear ever more plausible.

Land system survivability by Tencate Advanced Armor

Secondary systems

Sensors

The Warden does not have any optics for its crew and passengers, and is instead outfitted with an extensive array of sensors to detect incoming threats and provide situational awareness to its crew. The on-board Apollo APS uses theses sensors to reach a success rate of 96%. While these multispectral sensors have a decent range and high definition, they have been found unable to reliably defeat the most recent stealth technologies. In addition to its 360 degree coverage, the Warden is also issued with environmental sensors to adjust its own parameters and inform its crew and passengers of the outside conditions.

Communications

The Warden is outfitted with an extensive communication system. It can be networked with friendly forces to provide real-time data on unit placement, orders and status, giving it basic battlefield control capabilities. This, in addition to its sensor array, allows the Warden to act as a local command vehicle for small operations, as well as a communication hub for all nearby troops. This is especially important in areas where telecommunication infrastructure is not always present or functional, as even a single soldier can generate a significant amount of data to process and transfer throughout the chain of command.

Life Support

The Warden is built around a pressurized compartment outfitted with utilities such as a small bathroom and a cooking station for long missions. It also comes equipped with thermal and atmospheric controls to maintain a comfortable environment to its occupants and can carry up to a week's worth of oxygen, thanks to its air recyclers. During combat operations, this compartment is generally matched with the external pressure to avoid any decompression in case of armor breach. Its occupants can then use tethers to maintain their oxygen supply from their own respirators.

Variants

The Warden's chassis was designed to be easily reconfigured for a variety of missions, leading to the rapid development of numerous variants. In contrary to popular belief, however, a Warden cannot be refitted into another variant, as it would almost certainly require a partial or complete rebuild. Still, the use of the same components for assembly and maintenance of the entire family has been a great help for the military's logistic department.

Name	Description
Infantry Fighting Vehicle	The IFV variant is a 14.4 tons frontline vehicle that forms the bulk of the GDF's mechanized infantry force. It is a versatile troop transport armed with an RF8 60mm autocannon and four Lance ATGMs in a remote-controlled turret. The turret also houses a coaxial "Shredder" machinegun and 210 rounds for its main gun. With its main armament isolated from its passenger and crew compartments, the vehicle showed excellent survivability in the field, making it highly respected among enlisted troops, despite its cramped interior.
Fire Support Vehicle	The FSV variant is a 16.2 tons second-line vehicle armed with a C78 115mm gun, making it a mobile tank destroyer. Its main gun is housed in an unmanned turret along with its auto-loader, using the underlying passenger compartment to store its ammunition and capacitors. In this configuration, the FSV has a rate of fire of eight rounds per minute, 56 rounds in storage and can accommodate all 115mm shells currently in service. It also retains the default 52mm grenade launchers and comes equipped with a "Shredder" machinegun mounted on a Venom RCT on its turret's roof.
Mobile Artillery Vehicle	The MAV variant is a 16.2 tons second-line vehicle armed with a G51 146mm gun, which is capable of direct and indirect fire. As such, the MAV serves as both an artillery platform and a fortification buster. Its main gun is housed in an unmanned turret along with its auto-loader, using the underlying passenger compartment to store its ammunition and capacitors. In this configuration, the MAV has a rate of fire of eight rounds per minute, 56 rounds in storage and can accommodate all 146mm shells currently in service. It also retains the default 52mm grenade launchers and comes equipped with a "Shredder" machinegun mounted on a Venom RCT on its turret's roof.
Missile Launch Vehicle	The MLV variant is a 17.8 rear-line vehicle outfitted with three launch pods in place of its passenger compartment. These pods can accommodate one large guided missile like the THMM anti-ship missile or the Bellerophon hypersonic cruise missile, or four medium-sized guided missiles like the Fauchard anti-air missile or the Ultima submunition missile. The MLV forms the backbone of the GDF's mobile missile batteries, providing long-range area-denial weapons against sea, air, orbital and ground targets. Due to the extreme ranges these vehicles can engage from, they are not equipped with other secondary weapons apart from their 52mm grenades.
Electronic Warfare Vehicle	The EWV variant is a 15.6 tons rear-line vehicle equipped with a powerful omni-directional phased-array radar system to provide accurate early warnings from enemy air attacks, be it from aircrafts, missiles, bombs or mortars. Its radar system is powerful enough to jam incoming guided projectiles and also serves as a communication antenna for friendly troops. This makes the EWV primarily used by air defense and artillery battery groups to coordinate other vehicles with accurate targeting data. It can also serves as a mobile command center in areas where long-range communications cannot be used by the military.
Air Defense Vehicle	The ADV variant is a 16.5 tons second-line vehicle armed with an EWS-5 280kJ rotary gun. While the weapon itself is small, the capacitor array required to feed it takes most of the internal space available in the vehicle, making it surprisingly heavy. As a result, the ADV is not equipped with guidance systems powerful enough to track its targets, relying instead on nearby Electronic Warfare Vehicles to provide accurate targeting data. The ADVs are used along with MLVs and EWVs to form a highly mobile and nearly impenetrable air defense network on the battlefield.
Medical Support Vehicle	The MSV variant is a 13.1 tons support vehicle specialized in medical treatment and evacuation, and is completely unarmed, in accordance with the Arvhelm Treaty. Due to the various environments the GDF fights in, these vehicles are fairly common, forming medical support groups attached to company and even platoon-sized units. These vehicles provide a secured area with sanitized atmospheric conditions to perform simple surgical operations and first aid unhindered, as opposed to the basic treatment kits that can be used in hazardous environments. They also serve as high-speed armored ambulances to evacuate gravely injured personnel.
Mobile Engineering Station	The MES variant is a 15.8 tons support vehicle that serves various roles such as obstacle clearing, explosives neutralization, mobile workshop and mine laying. Its main armament is a microwave emitter designed to detonate explosives from a safe distance, but it has been found capable of engaging infantry and vehicles with devastating effects, cooking flesh through most metallic materials. The short effective range of its emitter and the rather unappealing effects it has on live targets make it a rather unorthodox weapon, however. The MES is typically seen carrying combat engineer teams on the battlefield, serving alongside Breacher vehicles to form Combat Engineering Groups.
Prospector	The Prospector is a 7.8 tons demilitarized version of the Warden with most components such as its composite armor, its active protection system and its armament removed. Its sensor array is also replaced by civilian equivalents that, depending on the options, can even outperform the military version. The gain in mass resulted in increased mobility and operational range, while the crew and passenger compartments are completely remodeled for civilian use. They are commonly used as exploration vehicles and all-terrain transports by various corporations, with many after-market upgrades made available to improve nearly all aspects of the vehicle.
Law Enforcement Vehicle	The LEV variant is similar to the Prospector, being a demilitarized version with no armor or armament. What differentiate them is the installation of turreted non-lethal crowd control systems such as microwave emitters and water cannons. This makes them heavier, at around 8.4 tons, but they are also used to carry riot control teams along with regular vans. Despite not being outfitted with any military-grade armor plating, the sheer thickness of its hull makes it highly resistant to all sorts of improvised weapons and basic firearms employed by rioters.