Sargoss Land Systems NK-400 'Pathfinder'
The new Pathfinder sure is an upgrade, but our old Bushranger's not that bad. Besides, we can't afford to change our ride anyway.
The NK-400 'Pathfinder' is a family of light, four-wheel drive, fuel cell powered military trucks and utility vehicles designed and manufactured by Sargoss Land Systems. The Pathfinder was adopted by the Vestan Defense Forces in 368 to replace the aging Bushranger that proved to be unable to keep up with the more recent technologies, especially regarding the exponential power usage of modern sensors. In this regards, the Pathfinder has yet to completely replace its predecessor and remains in full production, with more than 90 000 units already built.
Compared to the Bushranger it replaces, the Pathfinder is more expensive, heavier, slower and larger, but offers more protection and has the capability to install many more systems such as advanced sensors and heavier armaments. It also shares many components, up to 70% for the base variant, with the NK-330 and NK-340 series of vehicles, greatly simplifying logistics and maintenance for these vehicles. Through its years of service, the Pathfinder proved to be an adaptable and reliable vehicle, well worth its above average price.
History
Development
Recent breakthroughs in automotive technology such as advanced self-driving modules and enhanced sensor suites proved to be too taxing on the Bushranger's limited power capacity, which was only designed to accomodate contemporary components. While the need for such advanced systems was not felt until the early 70s, the military nonetheless began to look for a replacement as early as 365. The NK-400 was developped in response to this replacement program by re-using many components from the successful NK-330 and NK-340 series of military trucks, which were already adopted by the military and in full production. The main focus of the NK-400 was to provide a protected vehicle with ample power reserves to equip modern and future technologies with ease, unlike the YL-3 that was designed with limited future-proofing due to technical constraints of the time.
Recent History
Despite its above average performances, the Pathfinder was moderately adopted at first, with limited production to replace the oldest YL-3s in service. Due to its higher cost and the need for additional training to properly handle the vehicle, which was nearly three tons heavier than its predecessor, the Pathfinder was rarely seen on the field for its first few years of service. As time progressed, however, it eventually grew into a well appreciated upgrade over the Bushranger, until the Asterian Insurrection.
During the conflict, the vehicle's advanced command and control system proved to be an unexpected vulnerability. While the military forces stationned on Asteria at the time were mostly issued with older generations of NK-330s and still had plenty of Bushrangers in their arsenal, the new Pathfinders were found to be vulnerable to cyberwarfare, as many vehicles simply stopped working or worse, had dangerous behaviors implemented to their self-driving modules when the conflict began. The result was catastrophic for the crews of these unfortunate target of opportunities, and left the Pathfinder as a feared vehicle often left far away from the frontlines.
After the insurrection was quelled, engineers from Sargoss eventually fixed the vulnerability, but the incident left a deep scar that still hasn't healed for many soldiers. This also delayed the update programs of the NK-330s and NK-340s that were due to happen later on.
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