M5
M577 APC
M577 Armored Personnel Carrier, M577A1, M577A2, M577A3, M579
Powers of M577 APC
Armor - The M577's chassis incorporates a 5 cm foam-packed floor cavity to protect occupants against explosives such as mines or shaped charges. The hull is constructed of light alloys and is latched and bonded (rather than welded) to the chassis in order to prevent fatigue and failure from piezo-electric effects associated with an alloy-titanium interface. The inside of the hull is lined with additional protection in the form of boron carbide ceramic tiles, each of which is coated with a polymer resin to prevent cracks or shattering during normal travel; this resin also provides limited protection against pulsed laser weapons. The tiles are also backed with a thick layer of woven, fire-resistant polymer Venlar armor that limits spalling in the event of hull penetration. The driver's forward windshield is constructed of exceptionally tough quartz armored crystal. This is comparatively light armor and is only proof against small arms fire and low velocity anti-armor munitions.Complement - The M577 has two drivers and space for up to 12 fully loaded colonial marines with enough provisions to last them for three full days in combat.
Maneuverability - The M577 is based around a four-wheel drive layout employing electric hybrid propulsion; each of the 159 cm diameter wheels is independently driven and houses an internal direct-drive Roto-Dynamic Industries transaxle motor. Power is provided by batteries located at the rear of the vehicle, while a 286 kW Arco Continental R-370 multi-fuel gas turbine is used to generate electricity when the batteries are low. The vehicle has a maximum range of 140 km on a single battery charge but will use the turbine to recharge these cells, increasing the range to 580 km. The micro-turbine can be run on a variety of fuels, including diesel, biofuels, compressed natural gas and liquid petroleum gas. The M577 has a top speed of approximately 150 km/h (93 mph). Although the vehicle's wheeled configuration does not provide the same level of cross-country performance as tracked vehicles, it is both lighter and more reliable. Each of the wheels can steer independently for increased maneuverability.
Sensors - The driver's forward view is somewhat limited thanks to the small size of the windshield, although periscope ports provided vision to the sides and forward quarters of the vehicle. Multi-function screens by the driver and commander's positions present a sensor-fusion display of the tactical area around the APC. These sensors can be activated either by the driver or the section commander in the TOC. The aforementioned TOC (Tactical Operations Console) takes up a significant portion of the cabin inside the M577, but this component is vital to the small-force C3I (Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence) available to the Marines in combat maneuvers. The four primary sensors that provide this crucial MASINT to the TOC are an electrocardiogram (ECG), ballistocardiogram (BCG), electroencephalogram (EEG) and an electrooculogram (EOG).
- Armaments - The M577 could be equipped with a number of powerful weapons with each variant having a system ideal for particular mission types.
- Turret - The vehicle's primary armament is in the form of a roof-mounted turret to the rear that offers a 360-degree field of fire and the ability to engage targets from the protection of a hull-down position. The turret is entirely self-contained (including ammunition and power supply) and mounted on a track that runs down the rear of the APC, allowing it to be depressed to the rear to significantly reduce the vehicle's headroom for dropship transport. Weapons are stabilized within the turret to allow for firing whilst the vehicle is on the move. The turret can be elevated and depressed between +85 and -7 degrees, while additional hydraulic rams allow for it to be tilted up to 15 degrees in all axes, providing additional elevation or maintaining a level firing platform for the weapons. The turret can be controlled manually, either by the section commander in the TOC or from the gunner's position inside the APC, or it can be set to automatic. In the latter mode, millimeter-wave targeting radars mounted in the turret are able to communicate with the APC's sensor array, allowing the weapons to track and engage targets detected by the vehicle's primary sensor suite; alternatively, the turret can use its own ground-mapping and search functions to acquire targets independently.
- RE700 Rotary Cannons - A forward cupola mounted on the starboard side of the vehicle contains a pair of synchronized Republic Electric RE700 20mm rotary cannon. These are fed by a 1,700-round multi-feed ammunition dispenser offering a selection of High Explosive Armour Piercing (HEAP) and "Beehive"-type Anti-Personnel Flechette (APF) rounds at the flick of a switch. As with the M577's main turret, the forward cupola is capable of tracking targets automatically, either on its own or by interfacing with the APC's main sensors.
- Missile Systems - The M577 is also equipped with two missile launchers loaded with multi-role DSGR Smart Missiles capable of destroying light armor and other high-value targets. The missiles are fitted with a rage of guidance systems, including automatic lock-on-before-launch and lock-on-after-launch capability. They can also be remotely laser-guided from the APC's gunner station. When not in use, the launchers are concealed beneath panels on the vehicle's roof.
- Plasma Cannons - The initial production version of the M577, the M577A1, mounts two 20 mW Boyars PARS 150 phased plasma cannons in the turret, powered by a 6 mW hydrogen fuel cell sufficient for 3,000 firings before refueling. The fuel cell drives a homopolar fast-discharge generator which stores power until it has sufficient energy to charge the plasma gun's laser — when the laser is fired, it creates an ionized trail in the atmosphere which is charged by the gun's electromagnetic coil to form a solenoidal magnetic tunnel. The ammunition — 5 g cadmium telluride pellets — is fed mechanically into the tunnel, where it is vaporized by the laser beam into a superheated plasma and accelerated by the magnetic coil to velocities in the region of 5,000 m/s. The plasma travels the tunnel until it impacts the target at a focused point, using its considerable kinetic and thermal energy for maximum effect penetration. Because of the power usage, both guns in the turret fire in sequence rather than simultaneously.
- Free Electron Laser - On the M577A2 model the plasma gun was replaced with a twin Republic Dynamics M2025 40 mW free-electron lasers in the 2.0-3.0 micron range, effective against both ground and air targets. Beam power is supplied by a 10 mW hydrogen fuel cell driving a homopolar fast-discharge generator. The beam is propagated, without the need for lasants, by the interaction of a particle-accelerated electron beam with a static electric field. The advantage of a free-electron laser in USCM service is its ability to be tuned to wavelengths that minimize beam degradation by local atmosphere. The beam could be fired in two modes — a low power setting (20-50 kW) designed to burn out optical/infrared sensors or blind enemy combatants and pilots, and a high-power "pulse", which causes damage by superheating the target area and is capable of penetrating infantry armor or the skin of a missile or aircraft. The weapon's range was stated to be 3,000 m, but in reality atmospheric interference would often reduced effective range to little over 1,000 m.
- Particle Beam Cannon - Likely due to range and degradation issues with the M2025, the M577's turret was again modified to contain two 20 MeV turboalternator-powered charged particle beam cannon, with this version being designated the M577A3. The installation of the A3's particle accelerator guns was made possible due to the introduction of a Martin-Continental micro magnetohydrodynamic turbine, capable of generating the 20 mW of electrical power required to run the weapons. The turret contains sufficient turbine fuel to power the guns for 50 seconds of firing, along with 300 kg of deuterium to provide particle beam mass. The weapon is effective against light-armored targets up to 3,000 m, and is still capable of disrupting unshielded electronics at even longer ranges. An A3 was notably deployed at Hadley's Hope.
- Anti-Air Weaponry - The M579 is an anti-aircraft platform based on the M577 in which the retractable roof turret is replaced with a quad mount housing four 20mm rotary canon. Guided by a highly accurate multi-spectrum sensor, the AA turret can track and defeat even hypervelocity threats up to 1,500 m away by filling the sky around them with high explosive and armor-penetrating shells. Although intended for a strictly anti-aircraft role, the rotary canon can be employed (to devastating effect) against infantry on the ground, although such actions during the Linna 349 campaign drew fierce international condemnation. In place of the M577's forward gun cupola, the M579 is also armed with a quad vertical launch bin housing SIM-118 Hornet ground-to-air missiles.
