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MA-01 Elmeth Mobile Armor

Class History:

• 76 Total built by (2050-2055)
• 15 Destroyed Transient War 2057
• 60 Destroyed 4^th Robotech War 2063-2068
• 1 Scrapped
• 0 In Service 2070

Ship's complement:

• Ships' crew (1 men)

Dimensions:

• Length: 85.4 m
• Height: 47.7 m
• Width : 45.6 m
• Mass : 163.7 metric tons operational (typical)

Propulsion systems:

• Main Power System(1): anti-matter reflex furnace. The powerplant of the Elmeth can deliver up to 30 mW of power, and can operate for fifteen minutes at maximum power before overheat initiates autoshutdown.
• Maneuvering Thrusters (16): fusion-plasma reaction thrusters with steerable nozzles on the bow(3), sides(4 each), top(3), and bottom(2).
• Reaction-mass Thrusters (4): fusion-plasma reaction thrusters with anti-matter energizer in the rear of the main hull mounted in two columns of two.
• Anti-gravity System (1): 2 anti-gravity pods.
• Planetary Capabilities: The Elmeth-class has atmospheric capabilities through its reaction thrusters and anti-gravity system. The ships' lower body has several retractable landing struts that have sufficient strength to let the ship land on them, although the landing ground should be as firm as possible (granite is recommended). The ship would float in an ocean if it needed.

Endurance and mobility limits:

• The stores endurance is two days maximum.
• The Reflex furnace can function for about 5 years at normal usage levels before an energizer rebuild is necessary.
• At full power, the main propulsion systems can produce up to 6.3 meganewtons of thrust at a minimal reaction mass efficiency profile, or as little as 433 kilonewtons of thrust at a maximum efficiency setting. At lower power levels, these thrusts are commensurately smaller.
• At full power, the Elmeth-class can achieve a maximum delta-v of 1099 kps at the cruising acceleration of 1.0 G, a maximum delta-v of 289 kps at the battle acceleration of 1.6 G, and a delta-v of at most 96.6 kps at the flank acceleration of 2.21 G. At lower power levels, these ranges are commensurately smaller.
• The maximum atmospheric speed is Mach 2. The maximum hover time on the anti-gravity systems is limited only by maintenance requirements.

Weapon systems:

• Tachyon Cannon(2): The secondary weapon systems of the armor are a pair of forward facing tachyon cannons mounted on the front of the vessel.  These cannons can rotate up ninety degrees or down 15 degrees, but must the whole armor must be turned to get any horizontal arc of fire.  The cannons, while not as powerful as those on a warship, are still quite deadly and can deliver a .5 TJ burst of energy every ten seconds at ranges of up to 50,000 km. 
• Remote Psycommu Bits (12): The Elmeth's bits were its primary weapon, and they consisted of a simple body housing an own onboard fusion reactor for power, maneuvering thrusters and a tachyon cannon. Being independently powered, the bits could be employed as long as the pilot was able to control them, and they were extremely fast and small, making them almost impossible to detect visually - much less, to destroy. They can usually operate  for up two hours before needing to be shut down for cooling.  The cannons fire a 350 MJ burst every five seconds with a range of five km.  The number of bits able to be deployed at once varies from pilot to pilot with the average being four.  These bits are stored internally and released through one of two ports on either side of the armor.

Air group and mecha complement:

• None

Electronics:

• Psycommu Control System(1): This man-machine interface receives the pilot's powerful thought waves and translates them into computer commands, allowing a pilot to control a mobile weapon by thought alone. However, due to the system's bulk, it can only be installed in mobile armors or giant scaled-up mobile suits. The development of the psycommu system makes possible a deadly new combat tactic. Using the psycommu system to coordinate several remote weapons, the pilot can attack and enemy from multiple directions simultaneously - a technique known as an all-range attack. Commands are transmitted to these remote weapons by the pilot's amplified thought waves, which are unaffected by jamming. This technique, however, is usable by only the most powerful of psychics.

Design notes:

History:

Layout adapted from Robotech Reference Guide

Content by Jeffrey R. Spillner
Copyright © 2000, 1999, 1998 Jeffrey R. Spillner

Page Last Updated on February 3, 2000 @ 11:00 GMT