CXER-10 GoliathWritten By: Tom Clark & Vasco Brown II Goliath Silhouette Stats
The Goliath was designed for one purpose only - to assault and destroy field fortifications and fighting positions enabling CEGA forces to stage a breakthrough into the enemy's rear area and begin the mobile phase of the conflict. Speed is secondary to protection and firepower in this role. Many critics have questioned the need for a project like the Goliath, given that CEGA has complete orbital superiority and plenty of Ortillery to give fire support to any ground offensive. Goliath's proponents point out that the CEGA council has effectively adopted a 'no first use' policy with the Ortillery, because of their concerns about what using space-based weapons of mass destruction would do to the remaining ecosphere. The jury is still out on Goliath, and its unknown if any more will be built after the '1G' model. The CEGA Army is acting very confident on that matter, and is making sure that the Goliath, and its other new exo-armors, are featured prominently in the media. Some experts think that the Army may be trying to recreate in its opponents an equivalent to the "tank terror" that gripped German troops when they encountered the first tanks 300 years ago. |
Overview
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Capabilities The main weapons are the LACW-20 railgun and the CSH-12 Fuel-Air Explosive Mortar. The LACW-20 is a modification of a naval railcannon, with improvements to accuracy and adaptations for use in a terrestrial environment. Its main role is the destruction of enemy mobile units while the Goliath is maneuvering against the defense lines. The CSH-12 is a 40cm electro-thermal mortar, designed to lob a massive fuel-air explosive shell to crush bunkers and fortifications through overpressure. Other ammo types, such are normal HE, incendiary and minelaying are also available. To defend itself, the Goliath also has four turret-mounted gauss guns, a missile pod, and a laser cannon. The laser and missiles are dual-purpose ground-to-air weapons, and the gauss guns are anti-missile and anti-infantry capable. Each smoke launcher is capable of laying down an enveloping curtain of 'black smoke' with a single burst. As a final layer of defense, a small bay in the main hull can house 10 Kobalt exo-suits, whose main job is deter attacks by infantry or other exo-suits. The configuration is very unusual for an exo-armor. Four ground effect units on short articulated 'legs' support the main hull. A retractable 'foot' under the torso mounting a series of treads helps with the otherwise poor hill-climbing ability of a ground-effect vehicle. The head and massive arms are mounted at the front of the main hull, with the missile pod, laser and heavy mortar mounted on the back. The gauss turrets are mounted on the shoulders and the rear flanks to provide 360 degrees of coverage. The thick armor over the main hull precludes the use of ejection seats for the crew, which means that in an emergency the crew will have to manually exit the unit. For transport the Goliath can be broken down into 6 loads which can
be airlifted by large aircraft, or moved by truck. Once they reach the
forward base area, the support unit attached to the Goliath assembles
the unit, and prepares it for combat. |
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Service Record The Goliath has no service history to date, being in the prototype stage of development. It is currently undergoing limited user trials in North Africa, engaging simulated complexes and field forces. After completing these trials, the 1G prototype will be shipped back to the Ostbau facilities in northern Germany for refurbishment and modification. Goliaths will be used in "Independent Super Heavy Exo-Armor Battalions," which are assigned by the front commander to support the front-line regiments making breakthrough attacks. The Battalion will be organized around four companies: -1st company: 4 Goliaths, with their crews and Kobalt dismounts. -2nd & 3rd Company: 12 exo-armors of various types in each company,
or other -4th Company: Support and specialist units (maintenance, logistics, The Goliaths will always be deployed together - the idea being to utterly
overwhelm the enemy at a strong point and begin the breakthrough into
their rear area. Once the breakthrough has been achieved, the follow-on
regiments pour through the opening while the Goliaths and their attached
exos hold the breach open. |
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Pilots Comments "'Surprised' doesn't begin to cover my reaction when I was first assigned to this program. My career in the Army has been strictly Armor branch, beginning with hovertanks in 2209. After I got here, I realized that 'Big G' is just a really big hovertank, with a few extras. "The control systems are a hybrid of conventional hovertank and exo-armor technology. I never realized how many fun toys exo pilots had to play with, and now I'm jealous! I'm hoping we can get some of this stuff transferred to the next generation of hovertanks, particularly the display technology. The crew consists of a commander, gunner, and driver, just like a regular hovertank. The exo dismounts aren't really crew - I tell them when to get out, and when to get back in, and that's about it. Their NCO is responsible for their tactical conduct once they're outside. There's more weapons on this thing that you can count. The gunner has most of the 'big stick' weapons, like the laser, railcannon, the missiles, and the mortar. I have the gauss turrets and smoke launchers to defend the exo while he's trying to blow big gaping craters in the landscape. Our control panels let us swap control of the weapons back and forth depending on the need. I can even reconfigure my panel to take over driving duties if I have to. Since we're stationary when firing the mortar, the driver usually takes some of the weapons, too. I never understood what my grandfather meant when he used to say 'as graceful as a pig on ice.' Then I got here, and saw this thing. The hover system gives 'G' an average top speed, but try to turn him a little too fast, and you end up spinning like a top. And it never seems to fail that we hit something, like those reviewing stands when Gen. Hagen wanted to show 'G' off to the brass. Luckily it was the day before the big show, but you should have heard it when those aluminum benches got into the intakes... "This has been a real eye-opener for me, but I can't wait to get back to hover tanks. Personally, I think they've traded too much mobility for protection and firepower here, but then they may need it, being the first assault wave against a fortified Chinese defense line." - Army Captain Arden Forrest, Goliath Test & Evaluation Company |