Axis T-47A Cobra Command Exo

The advent of the Cobra Command Exo was a direct result of the Alliance fielding its new Tiger units. The Axis, which up until the point where the Tiger came onto the battle scene, had used a retrofitted Viper in the role of field command unit. When the Alliance began production on the Tiger the Axis troops were put at a serious disadvantage. With the weapons, armor and communication gear of the Tiger brought to bear against Axis troops using refitted Vipers; the Axis troops took heavy casualties. The superior Tiger’s could jam communications, bring heavier weapons to the field and generally out perform anything the Axis could field.

The Axis quickly set out to work on a project to create a new Command unit for their troops. With time cut short the Axis could not afford the long process of design and testing of a new prototype Exo. So instead the Axis managed to steal two new EX-10A Tiger Exo’s from a Field Base in Athens, Greece. Over the course of several weeks the technicians worked at a fevered pace to reverse engineer the Tiger. Although the process was interrupted when a Intelligence Commando managed to infiltrate the base and steal back one of the two Tigers (and successfully destroying most of the base in the process), the Axis had gained enough technological data to recreate 90% of the Tigers systems. Armed with this new information the Axis managed to create a reproduction of the Tiger in 6 months.

The new Cobra Command Exo looks physically similar to the Tiger, with only a few stylistic changes to the armor and layout. Merging the tigers design with Axis weapons payloads and combat doctrine saw the Cobra put into production with a few technological advances and a few flaws. The Cobra could carry slightly more weapons then the Tiger without a significant reduction in performance, however in order to make the armor as maneuverable with a heavier payload the Axis chose to lighten the rear armor of the Exo. Since the Cobra was seen as a front line combatant and a command unit, it was decided that the rear armor was not as likely to be exposed during combat. Much needed weight could be saved by reducing the rear armor of the Legs, Engine and Baffle Plate. Besides the reduction in rear armor, the Cobra has become a favored model for Combat Troops to use. Its high performance and weapons payload enable it to target and destroy even heavily fortified units and emplacements with little to no support.

The Cobra, in the last few years, has seen a steady production line come out of the Axis construction yards. Following normal Axis distribution doctrine, the Cobra has, for the majority, been shipped to the Russian military (45%), the Chinese military (30%), the Cuban Military  (20%) and the Iraqi military (5%). Many field commanders feel that the Cobra Command Exo should have its production level increased and the Viper Exo decreased. However logistical difficulties means that the Cobra will remain a more valuable and rarer unit and the Viper will continue to see high production runs.

The only complaint that has warranted any response is a request to change to main weapon of the Cobra. The standard Cobra is issued a Medium Assault Cannon, however in the role generally assigned to the Cobra, that being a field commander, a weapon with a longer range is generally preferred. Since the Cobra remain behind the forward troops to coordinate their attack the Cobra’s Medium Assault Cannon has been known to fall short of the range needed to attack enemy troops engaged with other front line combatants. To this end many Exo Pilots have requested that the Cobra have its main gun replaced by a longer ranged weapon such as the Medium Bazooka. Although the Medium Bazooka Has a limited Payload compared to the Medium Assault Cannon, its increased range and damage allows the Cobra to remain outside normal combat ranged while supporting allied troops with heavy weapons support. In this configuration the Cobra Exo usually carries 2 extra ammo clips for the Bazooka, one clip on each of its hip mounted hard points.

Although this configuration of weapons is popular among the Exo pilots, it is not an official variant. The Axis command allows the weapons exchange, but is unhappy with the quantity of Bazooka rounds being chewed up by such field modifications. With the increased cost of producing the Bazooka Rounds sky rocketing, the Axis Command may begin to clamp down on these field variants and enforce the normal weapons configurations. If this happens, only top level field commanders, base commanders and EOD Troopers will have the authority to issue the Bazooka to troops, and even then only after the request has been thoroughly scrutinized.

Statistical Data

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