Even before the war with the Caliphate the United States was a leader in the development of robotics and artificial intelligence. With the breakup of the "Big Tech" monopolies in the early 2020's many advances that had been hidden by big tech became available for use and development. When the brutal attacks of the Caliphate began much of the development of these technologies was put in serious jeopardy. The United State fell into complete chaos. Most of the Congress and Senate were captured and beheaded on the Capital steps. Fighting erupted within many U.S. military units causing the almost complete disillusion of the military. The whole west coast went over to the Caliphate in hopes of appeasing them, but soon the the bloody truth was soon realized. There is no appeasement only convert or die. The New York governor declared the state to be an open state in an effort to avoid the states destruction, but only enslavement followed. Most of the large cities fell to the Caliphate due to the large populations of Muslims in them. Just when all seemed lost the armed citizens of the United States rose up an began to fight back. The battles were bloody neither side giving any quarter. Very few prisoners were taken by either side, but slowly the Caliphate was being pushed back. Remnants of the U.S. military began to join the citizen militias swelling their ranks and bringing heavy weapons and some air support to the fight. A reconstituted Federal government was established in New Washington Kansas. Most of the country has been retaken, but the dead and murdered are beyond count or grief. Only the North East, Minnesota, and Wisconsin remain in Caliphate hands, but there is an ever growing resistance in those areas and with the Caliphate cutoff and slowing starving it is only a matter of time before these areas fall into our hands again.
With the reforming of the government also reformed was research and development with a push for better weapons. With the retaking American cities many were reduce to rubble making them hard to clear of the enemy. Many died in retaking them yard by yard. It was almost impossible to use conventional armored or wheeled vehicles in these areas so a solution was required to save the remaining army from bleeding to death. Work began on the development of a robotic/walking weapon system both manned and unmanned. The result was the Kuster and the Hound. The Kuster is a manned robotic weapon system armed with a 40mm rotary 4 barreled gun and six antipersonnel grenade launchers. Ammunition type for the gun can be selected at any time by the pilot. Ammunition types are canister, high explosive, and armor piercing. The weapon has an effective range or 1500 yards. The cockpit is totally enclosed with the pilots view completely computer generated with a 270 degree view inside the pilot helmet. Vehicle control is maintained by keypad controls in the cockpit seat and direct cyber/brain input connections inside the pilot helmet. Similar to the old Apache Helicopter helmet. Gyroscopic control is maintained through the pilot helmet as well. Man an machine essentially become one. The vehicle moving on two legs it can maneuver through rubble and uneven ground very effectively. The speed on even ground is 80+ mph (the top speed is classified). The Hound is a semi-autonomous biped drone weapon system. The latest in AI technology the Hound can be operated remotely by a pilot or sent out on preplanned search and destroy missions on its own. The hound is specifically designed to do reconnaissance, threat elimination, and improvised weapon detection. The Hound has infrared heat detection, night vision, and sound detection capabilities. It can detect a heat signature thru a 3 foot wall and detect sounds up to a 1000 yards. The Hound is capably of short flights (it can jump). It has fully articulating arms and legs and has a top speed comparable to the Kuster. It is armed with a fully articulated hand and a arm mounted mini-gun.
While these systems can stand alone the best use is to combine the Kuster and Hound into teams. In this way they support each other and multiply the combat power of both. This arrangement is now accepted practice making the true return of the Cavalry to military service. The pilots become so attached to there hounds that they give them names and the AI capabilities of the Hound will over time be imprinted with the thoughts of the pilot making them a true team. These units serve as recon, screening and force projection units. These units can quickly out flank opposing forces surrounding and destroying them. Their high speeds, firepower, and agility are greatly feared by Caliphate forces and will retreat before them.
With situation in United States beginning to stabilize and because of the call for aid from European resistance to the Caliphate. The U.S. government will be sending a full battalion of these teams to Italy to aid in the defense of the Vatican. As more units come on line more will be sent along with other forces to aid in the liberation of Europe from the Caliphate forces.
These are the models I intend to use for this build. I know they are MK models, but I thought they looked reasonable for the time period. Both are 1/20 scale.
With the reforming of the government also reformed was research and development with a push for better weapons. With the retaking American cities many were reduce to rubble making them hard to clear of the enemy. Many died in retaking them yard by yard. It was almost impossible to use conventional armored or wheeled vehicles in these areas so a solution was required to save the remaining army from bleeding to death. Work began on the development of a robotic/walking weapon system both manned and unmanned. The result was the Kuster and the Hound. The Kuster is a manned robotic weapon system armed with a 40mm rotary 4 barreled gun and six antipersonnel grenade launchers. Ammunition type for the gun can be selected at any time by the pilot. Ammunition types are canister, high explosive, and armor piercing. The weapon has an effective range or 1500 yards. The cockpit is totally enclosed with the pilots view completely computer generated with a 270 degree view inside the pilot helmet. Vehicle control is maintained by keypad controls in the cockpit seat and direct cyber/brain input connections inside the pilot helmet. Similar to the old Apache Helicopter helmet. Gyroscopic control is maintained through the pilot helmet as well. Man an machine essentially become one. The vehicle moving on two legs it can maneuver through rubble and uneven ground very effectively. The speed on even ground is 80+ mph (the top speed is classified). The Hound is a semi-autonomous biped drone weapon system. The latest in AI technology the Hound can be operated remotely by a pilot or sent out on preplanned search and destroy missions on its own. The hound is specifically designed to do reconnaissance, threat elimination, and improvised weapon detection. The Hound has infrared heat detection, night vision, and sound detection capabilities. It can detect a heat signature thru a 3 foot wall and detect sounds up to a 1000 yards. The Hound is capably of short flights (it can jump). It has fully articulating arms and legs and has a top speed comparable to the Kuster. It is armed with a fully articulated hand and a arm mounted mini-gun.
While these systems can stand alone the best use is to combine the Kuster and Hound into teams. In this way they support each other and multiply the combat power of both. This arrangement is now accepted practice making the true return of the Cavalry to military service. The pilots become so attached to there hounds that they give them names and the AI capabilities of the Hound will over time be imprinted with the thoughts of the pilot making them a true team. These units serve as recon, screening and force projection units. These units can quickly out flank opposing forces surrounding and destroying them. Their high speeds, firepower, and agility are greatly feared by Caliphate forces and will retreat before them.
With situation in United States beginning to stabilize and because of the call for aid from European resistance to the Caliphate. The U.S. government will be sending a full battalion of these teams to Italy to aid in the defense of the Vatican. As more units come on line more will be sent along with other forces to aid in the liberation of Europe from the Caliphate forces.
These are the models I intend to use for this build. I know they are MK models, but I thought they looked reasonable for the time period. Both are 1/20 scale.
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