ET-01 Mk V "Black Widow" Heavy Artillery Robot

(Version 1.0 - Last updated: 02/10/03)  

Background and RPG Statistics by Kenneth Olson

Based on a design presented in Macross Hobby Handbook

BACKGROUND

The Black Widow's primary weapons are two massive M21 180mm recoilless rifles mounted on top of the unit.  The cannons can fire armor piercing, high-explosive, or nuclear shells at a rate of one shot every three seconds out to a maximum range of 35 kilometers.  The cannons are fed from single ammunition bin located on top of the mecha between the two cannons with a total capacity of 25 rounds.  For close in defense, the Black Widow mounts two three-barrel 60mm rocket launchers on either arm.  Each launcher contains five rockets which are armed with a unitary high explosive warhead.  Once the Black Widow has expended all of its rockets, the launchers can be reloaded in less than 10 minutes assuming that the unit is not currently under fire and all the personnel have sufficient training.

The armor on the Black Widow is typical of the Chobham armor found on tanks during the global civil war of the late 1990's and  is adequate for all small arms fire and light anti-vehicle weaponry (up to 25mm autocannons).  However, the unit can be disabled by only a couple of direct strikes from medium or heavy anti-mecha weaponry.  The pilot's compartment in particular is quite vulnerable to strikes and a single hit by a 120mm tank round would pierce the thin armor and kill the pilot.

The Black Widow was produced from 1997 until 1999 after a total of 115 units were built.  Although the Black Widow was the final Earth Trekker produced for Western Collation forces and thus designed with the experience of the two prior models, the mecha did not have as an illustrious history.  While the Black widow did have moderate short and long range weaponry, the unit did not master at either.  At short range many contemporary tanks with their direct fire smooth bore 120mm cannons could easily destroy any Black Widow encountered and the unit was out gunned in the long range fire support role by the ET-01 Mk II Spider and other long range missile systems.  After several inconclusive battles with Eastern Co-Prosperity forces throughout the end of the global civil war, production stopped in February 1999 and the surviving 63 Black Widows were placed in reserve. 

With the introduction of the Destroids in 2009, there was no longer any place for the Black Widow as the newly introduced MAC II design completely outclassed it.  Fifty of the Black Widows were given to the Eastern Block Soviet Independent States (EBSIS) as a token gift of "Robotechnology" to placate the marginal allies of the UEG.  These fifty units continued to serve with the EBSIS until the early 2030's and there were continued intelligence reports that several resistance fighters during the Invid occupation used Black Widows which by then were nearly four decades old.
 

RPG STATS

Vehicle Type: ET-01 Mk V "Black Widow"

Class: Non-transformable Earth Trekker
Manufacturer: Vickers
Crew: One pilot wearing Tactical Life Support System

Service History: 

Western Alliance from 1996 until 2002

Robotech Defense Forces from 2002 until 2010

 

MDC BY LOCATION:

	 
NOTES: 

1. * Depleting the MDC of the main body will destroy the mecha. 

SPEEDS:

MAXIMUM RUNNING SPEED:

20 kph / 30 kph (fully loaded / empty)

MAXIMUM JUMPING IN EARTH NORMAL CONDITIONS:

N/A

UNDERWATER PERFORMANCE:

5 kph

STATISTICAL DATA:

HEIGHT:

9.2 m (with rocket launchers)

DEPTH:

8.8 m

BREADTH:

6.0  m

WEIGHT:

21.2 metric tons (dry)

26.2 metric tons (fully loaded)

PHYSICAL STRENGTH:

Equal to a P.S. of 40

CARGO:

None

POWER PLANT:

Avco-Lycoming AGT-2500 2-spool free-shaft, multi-fuel turbine power plant hydro-kinetic transmission; 4 fwd/2 reverse gears.

MAX POWER:

2,500 hp

POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO:

25.00 hp/metric ton

FUEL CAPACITY:

1,500 liters of diesel or petroleum fuel

MAXIMUM RANGE:

Diesel:  168 km

Petroleum: 187 km

WEAPON SYSTEMS:

1. 2 x M21 DAHLGREN 180MM RECOILLESS RIFLES:  The Black Widow mounts two M21 180mm recoilless rifles mounted on top of the mecha.  The cannons can elevate up to 40 degrees which allows the weapon to fire shells out to a maximum range of 35 kilometers although accuracy at this range is greatly diminished.  The M21 can fire 357 kg high-explosive (HE), 451 kg armor-piercing (AP) or 523 kg twenty kilotons nuclear (SPN) shells at a rate of one shot every three seconds.  The cannons are fed from single ammunition bin located on top of the mecha between the two cannons with a total capacity of 25 rounds.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE:  Artillery
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-personnel
   • RANGE: 35 km
   • DAMAGE:  4D4*10 MDC (High Explosive), 4D6*10 MDC (Armor Piercing) or see nuclear tables for SPN shells
   • BLAST RADIUS:  20 m (High Explosive), 2 m (Armor Piercing) or see nuclear tables for SPN shells
   • RATE OF FIRE:  Single shots up to 5 per cannon per melee (15 seconds)
   • PAYLOAD: 25 rounds
   • NOTES:  The M21 is somewhat unwieldy and will have difficulty hitting small maneuverable targets (-5 to strike targets moving at greater than 10 kph)

    

2. 2 x M39 THREE BARREL 60MM ROCKET LAUNCHERS:  For close in defense, the Black Widow mounts two three barrel 60mm rocket launchers on either arm.  Each launcher contains five rockets armed with a unitary high explosive warhead.  Once the Black Widow has expended all of its rockets, a total of 30, the launchers can be reloaded in less than 10 minutes assuming that the unit is not currently under fire and all the personnel have sufficient training.
   • PRIMARY PURPOSE:  Artillery
   • SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-personnel
   • RANGE: 3.0 km
   • DAMAGE:  4D6 MDC per rocket
   • BLAST RADIUS:  5 m
   • RATE OF FIRE:  Single shots or volleys up to 5 rockets
   • PAYLOAD:  5 rockets per barrel, 15 rockets per launcher, or 30 rockets total

    

3. HAND TO HAND COMBAT:.  The Black Widow's lack of arms and hands give the unit only limited hand to hand capabilities. 
   • Kick:  2D6 MDC
   • Body Block/Tackle: 1D6 MDC
   • Stomp: 3D4 MDC (only effective against small (less than 2 meter) objects)
     

STANDARD EQUIPMENT FOR BLACK WIDOW

• COMBAT COMPUTER: The Black Widow is equipped with a combat computer which calculates, stores, and transmits data onto the cockpit computer screen or head-up display (HUD) of the pilot's helmet. Patches in with the targeting computer
• EXTERNAL AUDIO PICKUP: Range: 300 ft (91.5 m). A sound amplification system that can pick up normal conversation up to 300 feet away.
• INFRA-RED WARNING RECEIVER:  Selenia Ground Warrior IRWR providing rear aspect protection from IR guided missiles
• HEAT AND RADIATION SHIELDS: Special shielding prevents the penetration of life threatening head and radiation. A radiation detection and alarm system are linked with the shields and will sound an alarm if there is a rupture in the shields and what the levels of radiation are.
• HOMING SIGNAL: Range of the signal is 100 miles (320 km). Most RDF, Southern Cross, and REF ships and veritechs can locate and track a homing signal. The onboard computers will automatically notify their pilots if such a signal is detected.
• LASER COMMUNICATIONS: Long range, directional communication system. Effective range: 100,000 miles
• LASER TARGETING SYSTEM: Range: 50 miles (160 km). Used for increased accuracy in the striking of enemy targets and is partly responsible for the mecha's strike bonus.
• LOUDSPEAKER: A loudspeaker system is built into the craft, which can be used to amplify the pilot's voice up to 90 decibels.
• OPTICS (INFRARED): Range 2500 m. This optical system projects a beam of infrared light that is invisible to the normal eye, but detectable by the mecha's sensors. The system allows the pilot to detect hidden/concealed objects by their IR reflectiveness. The beam will be visible to anyone with IR sensitive optics, however.
• OPTICS (NIGHTVISION): Range 1000 m. A passive light image intensifier that emits no light of its own, but relies on ambient light which is electronically amplified to produce a visible picture.
• OPTICS (THERMAL IMAGER): Range 650 m. A passive optical heat sensor that detects infrared radiation projected by warm objects and converts that data into a false-color visible image. The system enables the pilot to see in the dark, in shadows, and through smoke, and also adds a +10% bonus to pilots using a tracking skill.
• RADAR JAMMER ALQ-54:  On board self-protection jammer providing broadband protection.  Estimated system effective radiative power 30 dBW.  
• RADAR (TARGETING): Westinghouse TPG-144 X band pulse Doppler phased array medium range radar with battlefield surveillance mode.  Estimated range against 0 dBsm target 40 km.
• RADIO/VIDEO COMMUNICATION: Long range, directional communications system with satellite relay capabilities. Range: 600 miles (960 km) or can be boosted indefinitely via satellite relay.
• RADAR WARNING RECEIVER:  Selenia Ground Warrior IRWR providing all aspect broadband protection from RF guided missiles. 
• SELF-DESTRUCT: To prevent capture by the enemy, the pilot can activate the self-destruct system, which will cause the  mecha to explode after a delay of up to 60 minutes (time is set by the pilot). The explosive damage is contained within a 20 foot (6 m) area and inflicts 1D6x10 M.D. to everything within the radius of the explosion. All internal systems are obliterated.
• STANDARD SURVIVAL KIT: All UEDF vehicles come equipped with a portable survival kit. Inside the small reinforced box is a medium-sized flashlight, two hand flares, one rocket flare, a compass, infrared distancing binoculars, a small mirror, a pocket knife, dehydrated and concentrated food (can be stretched into a five day supply for one person) and basic first aid items (aspirin, bandages, disinfectants, etc.)
• TACTICAL LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM: The Black Widow's cockpit is pressurized, and also provides additional air feeds to the pilot's flight suit that provides him with pressurized breathing.

COMBAT BONUSES FOR BLACK WIDOW: 

• Zero melee attacks (plus those of the pilot)
• +0 to roll with punch
• +1 to strike
• +0 to parry
• -2 to dodge
• One additional attack at levels six and eleven

RANDOM HIT LOCATIONS

When there is an equal chance of hitting both sides from 1D6

• 1-3 hits the right side
• 4-6 hits the left

When there is a preferred side, roll 1D10

• 1-8 hits the preferred side
• 9-10 hits the opposite side

SOURCES USED IN CREATION OF DOCUMENT

• Palladium's Robotech RPG: Book One Macross
• Robotech Technical Files: ADR-04 Defender
• Macross:  Hobby Handbook-1

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