M-577 Armored Personnel Carrier

"We came outta that APC spitting sweat and blood. Up ahead we heard screaming as the twenty-mike-mike chopped the bugboys into salad. Sarge screamed 'Split Orange', an' we broke into a four-by-four formation, charging the hill with the smarts in support and the APC on overwatch. The bugboys saw us coming and launched a buzz-bomb. They'd have had us cold if it weren't for the Loot' in the APC - he caught their launch flash and iced the suckers with the peebees before their bomb had even left the tube! S'damndest thing I ever saw!" -Unknown Marine

The M577 evolved from the Marine u70 battlefield deployment strategy, which proposed a requirement for a low-cost lightweight APC capable of being transported into combat aboard a dropship. Designed as a multi-role vehicle within a lightly-equipped rapid-reaction force, the M577 is mobile and well armed. However, the rigid design restrictions and compromises imposed by the need to be drop-transportable have resulted in a lighter, less capable vehicle than other APCs currently in UCAS service.

The M577's chassis is made of bonded titanium and incorporates a 5 cm foam-packed floor cavity to protect against forged-fragment mines. Ground clearance is normally only 22 cm, but the vehicle employs a hydro-pneumatic, fully active suspension to allow a clean ride over rough terrain. The suspension is capable of boosting ground clearance by a full 30 cm and allows the M577 to comfortably tackle vertical obstacles up to 0.5m. The hull is made from welded light alloys and is latched and bonded (rather than welded) to the chassis in order to prevent fatigue and failure from the piezo-electric effects associated with an alloy-titanium interface. The inside of the hull is lined with boron carbide ceramic tiles, each of which has been coated witha polymer resin to prevent cracks or shattering during normal travel; this resin is 2mm think on the outward-facing surface of this tile and is said to provide limited ablative protection against pulsed lasers. The tiles are backed with a thick layer of woven fire resistant polymer armor to limit spalling in the event of a hull penetration. Because of weight restrictions, the armor protection is very light. It is capable of defeating fragmentation, small arm rounds and low-velocity armor penetrating ammunition such as rifle gernades; however, its' ability to stop dedicated tank-killing weaponry is slight.

The M577 carries a formidable array of weaponry in support of its infantry complement. A hull mounted cupola covering the APC's forward area carries two synchronised Republic Electric RE700 20mm gatling cannon. Both weapons are supplied bya 1700 round multi-feed ammunition dispenser which offers a selection of High Explosive, High Explosive Armor Piercing and 'Beehive' type Anti-Personnel Fletchette (APF) rounds at the flick of a switch. The M577's main weapon system is turret mounted, allowing the APC to fire from the safety of a hull-down position. The turret assembly is fully traversable, self contained (including ammunition and power supply) and is carried on a rail track which runs down to the rear of the vehicle. Geared electric motors run the turret along the track and allow it to be depressed to the APC's rear, reducing the vehicle's headroom so that it may be carried inside a shuttle or dropship payload bay. The weapons are stabilized within the turret for firing while on the move and can be elevated and depressed between +85 and -7 degrees. Hydraulic rams on either side of the turret can tilt it up to 15 degrees in all axes to provide aditional elevation or maintain a level firing platform for the weapons.

Return to Morpheus International This form created by The Shop, written by James Ojaste. The latest version can be downloaded from his Shadowrun page. Vehicle design & form modifications by Macavity