Railguns, Lasers, and Walking Tanks

Railguns, Lasers, and Walking Tanks or What You Always Wanted to Know About Superweapons but Were Afraid to Ask is a 2016 Ed Islandian book detailing Ed Island's numerous superweapons, from the Stonehenge railgun network to the ST-84 bipedal weapon system. Written with full support of the Ed Island Military, the factbook contains never-before-seen information and images of Ed Island's most important and secret weapons, though censors more sensitive data such as weaknesses and full capabilities.

Introduction

In what can only be described as the perfect book to represent Ed Island's proud military culture, Railguns, Lasers, and Walking Tanks is an extraordinary showcase of the Ed Island Military's most advanced and cunning weapons yet. From the conventional to the futuristic, every so-called 'superweapon' is sure to leave you amazed at the capabilities of a modern military.

Chapter 1: Railguns

The Titan to Protect the Fatherland

The entire facility is divided into 8 areas much like a pizza, and each octant is now conducting operations independent of one another. There is one cannon per area, and they will ultimately function under an integrated control system to facilitate all-directional interception. The range of the guns is approximately 1200km in radius, which covers nearly one-third of the Antarctican continent. The cannons are officially referred to as "120cm, dual-use anti-air-and-surface, gunpowder-and-electromagnetic hybrid acceleration system, semi-automatic fixed guns", which is an extension of a railgun. First, gunpowder is used as a propellant, then the composite system further accelerates the firing shell with magnetic forces, up to 6 km/sec. Initially the aim was for acceleration up to 8 km/sec (Mach 23, or 23 times the speed of sound), but the propellant technology required simply did not exist for such a feat.

Excerpt from Our Science: Titan Guns

Originally published September 20, 2003. Reprinted with permission from Our Science
Though I heard that it was huge, it was larger than I had ever expected expected. The size of the site is almost that of a small town. For a single-purpose facility, this scale was unparalleled. The rumbles of EIAF planes patrolling the airspace overhead sounded like roars, and on the ground, numerous mechanical engineers were incessantly coming and going, reminiscent of worker ants. After a while or so, the gigantic figure started to reveal itself in the distance. That enormous group of turrets staring up at the sky would play a pivotal role for protecting Ed Island. The huge circular structure stood magnificent as if to take us back to the ancient times. This indeed was Stonehenge.

Chapter 2: Lasers

When penguins first read the word 'laser', they tend to imagine their favorite movie in the Snow Wars saga, or perhaps the laser pointer they use to play with their Puffles. While laser technology breakthroughs in the 1970s allowed for the creation of man-portable laser weaponry such as the first predecessors to the EIA's AER9 directed-energy weapon, those are not the type of weapons this book covers. Anti-matériel laser installations, typically mounted near strategic positions or on warships, are more than capable of incinerating a modern military aircraft after only seconds of exposure.

Chapter 3: Unconventional Warfare

The Walking Tank

Ever since the first tanks made their battlefield debut during the Khanzem War, it had always been a desire of Ed Islandian engineers to make them even more maneuverable while still keeping their armament and weaponry intact. Experiments throughout the 1940s and 50s resulted in Goliath, the first bipedal weapon system created by Ed Island. Standing over 40 feet tall, Goliath was armed with one 105mm rifled cannon typically mounted on the Panzer VIII, two 20mm autocannons, quad-mounted 12.7mm machine guns, and numerous mounts for additional anti-tank and anti-aircraft weaponry. While Goliath's creation was seen as the first step in a true bipedal tank, it was still a long ways away from being truly feasible in combat. Funding for Goliath was cut severely in 1958 due to a lack of progress, and the project was halted altogether in 1961.

In 1984, the EIA-WG came into service, itself descended from technologies produced during Goliath's development. The "Walker Gear" as it is known is a bipedal vehicle designed for more conventional anti-infantry/anti-vehicle combat use. Capable of bipedal movement for greater maneuverability on rough terrain, most also have the capability to fold up and move on wheels for greater speeds on flat terrain. Yours truly had the chance to operate one while researching for this book, and can attest that they are unlike any other fighting vehicle in the EIA's arsenal. Operated by rotating two joystick-like controls in the direction the operator wishes to go, the Walker Gear can go up to 100 kph on wheels, or 65 kph on legs. When outfitted with cannons, anti-armor missiles, or tesla weaponry, Walker Gears are able to perform hit-and-run tactics in warfare with almost jaw-dropping speed. When Walker Gears were first put into service, it was believed that they were the true application of the Walking Tank concept, rather than a larger machine such as Goliath.

After the vote by the former Bloodstone Dominion to join Ed Island in late-2012, many of its military technology became available to the Ed Island Army, including their Mobile Weapon Systems program. While it was known that Ed Island was not the only country pursuing the walking tank concept (The Snowviet Union and Snowzerland both tested prototypes in the 1980s and 1990s, neither of which were successful), Bloodstone had kept their project completely secret until their incorporation into Ed Island. Unlike the Fatherland, who followed the small but maneuverable design of the Walker Gears, Bloodstone continued with the larger, more heavily armed concept starting with the Intercontinental Ballistic Weapons Platform in 1991. Mounted on a modified rocket booster, the ICBWP would be launched from Bloodstone to anywhere in Antarctica. During atmospheric re-entry, the weapon platform would penetrate through enemy territory at high speed, to the point that conventional weaponry, such as tanks, would not be able to intercept it. At an altitude of 900m, the unit would separate and parachute down to earth, where it would launch its weaponry and munitions. While built and tested, the ICBWP was never launched on a rocket, instead mothballed for future projects.

Next came the trio of KAPPA, RINO, and VICTOR. Built using much of the same hardware (cockpit, railgun, radar) for interchangeability between the three, each possessed a railgun that was said to be able to launch "an undetectable ICBM warhead anywhere in Antarctica." The railguns utilized by the trio fire a projectile at 12 km/s, double that of the Stonehenge network in Chapter 1. This was explained by a technician who worked on both systems as the sheer size of Stonehenge, compared to the compactness of the walkers' railgun. RINO, the only system to be put into service, performed three launches of dummy warheads, all of which occurred successfully, landing in the ocean north of the Ninja Archipelago. Additionally, KAPPA, unique among the three by being operated by an AI and having a different 'head' module, has the capability to fold itself into a more conventional tank-like shape.

The fifth bipedal weapon system derived from a combination of Ed Islandian and Bloodstonian technology was created in late 2014. Dubbed ST-84, the newest weapon system has the capability to stand fully-upright, unlike its predecessors who could only stand hunched over. ST-84 possesses the standard shared cockpit 'head' utilized by the walker trio, as well as numerous missiles, cannons, and a unique nano-fiber 'sword' for close-range melee attacks. While originally planned to be AI-operated like KAPPA, ST-84 is instead piloted manually like the rest of the weapon systems, but can be piloted remotely similar to a conventional UAV. ST-84's radar consists of a more advanced spherical radome rather than the radar units used by its predecessors.

Developed alongside ST-84 is the SEAL program, aimed at developing a navalized mech with similar capabilities to RINO and KAPPA. While the existence of the program is known, it is highly classified and is not expected to be publicly announced in the near future.

Specifications

Goliath

• Crew: 5
• Weaponry: 1x 105mm cannon, 2x 20mm cannon, 4x 12.7mm cannon
• Height:19m

Intercontinental Ballistic Weapons Platform

• Crew: 1
• Weaponry: 2x .30-06 machine gun, 4x anti-tank missiles
• Height: 3m

KAPPA

• Crew: 1
• Weaponry: 1x railgun, 4x 20mm cannon 8x anti-tank missiles
• Height: 10m

RINO

• Crew: 1
• Weaponry: 2x 30mm rotary cannon, 1x railgun, 12x anti-tank missiles, 1x free-electron tactical laser
• Height: 13m

VICTOR

• Crew: 1
• Weaponry: 2x 30mm rotary cannon, 1x railgun, 10x anti-tank missiles
• Height: 14m

ST-84

• Crew: 1
• Weaponry: 2x 30mm rotary cannon, 1x railgun, 6x guided missiles, 10x anti-tank missiles, 1x free-electron tactical laser, 2x nano-fiber blade
• Height: 15m (upright), 13m (hunched over)

Chapter 4: Space

The White Bird

Excerpt from GAZE Magazine: Arkbird Declaration Summit 2012

Originally published August 21, 2012. Reprinted with permission from GAZE Magazine.
Seen firsthand, the Arkbird is much too majestic to describe merely as another show of Ed Islandian militarism. Even the first glimpse through a shuttle window is enough to evoke a sense of awe so primordial that it leaves you absolutely speechless. The grandeur is far beyond words. The White Bird, floating, in the blackness of space - penguinkind has done the impossible! Even so, for those close to the Arkbird - those who really know its history - its next mission is cause for both optimism and concern: the Arkbird, Ed Island's giant spacecraft, is the site of Summit 2012.

This year's summit is being hosted by Ed Island. Since assuming the position in 2008, Ed Island's Hierarch EDFan12345 has called for a UAN summit in a place "beyond boundaries." To that end, a previous summit was set to be held in an area of the open sea near the The Democratic Republic of the Archipelago of Seal Islands. The area was chosen because of Seal Islands' neutrality policies. However, summit plans were interrupted by riots throughout the country, and the summit was soon canceled. Since then, the world has been wondering where it might find a borderless place. Now, as all of us are here looking at the Earth through the windows of the Arkbird's conference hall, there is a definite sense that we have found that place.

See Also

• Ed Island Military

Ed Island