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The KV-34 Banadiya Medium Combat Armour, manufactured by Exeirran Military Engineering, is the service armour of the Sirian Army . At its naming ceremony, it was christened the Banadiya after the fierce warriors of ancient Sirian history.
Although it has been highly successful, critics have suggested that it has suffered mission creep from its original design goals. They also point to the relatively high "per unit" cost, though the project's defenders highlight its high survivability and firepower.
Overview[]
Role and Design[]
As a medium powered armour suit, it is intended to be versatile, capable of meeting any challenge that it may face on the battlefield. As a result, the KV-34 was designed to be a jack of all trades. Though it may not excel in any one task, it is also free of vices, allowing the user to concentrate on what is important: the mission.
Weapons[]
Though the main weapon is intended to be the L42 assault railgun, the Banadiya itself is shipped with a number of weapon modules that can be attached or removed as necessity dictates. One of the most common is a four cell mini-missile pod, which can fire ATGM, SAM, sensor, thermobaric, and high explosive munitions. This is mounted on the armour's right shoulder, and is mounted on an arm that swings up to bring the pod to the firing position. Any combination of payloads can be mounted.
Another popular choice - if not as common - is the gauntlet mounted breaching system, nicknamed the "Skeleton Key". It gained this nickname thanks to troops who are fond of its ability to quickly and reliably blow open a hole even in thick or reinforced walls. Another use of the system is for close quarters combat, where the violence of its operation can allow the user to punch holes in thin skinned/lightly armoured vehicles or cave in an opponent's powered armour.
Built into the forearm armour is an extremely sharp knife, which can be slipped into gaps in an opponent's armour.
Sensors[]
A network of micro-cameras give the user a view of the outside world. A HUD is projected on to the helmet's internal display and gives useful data such as locations of objectives, the position of detected friendlies/enemies, information about the weapon currently in use, diagnostics, and more. IR, high contrast, magnetic, and "sonar" vision modes are available, though the last two cannot be selected specifically and are integrated into the other vision modes. However, the "sonar" can be toggled in order to prevent passive detection of the suit. An internal IFF function assists in the identification of contacts. Auto-dimming and auto-volume helps to protect the viewer's eyesight and hearing.
A direction finder detects incoming fire and indicates where the projectiles are coming from, "painting" a false colour image on the HUD to assist the wearer. However, as the system uses predictive technology, this is not necessarily 100% accurate and so soldiers are trained not to use it as a crutch but instead as assistance.
Sensor fusion technology allows the powered armour to seamlessly share information with other units. A degree of zoom is possible with the micro-cameras, but it is recommended to use weapon optics for sight magnification instead.
Defences[]
The Banadiya uses composite armour made of a secret material. When hit by a kinetic projectile, it behaves much like normal armour of its type. However, if it should be hit by an energy weapon, it instead ablates into a highly reflective aerosol that degrades the beam's effectiveness. All armour on the Banadiya is sloped in such a way as to deflect rounds away from the armour (or at least increase the difficulty of penetrating it) without introducing shot traps.
A special liner around the suit's bodyglove allows it to near instantly seal over a breach, though this is only to protect against vacuum and exposure to environmental contaminants. An integrated NBC filter protects the user. Underneath the armoured helmet is a flash hood.
One of the most iconic features of the KV-34 is its armoured visor. If the visor should be compromised, or its micro-camera network destroyed, it can retract up and away to reveal an armoured glass visor. However, this is much weaker than the armoured visor.
Blow-out panels are also installed, as is an ECM suite. Furthermore, the armour is coated in a sensor absorbent camouflage pattern. Although this does not make the suit invisible, it makes it more difficult for sensors to pick out the armour from its surroundings.
Locomotion[]
The KV-34 has a power actuated artificial muscle bodysuit. Though it can still be moved without power, it takes a disproportionate amount of effort and it is a bad idea to try to continue to fight in such a state. The boots can adhere to metallic surfaces – such as the hull of a space station – using electromagnetism.
Attached at several points on the KV-34 is a network of thrusters.
Miscellaneous[]
Radios and datalinks are highly encrypted. If the user desires it, they can render the armoured visor transparent. Magnetic holsters attach weapons to the armour. An internal “solid” oxygen tank allows the user to operate in vacuum, underwater, or in contaminated environments. Each suit is typically worn with webbing/load bearing vests to carry ammunition and other necessities for the modern battlefield.
Variants[]
As a relatively new suit of powered armour, the KV-34 has not yet accrued the dizzying variety of variants that many other suits possess.
Nevertheless, there are several notable varieties in use:
- KV-34N: The regular variant of the KV-34.
- KV-34U: The command variant of the KV-34. Sacrifices some offensive ability (such as the mini-missile pod) in favour of extra sensors and higher powered communications units. Visually indistinguishable from the typical Banadiya.
- KV-34E: The tank/IFV crew variant of the KV-34. Removes the ability to use weapon and armour modules entirely, but it has a special interface for Sirian armoured vehicles.
- KV-34G: A variant intended for space operations, with extra thrusters and a larger oxygen tank.
- KV-34W: By using modular Non-Explosive Reactive Armour (NERA), the KV-34W provides even better protection than the base model. Often nicknamed the "Street Kisijir" due to its prevalence in urban combat roles, where survivability may make the difference between felling an attacker and being felled in turn.
- KV-34P: Policing variant. Although downgraded in several respects, it includes a gauntlet mounted tasing system to disable anyone who gets too close to the police officer. It can also fire its "claws" as taser probes to subdue a fleeing suspect. Normally painted black with "POLICE" written prominently on the torso.