Attrition Infantry Robot

“Many companies choose names for military equipment such as Tiger, General Sherman, Kusanagi or Champion; we have decided to be a bit more creative. We chose to give our creations a name that has been a dark word in military schools, the worst possible way of achieving victory. We give it new meaning, let them know that we can replace losses faster than they can be inflicted, that we can cover every street corner. That we can send at them wave after wave at them until their last bullet is fired and over the piles of the fallen comes fresh units that cut them down. It’s a name that says that no matter how effective a resistance fighter you are, you shall be broken under the simple number of Robots that we can send after you.”
-Jordan Matinsky, 27th Herzog Matinsky, Spokesperson for Imperial Robotics for press showcase of the first model of the Attrition series: 6/8/2119 AT

DR-25 Mark-21 “Attrition” Infantry Robot
Height-1.3 meters general walking stance
Length-85cm torso module
Width-30cm to 52.5cm
Leg length-75cm
Weight-126.8 Kilograms
Max walking speed-45km/h
Cameras-six (one top, one spinal mounted on main gun, one forward, two side, one on flexible retractable 100cm probe)
Armament-Turret mount for modular weapons systems
-Four Foot mounted 10cm retractable electrified blades
-Power Cell overload
Armor-4mm layered alloy/battle ceramic armor.
Power source-D-32 Oroborus High density power cell, 128 hours power

In the early 22nd century AT, the Novan Empire set out to consolidate its hold of power over the local space, in doing so it soon found itself faced with a long term problem that stood in the path of future expansion, that of logistics. At this point in time, the only planet that the Novan Empire recruited from for any military forces was Herschel system. This meant that it could take months to bring in fresh soldiers to re-enforce a planet if the success of resistance mounted, which could have disastrous consequences. The result of which was that a special panel was assembled to find a way around this.

The decision they turned to was that of Robotics. The Novan Imperial Army made heavy use of robots for roles of pack carriers, combat probes, UAVs as well as in a few secondary combat roles. However, the Novan Military was not prepared to replace most of the feet on the ground with Machines and many of them required advanced factories. As such a two pronged program was ordered by Empress Susan IX in 2115 to meet these issues calling for two things…

1-A military robot capable of filling out the roles of an infantryman of an occupational army that could be mass produced at practical cost
2-A category of pre fabricated factory which could be transported and rapidly made operation capable of producing said robots.

Dozens of robotics design firms were hired for this highly lucrative program. Eventually hundreds of prototypes were created before a singular design led by Damion Bhatnagarwas found to be the most effective for its cost category and approved after dozens of competitive live fire exercises, being finalized in early 2119, with the Robot being assigned the name “Attrition” to showcase their ability to be fielded en mass. The design has proven its worth many times over, and has over the past two centuries been upgraded and continues to this day as a key part in the Novan Army.

The Attrition series of Infantry Robots was a quadrupedal machine, allowing it to handle rough terrain and navigate hazards such as mines easily. It had a highly modular construction, allowing for quick repairs, even in the field and a high level of internal redundancy. For manipulation, they have an arm mounted on a turret underneath their main body with a few tools to perform various tasks, including ordinance disposal and installation of ordinance. They are also equipped with a retractable camera equipped probe on a flexible appendage to see around corners and through cracks. Attrition War Robots are equipped with a vocorder for communications with Humans, as well as coded wireless transitions to other robots and field commanders. Attrition Robots are fairly robust, being resistant to most shrapnel, are well protected against primitive infantry scale cartridge ammunition firing guns while offering some level of protection against modern gauss and gyrorocket weapons. They can survive in the vacuum of space, beneath up to 500 meters of water and in temperatures of up to 373 degrees Celsius and can be outfitted with thermoptic camoflague

For main armament, a modular turret system was designed, each attrition robot can be equipped with any one of a variety of weapons. The most common being a standard Imperial 4mm machine gun, with other common variants including anti armor missile launchers, anti-air missile launchers, grenade launchers, smart mortars and 15mm sniper guns. Other non combat turrets exist, including field mechanic, explosives disposal and. These can be installed in ten minutes by a trained tech and a non trained person can install a turret within about twenty minutes. They are also equipped with retractable foot mounted blades for close quarters combat and the ability to self destruct, allowing them to leap onto enemy vehicles or clusters of soldiers in desperation while exploding.

Attrition War Robots have the intelligence (in rough terms) comparable to that of a smart breed of conventional dog like a German Sheppard. This is geared towards doing their job of soldiering; they can perform basic repairs on themselves by replacing components. Attrition Robots do have some capacity for independent learning towards tactical affairs and have been known to develop personalities as time goes on. Attrition robots are generally employed in groups of four under the command of an organic soldier, which manages them using a highly streamlined and refined command system, although there are plenty of instances in which hordes of loosely managed Attrition robots in intense urban combat.

However, the greatest asset of Attrition Infantry Robots is numbers. The Novan Empire has vast reserves of them in storage and can quickly assemble billions if the need arises. Amongst the greatest successes of the Novan Empire is that of the Prefab Factories for planetary occupations, ranging from orbital to planet based installations that can produce ammunition and robotics components to lesson logistical burdens. Within seventy two hours, the Novan Imperial Army’s corps of engineers can set up an FRAP-2/53 factory capable of producing Attrition Robots at a rate of five dozen a day. Vast armies of these Robots have been kept in storage in hidden to assist in Guerilla activity on certain planets in case of invasion by hostile powers on certain frontier worlds. A few of these catches have been seized by the Empire’s Enemies, which have on several occasions sold them to various mercenary forces, as well as a few captured prefab factories.