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Model: VGCV Sidewinder Manufacturer: Smith & Norman Motors / Corman-Falee Type: Ground Combat Vehicle Length: 18 feet Armaments: 2x variable remote hard point / 1x manned hard point / 1x coaxial machine gun / 1x Corman-Falee SW47 railgun The Smith & Norman VGCV (Variable Ground Combat Vehicle) Sidewinder is a multi-role tank-like fighting vehicle. It can be ordered in various wildly different configurations, including hovering, treaded, wheeled, and walking, and others, and can be reconfigured by the factory or any knowledgeable mechanic. The main gun of the Sidewinder is the Corman-Falee SW47, a 120mm railgun capable of firing a variety of rounds, including inert, explosive (including timed or impact fuses, and with a variety of yields,) depleted uranium, flak, and chemical payload ordnance, with adjustable muzzle velocity, without changing hardware. Secondary weapons are also modular, including two remotely controlled hard points, which are compatible with various machine guns, as well as grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and flak cannons, and a single manned "commander's weapon station" hard point for machine guns or grenade launchers, typically the Fabrique Nationale Browning M2HB .50 caliber machine gun. In hover tank configuration, the Sidewinder uses six individual hover modules to hover above ground, usually around three feet, but capable of heights up to twenty feet. Top speed is 70 miles per hour, but such speed is unadvised due to its mediocre braking ability, and the vehicle is capable of a 360 degree range of motion. The hover tank configuration is ideal for water and muddy terrain, as it can simply fly over water and literally cannot get stuck in the mud. Its main drawback as a hover tank is its lack of traction. Various sensors can stabilize it in winds up to 85 miles per hour with little performance loss, but as wind speeds approach 156 miles per hour--that of a category 5 hurricane--the vehicle's maximum speed into the wind approaches zero. Though combat during such weather conditions is unlikely, the stabilization systems can take several seconds to adjust, meaning the vehicle can be easily pushed by sudden blasts or impacts. While in hover tank configuration, it is not recommended that turret rotation be enabled, as such large changes in weight distribution can wreak havoc on the automated stabilization. In treaded configuration, the Sidewinder breaks no ground; in fact, it's quite archaic, closely following the design of the M1 Abrams. As a weapon of fear, though, there's nothing quite like the sound of a diesel engine and the rumble of a tank coming your way. |