Designation: Lotzor Battle Pod (Standard, Serauhaug, Gluuhaug, Del)

I. Dimensions:

II. Type:

• Design: Esbeliben design bureau.
• Builder: Various manufacturers.

Designated roles:

• Lotzor (standard): One man, all weather ground combat mecha with secondary space capabilities.
• Gluuhaug Lotzor: One man, all weather medium missile combat mecha with secondary space capabilities.
• Serauhaug Lotzor: One man, all weather heavy missile combat mecha with secondary space capabilities.
• Del Lotzor: One man, all weather recon combat mecha with secondary space capabilities.

III. Service History:

All versions:

• Served with the Tirolian Border Fleets from 1959 onwards.
• Served with the planetary divisions of the Regular Zentraedi Armies from 1963 onwards.

IV. Propulsion:

All versions:

• One Varredoush type 54 plasma-shock expansion engine with vectorable exhaust. The thruster is located at the lower aft of the main body and has a maximum burst output of 489 kN and a maximum sustained output of 302 kN.
• Two Varredoush type 31 plasma-shock expansion thruster systems in the calves and feet, fed with plasma from the type 54 engine. Each thruster has a maximum output of 48 kN. The exhausts in the feet can generate a ground effect air cushion under the mecha, enabling it to glide forward at low altitude if the terrain is remarkably even.
• Assorted maneuvering thrusters, fed from the main engine, are spread out over the mecha.
• Fuel Capacity: 16 Standard Canisters of Protoculture.

V. Performance:

Lotzor (standard):
• Maximum running speed : 281 kph.
• Maximum jumping distance in Earth-normal conditions: 275 meters.
• Average cell duration : 200 hours continuous operational use.
• Delta-v capacity : 3.8 kps on graphite reaction mass.

Gluuhaug Lotzor:
• Maximum running speed : 256 kph.
• Maximum jumping distance in Earth-normal conditions: 245 meters.
• Average cell duration : 200 hours continuous operational use.
• Delta-v capacity : 3.4 kps on graphite reaction mass.

Serauhaug Lotzor:
• Maximum running speed : 260 kph.
• Maximum jumping distance in Earth-normal conditions: 255 meters.
• Average cell duration : 200 hours continuous operational use.
• Delta-v capacity : 3.5 kps on graphite reaction mass.

Del Lotzor:
• Maximum running speed : 274 kph.
• Maximum jumping distance in Earth-normal conditions: 265 meters.
• Average cell duration : 200 hours continuous operational use.
• Delta-v capacity : 3.7 kps on graphite reaction mass.

VI. Electronics:

All versions:

Radar tracking:

• NGP-SS1(*) UWB phased array with spherical coverage, for various scan/track, battlefield surveillance and counterbattery options.

Optical tracking:

• NGP-SS1 Multi-band digital camera system, for medium range all attitude infra-red imaging, optical and ultra-violet band detection and tracking.
• NGP-SS1 Multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.

Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS):

• NGP-SS1 Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
• NGP-SS1 Infra-red Warning Receiver (IRWR)
• NGP-SS1 Active sensor jammer
• NGP-SS1 Chaff and flare dispenser

Del Lotzor only:

• NGP-SS2(*) in addition to the NGP-SS1. The NGP-SS2 has the two arms replaced with additional (identical) sensor pods. The extra sensors include a large ISAR radar system, a short range variable-frequency LIDAR system, broad-spectrum EM scanners, seismic sensors, and additional data links and processing capability.

(*) Terran designation. The Tirolian designers considered the sensors part of the design and did not assign separate designations for these systems.

VII. Armament:

All versions:

• 2 x Makral Bodatsz-6 sextuple-barreled rotary particle beam cannons mounted on the brow of the pod. Each cannon can rotate over 140 degrees of arc and elevate over -15/+65 degrees of arc. The sub-barrels can each fire a particle beam of 3.5 MJ every second, all can be fired in parallel, for maximum localized damage, or in series for increased chances of a hit.
• 2 x Makral Bodatsz-2 dual-barreled rotary particle beam cannons mounted on the shoulders of the pod facing to the rear and upwards. Each cannon can rotate over 100 degrees of arc and elevate over -15/+90 degrees of arc. The sub-barrels can each fire a particle beam of 3.5 MJ every second. These cannons have been permanently set to fire in series.
• 2 x Moldile Tszan 22.3mm autocannons in a chin mount. Each cannon can rotate 100 degrees to the left and right and elevate from -130 degrees to +60 degrees. The cannon fires caseless rounds AP or FRAG rounds at 850 rpm. The ammunition supply is 2000 rounds.

Gluuhaug Lotzor only:

• 2 x Touwhaug Rasilszt-12 missile launchers. These launchers can replace the arms of a standard Lotzor pod, creating a Gluuhaug variant. Each missile launcher carries 24 Gerluj Touwhaug, Gluuk Awhaug or Vlwheralt Awhaug (codenamed Miff, Megrim or Morgoth by the RDF) missiles, or a combination of these.

Serauhaug Lotzor only:

• 2 x Touwhaug Rasilszt-14 missile launchers. These launchers can replace the arms of a standard Lotzor pod, creating a Serauhaug variant. Each missile launcher carries 2 Seraum (codenamed Moloch by the RDF) missiles.

VIII. Armor:

The armor of the Lotzor is composed of an advanced titanium-steel alloy. The armor stops all small arms and heavy infantry weapons fire, provides reasonable resistance to light mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Zentraedi 22.3mm HE autocannon round, and poor resistance to medium mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Valkyrie's 55mm APFSDS round.

The Lotzor provides full protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards, using a sealed cockpit environment. The internal consumables supplies can provide breathable atmosphere for four days maximum.

IX. Development:

The Lotzor battlepod was the complement and eventual replacement for the venerable Regult series of standard infantry battlepods, which have served in the Zentraedi armies for centuries. The Lotzor provides more firepower, mobility and protection over the Regult pods, for a less-than-linear increase in mass and complexity.

Designed in the first half of the 20th century, the Lotzor clearly builds on the fundaments of its predecessor. Like the Regult, the Lotzor has reverse-jointed legs, a standard bleu-and-white exterior (which many Zentraedi units failed to paint in camouflage colors) and a central sensor unit framed by two particle beams above and two auto-cannon underneath. The armor is improved over the Regult (which is not a particularly difficult matter) and although the maximum speed is slightly less than that achievable by the Regult, the Lotzor has greatly improved jumping capability and space flight attitude control and acceleration.

The most obvious improvement lies in the armament. In addition to using more powerful single barrels, the forward cannons of the Lotzor house six barrels each, versus the four of the Regult. Two identical cannons are located on the shoulders. However, these cannons only have two barrels each installed, effectively giving the rear arc a third of the firepower of the forward arc. In addition, these aft cannons are permanently fixed to fire in serial mode for increased hit chances, thus precluding concentrating the aft firepower in one powerful burst. Since the cannons are intended as an AAA/rear defense only, this has not proven to be a major problem. The Lotzor still carries the old-style Moldile Tszan autocannons in a chin mount. These cannons, a very proven and reliable design, function as anti-personnel weapons and for the demolition of lightly armored vehicles.

Unlike the Regult pod, the Lotzor is equipped with two arms and attached hands. Unlike the arms of the Queadluun-Rau and the Nousjadeul-Ger, the pod does not habitually carry additional weapon pods; instead, the arms are intended to provide for some basic capacity for combat engineering, transport duties, and general adaptability. This enabled Zentraedi mechanized forces to perform some tasks involving grabbing and carrying while engaged in combat without having to leave the mecha, or to ride on top of another Regult pod to the site in question, then to dismount under fire and carry out whatever orders had been issued.

As with the Regult, the Lotzor has given birth to two missile-carrying variants, the Gluuhaug Lotzor and the Serauhaug Lotzor. Unlike with the Regult, however, these variants were provided for during the entire design process, and thus, are several times more flexible in use than the missile versions of the Regult. The solution chosen for the Lotzor is the fitting of arms and hands in the standard version, allowing for more flexibility in the field. In the missile versions, however, these arms are replaced with the missile containers. This eliminated the requirement to increase the battlepods' silhouette when carrying missile while at the same time degrading its defensive armament, as the Lotzor retains all its weapon systems when carrying missile containers. In addition, every Lotzor can be equipped as a missile mecha by simply swapping the arms with the appropriate missile containers. This contrasts very favorably with the Regult, whose missile versions were build as such and could not be (re)converted.

A reconnaissance variant was also designed, on the same swappable container/arms basis as the missile versions. Here, the arms are replaced with the additional sensor and coimmunication systems. As the recon version of the Regult was completely unarmed, the Del Lotzor is a quantum leap in capability for the recon patrols of the Zentraedi.

The Lotzor battlepod entered production in 1958, and the first test units equipped with them became operational in the Border Fleets in 1959. The first Regular Army trial units reached operational capacity in 1963. As planned, the main Zentraedi battlepod production lines would be retooled to produce the Lotzor from 1972 to 1975, allowing the Regult to be slowly phased out over the next century. However, deteriorating energy stores and increased demands for large numbers of Zentraedi delayed the conversion time and again, until the full blown energy crisis of the early 21th century doomed the Tirolian Empire. Although millions of the Lotzor battlepods had been produced by the few converted secondary plants, the new battlepods remained a small fraction of the total number of Zentraedi mecha.

See additional design notes.

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