Combat Vehicle Technical Readout
Name/Model: Cherokee CK-1
Designer: Reminder
Source(s): Custom Mordel.Net Units
Technology: Inner Sphere
Technology Rating: D
Tonnage: 18
Role: Scout
Configuration: Combat Vehicle
Era/Year: Succession Wars / 2844
Rules (Current): Introductory
Rules (Era): Introductory
Rules (Year): Introductory
Total Cost: 359,200 C-Bills
Battle Value: 185
Movement Type: VTOL
Power Plant: Tyron 15 Internal Combustion
Cruising Speed: 64.8 kph
Maximum Speed: 97.2 kph
Armor: Boeing Standard Plating
Armament:
1 SarLon Autocannon/2
1 TharHes 2 Pack SRM 2
2 .50 Caliber Browning M2 Machine Guns
Manufacturer: Federated-Boeing Interstellar
Primary Factory: Cal-Boeing Facilites
Communications: Boeing A10
Targeting & Tracking: Boeing 50
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Overview:
The Cherokee CK-1 is a Federated-Boeing Aerospace division VTOL built by a local branch that
would later become the Cal-Boeing of Dorwinion. Nothing about the Cherokee was particularly
novel. The airframe was It was designed initially as a local market product of a limited run
to pad the branch's bottom line. For this reason, serviceable units of this model didn't
survive long past the Second Succession War.
The Cherokee was intended as an inexpensive scout to augment the militia forces in and
around the Belladonna system in response to a perceived lack of air support during the
height of the Second Succession War. Less than 3,000 models were planned for, and even fewer
were manufactured. Little to no novel technologies were used, and the development timeline
was less than two years.
Because of its similarities to basic helicopter gunships, and rocket equipped attack
helicopters it was seen as an expensive alternative to most domestically produced VTOL
aircraft that any ad hoc militia could slap a gun on and call a scout. A few orders were
placed by the occasional mercenary company that wanted an air force on a budget in addition
to a short order by Manassas Planetary Government. Production ended with the end of the war.
When Lockheed/CBM introduced the H-7 Warrior in the 2950's the CK-1 was seen as slow, poorly
armored, and obsolete.
Capabilities:
The Cherokee’s primary role is as a scout and forward observer. It is equipped with the
SarLon class two autocannon primary to provide long range suppression and harassment, and a
TharHes 2 Pack Short Range Missile pod if it needs a little more punch than it’s two .50
caliber Browning M2’s Machine guns can provide. This does allow the Helicopter to fulfill
a basic anti-infantry, or anti-insurgent roll.
The Airframe is a basic, unremarkable counter-rotating rotary wing design, the foundations
of which go back to mid-20th century Terran technology. An off the shelf Tyron engine was
used, which does limit its power and therefore its overall performance. This does allow for
cheap replacement parts and ease of maintenance by underequipped, cash strapped, and
undertrained militia mechanics.
A bare bones Targeting & Tracking suite, militarized commercial communications system were
constructed for the Cherokee. The component of both these systems with the exception of the
encryption system were taken from off the shelf mass manufactured systems.
Tactically, the Cherokee’s best usage is to move quickly across the area of operations as
the search element in search and destroy missions. When directly employed on the field of
battle it serves as a harassing unit applying pressure to the opposing force, but in no way
should it be considered apart of the main battleline.
Deployment:
With so few ordered by any force of note the Cherokee has seen little combat. Most of its
missions have been in anti-insurgency rolls. Its most famous use wasn’t during a military
operation, rather it was during the first Manassas run in 2787. The crew that tried to run
with a Cherokee removed the Autocannon, Short Range Missiles, and their ammo, and filled it
full of dedicated sensors. During the run the crew’s convoy came under sustained and
accurate small arms fire by a group of bandits This being before the height of the Manassas
run in the years before the discovery of the Gray Death Memory Core, in 3028, the appearance
of the Cherokee was enough to complicate the Bandit’s assault.
Equipped mainly with small arms and a pair of air car technicals hidden in a rock cave, they
hoped to launch a quick ambush that overwhelmed the ground element which contained the
recovered LosTech, from a rocky cliff face. The aggressors did manage to pin the convoy down
and even take out one of the supply vehicles that was being used to transport water, and
personal supplies, but they were not able to overwhelm the convey as quickly, or as
efficiently as they hoped.
The Cherokee crew had chosen to keep the machine guns as a purely precautionary measure.
They were used to great effect though when they arrived to drive off the thieving gang.
After making an initial pass that both startled and panicked the highwayman bandits, the
Cherokee came back at an altitude that both eliminated the enemies height and terrain
advantage. This caused the gang to attempt to flee in their air cars. Not only were several
of the assailants eliminated in their rough scramble to the cars hidden location, but one of
them was destroyed by the Cherokee’s heavy machine guns during the attempt to flee.
Variants:
Most variants are simply stripped-down versions, usually to repurpose the armament. The most
common field refit is to swap out the Machine guns and the class 2 Autocannon for a Long
Range Missile 15 pack and a ton of ammo and an extra ton of armor.
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Equipment Mass
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Internal Structure: Standard 2.00
Engine: 15 Internal Combustion 1.00
Cruising MP: 6
Flanking MP: 9
Heat Sinks (Single): 0 0.00
Control Equipment: 1.00
Lift Equipment: 2.00
Power Amplifier: 0.00
Turret: 0.00
Armor Factor: 17 1.50
Type: Standard
Armor
Value
Front: 4
R/L Side: 4
Rear: 3
Rotor: 2
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Weapons and Ammo Location Tonnage
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Autocannon/2 Front 6.00
SRM 2 Front 1.00
Machine Gun Right Side 0.50
Machine Gun Left Side 0.50
Autocannon/2 (Ammo 45) Body 1.00
Machine Gun (Ammo 100) Body 0.50
SRM 2 (Ammo 50) Body 1.00
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Alpha Strike Statistics
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Point Value (PV): 9
TP: CV, SZ: 1, TMM: 2, MV: 12"v
Damage: (S) 1 / (M) 0* / (L) 0*
Armor (A): 1, Structure (S): 1
Specials: ATMO, EE, SRCH
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