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RQ-4 Bloc Automatic soldier

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In a further attempt by mankind to make robots fight their wars for them, someone (The Japanese originally) thought about applying the Unmanned Combat Vehicle (UCV) concept to Axels, since previous attempts at automated units (The Wheeled AQ-2 "Chuckie" and the American tracked MQ-1 "Lorry") were either dismal failures due to incompetence by the AI, inhibitions by conditions in the field, or were simply overrun by conventional units. Naturally the Japanese, Americans, Swiss and even the Germans tried developing automated combat units to supplement their forces (The Russians dismissed the concept of automated troopers as 'War toys'- coining the derogative term for all automated units. This, however, has not stopped them from adopting their own automations in watch and patrol duties).

The RQ-4 Bloc "automatic Soldier" was first concepted in the Japanese defense industry, but due to lack of funds the concept was sold to aspiring American military armor company General Dynamics, which had lost face with the development of the Axel. The product of their R&D efforts and development was the RQ-4.

The concept behind the RQ-4 was promising. It was a completely automated unit that could operate autonomously or with packs of squadrons using one unit as a 'Lead' that could guide the squadron when equipped with a C3 module. Though they were not disposable (as the AQ-2 was put), the RQ-4 was man-portable and could be transported in small vehicles such as a Humvee or other military jeep, assembled on the spot, switched on and given orders. Most variants sported the small machine gun seen in this example, but some sported small missiles also.

In practice however, RQ-4 units were as much of a failure as most other aspiring automated units. Firstly, the AI was wholy incapable of handling complex tasks. It was also unable to track very fast moving craft such as aircraft and fast attack units. Secondly, its small size made it hardly intimidating to anything armored. Thirdly, though it is a bipedal platform and thus has the advantage of mobility, the balance guidance system was nowhere near that of a human pilot's senses, and thus movement was slowed in order that the units didn't tip over in the middle of battle. Fourth, with developments like the monster TR-7 Bear, the small size made operating in packs almost essential for any combat capability to be extracted from these machines. The only benefit seen to using Blocs was as sentinels, advanced scouts, mine warfare units, and static infantry meant to bolster and support main force troops.

Despite the disadvantages, the Cupps Island national guard purchased nearly 700 of these units and organized them into "Static Defense Units" meant to deter infantry and light armor invaders from advancing. In shorter terms, they were pinning units designed to keep much-needed combat forces out of the action. In this way, the Blocs were quite effective.

This particular Bloc unit is painted in the fourth automated armor division, which was stationed in the woodlands of the island and is painted in camouflage to reflect this during it's deployment. Pictured for scale also is an abstract sketch of the AQ-2 "Chuckie" for comparison.
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sheperdsfireworks's avatar
The Guy's looking like it like "…Is that all?"