Leopard LAV

II Leopard LAV

Not to be confused with the Reservist Recon Leopard.

Mk. 35 Leopard Light Attack Vehicle
The Leopard as shown in the International Inc June 1969 Catalogue
Minor Faction	International Inc
Other Faction(s)	Cult of the Black Hand
Unit Type	Armoured Car
Designation	Transport
Production Building	International Inc Warehouse
Secondary Ability	Disembark Passengers
Cost	Unknown
Production Time	Unknown
Heroic Upgrade	Gatling Gun • Anti-air • High ROF
Dev. Status	Textured

Country of Origin	United States
Produced by/ Recovered from	International Inc Plant #3, Mishawaka
Key Features	» Browning .50 cal heavy machine gun  » Roll-down windows (bulletproof)  » Light armour (option for bolt-on armour kit)  » All-terrain four wheel drive  » 6 litre V-12 engine (noisy)

"Bug it up!"

- Leopard Driver

Tactical Analysis

• Now for $499.99: A cheap armoured car, the Leopard is relatively speedy, and is armed with a heavy machine gun for fending off infantry.

• Support fire: The Leopard's machine gun is ill-suited to heavier targets like tanks, but this can be compensated for by its ability to hold up to 3 infantry, who can fire out of the windows. 

• Just a car: However, the Leopard's armour is rather light. Care should be taken to avoid proper anti-vehicle weapons, which will make short work of the vehicle and its occupants.

• Revved Up: For those who can afford it, there is an upgraded model armed with a gatling gun, which spits out enough lead it can even be used to target aircraft.

Operational History

In late 1963, the Allied Peacekeepers concluded that the Ranger Scout Car no longer met their requirements. Seeking a suitable replacement, the Peacekeepers issued a requirement calling for an all-terrain, multipurpose wheeled vehicle with high mobility. Ultimately, the Townes-Travers Multigunner IFV would be selected by the Peacekeepers for its flexibility and performance.

One of the other designs entered for the Peacekeepers' consideration was the International Inc. Leopard Light Attack Vehicle. With the failure of their design, International Inc released the Leopard onto the market, hoping that they could at least recoup some of the money sunk into the development of the vehicle. Though some would-be buyers were put off by the fact that it had lost out to the Multigunner and other chose to stick with their Rangers, upgrading them to extend their service life, the Leopard LAV proved a success nevertheless, and turned out an surprisingly large profit.

Compared to the high tech Multigunner, the Leopard's design is actually quite simple. International Inc built the entire vehicle around a fairly conventional chassis, though with an enclosed top and heavier armour compared to the Ranger. The Leopard chassis could be equipped with specialised armaments for specific tasks, but the stock military model is armed with a single Browning .50 cal heavy machine gun in a roof mounted turret.

This might not seem like much of an improvement over the Ranger; however, the Leopard has room for up to five occupants, including the driver and the gunner, which is more than either the Ranger or the Multigunner. International Inc sacrificed some protection in exchange for allowing the windows to be rolled down. While this can expose the vehicle's interior to attack, the upside is that occupants can fire out of the Leopard. This gives it a degree of flexibility, though not nearly as much as the Multigunner.

Due to its fairly conventional design, the Leopard is also less expensive in comparison to the Multigunner. These traits have allowed it to gain traction on the world stage, and has ironically even led to the Peacekeepers employing it for the Barkhausen's chassis. Similarly, the Recon Peacekeepers' switch to the Leopard was influenced by its large transport capacity. International Inc has also seen commercial success with a civilian model of the Leopard, dubbed the "Cheetah".

Behind the Scenes

• The Leopard is based on the real life (and Generals) Humvee.

Reserve Recon Leopard

M-137 Recon Leopard Armoured Reconnaissance Vehicle
Minor Faction	Allied Reservists
Other Faction(s)	None
Unit Type	Armoured Car
Designation	Anti-Ground
Production Building	Command Centre
Secondary Ability	Dismount
Cost	N/A
Production Time	N/A
Heroic Upgrade	Advanced Armour
Dev. Status	Conceptual

Country of Origin	United States
Produced by/ Recovered from	Armour Base Wilton-Black, Albuquerque
Key Features	» MX-19/GAU-50 minigun  » BGM-68 TOW anti-tank missile launcher  » 1" Chobham composite armour  » Radio whip antennas (not installed)  » Self-inflating tires (x4)

"They're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us... they can't get away this time!"

- Lieutenant General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, famous Recon Peacekeeper (when surrounded by 8 enemy battalions)

Tactical Analysis

• Looks can be Deceiving: At first glance, the Recon Leopard may not seem like much of a threat. However, deceptively thin yet tough armour, a deadly armament, and an equally deadly crew all make the Recon Leopard a formidable counter defying opponent.

• Counter-Defying: The Recon Leopard's Gatling gun will mulch infantry, while its TOW missile launcher can do significant damage to tanks. And when the going gets tough, the Recon Peacekeepers inside can dismount and bring their own deadly weapons to bear.

• Human Operation Required: The Recon Leopard lacks a dedicated crew, meaning it is manned by the Recon Peacekeepers within. When they dismount for combat, the Leopard is inoperable until they return, leaving it vulnerable to attack.

• Solid as a Rock: Squads who find themselves driving into the most trouble have their Recon Leopards modified with advanced tank-grade composite armour, allowing them to shrug off autocannon rounds while retaining survivability against anti-tank weapons.

Background

Recon Peacekeepers are known for two things; their caffeine addiction, and their turbocharged, heavily armed, overloaded battle cars. They are known for charging straight at enemy lines with little more than 1/4" steel plating for protection against the enemy. All this worked out perfectly well, until 2nd Recon's C Company drove headlong into a column of Soviet tanks, resulting in a very one-sided fire fight that caused 100% casualties on the side of the Allies. Since that disastrous engagement, Allied Command ordered the scrapping of all Recon Rangers in favour of something a "little" more hardy.

Naturally, there was a general outcry from the Recon Peacekeeper population, who didn't want to give up their tried and trusted Recon Rangers. The disorder continued for two whole months, with entire Recon battalions refusing to operate and conduct training exercises. However, there was still no response from Allied Command. Then, in April 1969, they unveiled the Recon Leopard, and everyone fell silent. Designed from the ground up, using the template of a Leopard LAV, to be the most powerful light vehicle for the next 10 years, the Leopard had it all. 1" thick Chobham composite plating, self-inflating tires, a quad-core high performance hybrid engine, a MX-19/GAU-50 minigun, double the carrying capacity of the Ranger and the most eye-catching piece of the lot, a shiny BGM-68 TOW anti-tank missile launcher.

Compared to other Allied vehicles like the Ranger Battle Car, the Recon Leopard is a completely different beast. A pair of them could level an infantry charge with a wall of lead, or destroy entire tank platoons by simply outrunning their slow turret traverse speed and emptying their TOW missiles into the vulnerable rear armour, and even if the turrets of the tanks caught up, the tough Chobham armour gave the Leopard survivability that nearly matches IFVs.

Although it lacks any AA weaponry, its speed enables it to get away from most airborne pursuers, such as helicopters like Twinblades and Striker-VXs. It also harbours a high power, encrypted radio transmitter that has an effective range of 500 km, more than enough to reach the nearest Athena satellite and get their information back to base, wherever in the world they may be.

Needless to say, the Recon Peacekeepers were absolutely delighted with their shiny new toys. In the first week of operation in Vietnam, the initial batch of 12 Leopards scored an unprecedented 30 enemy armor kills, including an entire company of Rhino tanks. Allied Command immediately stepped up Recon Leopard production, and there are now currently 195 Recon Leopards in service today - one for every squad.

However, sometimes the Peacekeepers have to leave the Recon Leopard behind to carry out intelligence gathering in sensitive areas. Standard practice dictates that they leave the doors open to enable a quick escape. Unfortunately, this has the undesired side effect of making the Leopard easy to destroy, as the enemy can simply fire into the open doors. Even so, everyone, including the Recon Peacekeepers themselves, agree that their lives - and the intelligence they carry - is worth more than a car, no matter how modified it is.

Cult Mastermind

Finishing what was left! This article (Leopard LAV), is part of the Paradox: Revival Project and is an attempt to finish off what was left of the wiki.

Template:Paradox: Rising Tensions

Mastermind
Minor Faction	Cult of the Black Hand
Other Faction(s)	International Inc
Unit Type	Scout/Support Vehicle
Designation	Scout Car
Production Building
Secondary Ability	Fire Mind Control Dart Temporarily takes control of targeted unit, who dies once duration ends
Cost	Unknown
Production Time	Unknown
Heroic Upgrade	N/A
Dev. Status	Conceptual

Country of Origin	United States
Produced by/ Recovered from
Key Features	» Pneumatic Porta Mortar  » Tranquilizer Rifle  » Turbocharged Engines  » Syndicate Sensor Suite (stolen)  » Stakeout Snacks

Tactical Analysis

• What's Going On?: Buying off the Cheetah SUV, civilian variants of the Leopard, and modifying them with stolen sensor equipment and a supercharged engine. The Mastermind are the eyes of the Cult, using their speed and equipment to spy on their enemy and find hidden foes. And in battle sows confusion with a modified, easy to hide, Porta Mortar, taken from the trashed Mortar Cycles, by firing off gas grenades that induce temporary amnesia to those who breathe it in, often causing their targets to wander around in obliviousness, doing nothing as they are gunned down.

• This Is Your Mind On Drugs: If the Masterminds find a valuable target and want to wreak more havoc they can also have the shotgun passenger pop out and fire a tranquillizer dart filled with a special drug, salvaged from a Soviet lab Cherdenko destroyed in his purge, that causes the hit to follow the command of the shooter. But the instability of the drug, and the lethal amounts needed for it to work, means that their controlled target will die after a few seconds. And, in order to maintain control, the Mastermind must be completely still.

• It's Just A Car: But the Mastermind is still just a regular car, and is as tough as one. So infantry weapons can easily turn it into swiss cheese, and it's best not to think what happens if it gets hit by anti-tank weaponry. So it's best to not send them into direct combat.

• No Custom Paintjobs: In order to maintain their disguise Mastermind teams aren't given any weapon besides their mortar. And in order to stay hidden, and keep themselves light, the crew similarly refuses to upgrade or arm their car any further.

Operational History

It was just a normal day in the City of Boston when news suddenly came of a Riptide suddenly gunning down civilians in the streets during its routine patrol. The massacre lasted for a few minutes before its driver suddenly died of a heart attack.

This event caused a massive panic within the Allied PR department, as tons of American began rioting in the streets when news of this slaughter slip out. And while they were able to stop it and restore order they bemoaned that this event had permanently soured their relationship with the already volatile USA, and added fuel to the Confederates' fire. During which the Allied began to furiously investigate why the driver suddenly began murdering innocents and interrogating an ARV crew who was nearby on why they didn't come to stop the Riptide, despite hearing their orders. The investigation turned out to raise even more questions.

An autopsy of the pilot, and investigation of the vehicle, had shown that he was injected with a strange cocktail by a tranquillizer dart, that had struck from a small gap that not even Natasha could confidently hit. And when asked the ARV crew, and the Peacekeeper they were transporting, could barely remember the event, at most remembering that they breathed in some gas and heard voices in their head. And when they looked at the surveillance they notice something.

Before the Riptide had caused its rampage there was a Cheetah SUV following them for some reason and had parked near the scene of the crime. And when they went there they found the car, but no driver, and inside it shocked them.

Military-grade sensor equipment filled the backseat, made by the Syndicate, along with a pneumatic mortar of Soviet design and a tranquillizer rifle. And on the dashboard was a note, of a Soviet ordering a Syndicate assassin to create chaos in the streets.

Thus tension rosed as the Allied, despite some of them questioning why the Soviets would leave such an obvious clue, began demanding the Soviets for reparations, who countered at not knowing of sending such an order, further crackdowns on Syndicate products, causing greater resentment to grow between them, and reprimanded International for selling their equipment to their enemy. All the while the Confederate grew in number due to the massacre of their people and States under the Allies questioning their rule.

Through one simple event, the likelihood of an all-out war grew even bigger. All according to the Cult's plan.

The vehicle that had caused this chain of events is codenamed by the Order as "The Mastermind".

Stealing the plans of the Soviets' Porta Mortar the Cult made their own variant, that uses pneumatics to catapult their projectile for a more silent firing, to fire glass orbs filled with a specially made gas that seemingly causes temporary amnesia and confusion to those who breathe it in. With Allied research still working off any residue they could scrape to find its composition, though apparently alcohol and LSD are key ingredients, and interrogating those who breathed it in saying that they heard voices in their head. While the Allies and Soviets chalk it up to the drug's effect, the Empire and Orders seem to think there's more to it...

The Mastermind would also become the testing ground for a specially made drug, taken from a lab of a Soviet science division, apparently researching mind manipulation, that Cherdenko had razed to the ground and had its entire team and their families executed specifically in his purge, which apparently causes those who are hit, combined with a special radio, to be controlled by the one who injected the drug. But the incomplete and nearly destroyed notes they could salvage meant that the drug is extremely temperamental and likely incomplete. And the amounts of toxic ingredients to make it, and the lethal doses needed for it to work, meant that those hit by the drug tend to die within a few minutes, either from cardiac arrest, brain aneurysm, or other grisly effects.