M-948 LARS (Light Artillery Rocket System)

Country or Origin: United States

Notes: This vehicle does not exist in real life, though similar vehicles have been contemplated or tested by several countries.  This vehicle, however, is the product of the designers at GDW, though I have added to the back story.

Twilight 2000 Notes: Often referred to as the "Baby MLRS" or "MLRS Junior," the M-948 is similar to that vehicle, but uses lighter 160mm rockets on an M-548 tracked cargo vehicle chassis. Along with the M-948, a resupply vehicle based on the same chassis was produced to use to reload the M-948; this vehicle carries two pods of rockets. The M-948 carries a less sophisticated fire control system due to the lower amount of space available in the cab; while the M-993 MLRS can be fired without input from an FDC is the target location is known, the M-948 requires a separate FDC vehicle to accurately fire; without an FDC, somewhat inaccurate shots may be made (one level greater difficulty). The LARS has the normal doors on each side of the cab, and there is a hatch and a weapon mount on the hard roof. The LARS was produced just prior to the Twilight War, and was primarily used by the US, Germany, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$83,683

D, A

200 kg

19.32 tons

3

9

Headlights

Shielded

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

89/62

20/15/2

397

118

Stnd

T2

HF1 HS1 HR1

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

12-Round 160mm Rocket Launcher, M-2HB (C)

12x160mm Rockets, 1000x.50

Streaker/LAU-97

Country of Origin: Belgium

Notes: This Belgian vehicle is the LAU-97 multiple rocket launcher mounted on the British-made Streaker chassis. It is in service with Belgium, and Indonesia. The load area of the Streaker is largely taken up with a 40-round launching box and the associated mounting machinery, though there is still much room for the crew's supplies or extra launching boxes. Note that the entire cab is protected by the HF armor value from all angles, not just the front. This particular combination (Streaker and LAU-97) has so far been presented only as a demonstrator.

Twilight 2000 Notes: Belgium hurried 24 examples of this vehicle into production in time to use against French forces. The survivors were subsequently used by the French during their invasion of Holland, Luxembourg, and Germany.

Merc 2000 Notes: The British are using 8 of these vehicles as an experiment as of 2000. The Belgians have sold some to an unnamed Middle Eastern country, and to Mexico.

Price

Fuel Type

Load

Veh Wt

Crew

Mnt

Night Vision

Radiological

$121,469

G, AvG, A

2 tons

10.8 tons

3

7

Headlights

Shielded (Cab Only)

Tr Mov

Com Mov

Fuel Cap

Fuel Cons

Config

Susp

Armor

140/98

30/20

320

70

Trtd

T2

TF2 TS2 TR2 HF6 HS1 HR1

Fire Control

Stabilization

Armament

Ammunition

None

None

40-Round LAU-97 MRL

160xLAU-97 70mm Rockets