Mass Combat -- TL8 Unit Examples?

[Tallor]

I really liked the examples of modern units in GURPS: Mass Combat--IFVs being the heavily-armored Bradley, APC as the M113, and Stinger teams as the very effective anti-air MANPAD.

Are there any more TL8 examples of modern military units? They seem really cool!

[Ulzgoroth]

Almost any modern unit should be easy to identify a corresponding element for, though deciding what quality levels and special modifiers to attach might be more involved.

[Tallor]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Almost any modern unit should be easy to identify a corresponding element for, though deciding what quality levels and special modifiers to attach might be more involved.

But sometimes it's a hard choice! A humvee with no gun and a trailer can be a Light Truck, but with the opposite it's Motor Recon! :o

Plus I don't know that much about modern warfare, so I'm not sure where to start. All I know is that missiles became a lot more popular and are a lot easier to use than AAA.

[Tallor]

And I'm still unsure about spy planes. Regular planes don't get Recon as an ability...

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Tallor

But sometimes it's a hard choice! A humvee with no gun and a trailer can be a Light Truck, but with the opposite it's Motor Recon! :o

...So what's the hard part?

Originally Posted by Tallor

And I'm still unsure about spy planes. Regular planes don't get Recon as an ability...

Planes don't get recon, by definition. (It's specified as a trait of land units.)

Scout plane is a listed element type. It's not a good fit for something like a Blackbird because it's SA rather than FA...I'd tend to not worry since that sort of spy planes aren't really tactical assets.

[safisher]

Originally Posted by Tallor

And I'm still unsure about spy planes. Regular planes don't get Recon as an ability...

Use C3I, as it deals with units which "enhances the commander’s situational
awareness through specialized intelligence-gathering, information warfare, and/or long-range surveillance capabilities of a higher order than those of Recon elements."

If the unit was a speeder bike or grav jeep, that's Recon -- see the skytroopers unit in Mass Combat.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by safisher

Use C3I, as it deals with units which "enhances the commander’s situational
awareness through specialized intelligence-gathering, information warfare, and/or long-range surveillance capabilities of a higher order than those of Recon elements."

Good call. Maybe just use the AEW element, even...a spy plane is a pretty different thing, but from the perspective of the Mass Combat system they're both planes that give C3I.

Originally Posted by safisher

If the unit was a speeder bike or grav jeep, that's Recon -- see the skytroopers unit in Mass Combat.

Yeah, you're right. If an air vehicle can have Fire, Cavalry, and Armor types, Recon ought to be possible.

No existing element fits it though. A flying light tank might be:

Light Flying Tank    320    Air, Arm, Cv, F, Rec    4    SA   560K   28K   10^

And an air jeep might be:

Air Recon    80    Air, Cv, F, Rec    2*   SA     100K    10K   10^
*Motor recon, and thus the flying version, should be WT 2 not WT 1

Based on putting TL7 Light Tank and Motor Recon elements through a conversion analogous to the one from MBT to Flying Tank. Use at own risk.