Hermes-class Armored Personnel Carrier
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Name/Type: Hermes-class Armored Personnel Carrier
Designer/Manufacturer: Confederation Defence Industries
Combat Role: Armored Personnel Carrier
Crew: 2 (Driver + Gunner)
Length: 10 Meters
Propulsion: Repulsorlifts / Hover Engines
Speed: 360 Kph.
Shield Rating: None.
Hull Rating: 220 RU
Weapons: 1 Gyrhil 72 Dual Autoblaster, 4 CSPL-12 "Caspel" Projectile Launchers.
Cargo Capacity: 20 Infantry or other equivalent.
Special: Active Camouflage, Non-Energetic Reactive Armor.
Description: The backbone of the Confederation’s mechanized units, the lightly armed Hermes provides secure and stealthy transport for Contegorian infantry. Using the Apollo MBT’s chassis, it is unsurprisingly fast; capable of swiftly ferrying its cargo almost anywhere on the battlefield within minutes. Combined with a set of armor as thick as an AT-AT’s, only the most heavy anti-armor weapons can stop a Hermes from its tasks. Like other CDI vehicles, the Hermes incorporates Non-Energetic Reactive Armor, active camouflage through photoreactive fibers embedded within the armor plates, and a combination hover/repulsorlift propulsion system. The main fault of the Hermes is its weak weaponry, which can provide suppression fire against most light units, but is hard pressed to make even a dent in some medium and nearly all heavy armored vehicles. Thus, the Hermes tends to shy away from vehicular engagements whenever possible; a tactic supported by their stealthy design.
Technical Descriptions:
Relative Cost: Moderately Low
Cost: The Hermes-class was intentionally designed to be easy to produce, modify, and repair; much like the Unity Program ships. The frame, basic systems, and propulsion can all be manufactured almost anywhere where even the smallest industrial infrastructure exists or can simply be replaced with civilian landspeeder parts. The only expensive equipment on the Hermes is the photoreactive armor and some of the sensors. Nonetheless, it remains a fairly cheap vehicle, and is popular with fiscally minded governments within the Confederation as both a military and police vehicle.
Speed: Moderately High
Engines: Engines occupy almost a third of the carrier’s chassis. It repulsor engines, often civilian landspeeder models, make it faster than most tanks currently being used throughout the galaxy, though there are a few older tanks such as the S-1 Firehawke which actually are faster than it. More interesting are the inclusion of auxiliary hover engines, which grant the Apollo a higher altitude and the ability to penetrate theatre shields. If the repulsorlifts fail, the hover engines are capable of moving the tank around at a reduced speed and much quieter as well.
Shield Rating: Nonexistent
Shields: Shields don’t exist on this craft. Instead, power normally expended on them was transferred to power everything else, particularly the countermeasures.
Armor: Very High
Armor: The Hermes’ thick armor, which is as thick as an AT-AT's armor, is probably its greatest asset. Handheld blasters and smaller caliber projectiles barely scratch the hull. Smaller laser and blaster cannons do little damage to it as well. In order to even moderately be efficient in destroying a Hermes, heavy projectile and explosive weapons are needed. Like other CDI vehicles, the Hermes incorporates Non-energetic Reactive Armor to lessen damage from projectile weapons such as shells or missile. And photo-reactive fibers (like those utilized with the Confederate Army’s Camou Scout Armor) to seamlessly conceal the vehicle visually in all terrains. Ceraglass is used to cover the slits, providing both excellent protection and vision for the driver and the gunner.
Weapons: Very Low
Weapons: The Hermes is not very well armed, sporting a pair of autoblasters used originally on the B-wing. These weapons are just below light laser cannons in terms of individual bolt power, but like most blaster weapons, have a higher refire rate. These weapons are only effective against light units such as lightly armored speeder, infantry, fragile starfighters, enemy missiles, etc. Like the Apollo, the Hermes sports a rear-mounted Caspel launchers for indirect infantry support. Besides a typical array of targeting sensors, mostly EPRs, the Hermes carries a Novaless Soni-Optics Target Imager, also used on the Paladin II, and an exceptionally powerful Infrared Receptor.
Carrying Capacity: The Hermes primary role is move personnel and cargo around, thus unsurprisingly, a good deal of space has been made for the centrally located carrying cabin. It is exceptionally well projected from all sides, including the ceiling and the floor, to maximize the personnel and cargo’s survivability. The entire vehicle is environmentally sealed off and has climate controls; allowing the Herme’s passengers relative comfort and environmental protection even in the most hostile of terrains.