spongecake_combat_drone

Spongecake Drone

Far larger than the Cupcake drone, but smaller and lighter than the Poundcake, the Spongecake serves as a lightweight and easily deployable drone for expeditionary infantry units that are very limited in the weight of equipment they can bring with them.

• Name: Spongecake Drone
• Operators: The Magnetic Assembly
• Manufacturer: The Magnetic Assembly (MA)
  
  
• Length: 7.4 Meters
• Width: 3.7 Meters
• Height 2.59 Meters

Development of the Spongecake started shortly after completion of the Poundcake in early 2319. The Poundcake design was so heavy, it was not suitable for being carried by starships to where it was needed in quantities that would make a difference. Ideas for reducing the weight of the Poundcake were put forward, but they would require so many changes to the Poundcake that a fully clean-sheet design was chosen instead.

The initial production run made full use of concurrency during the design phase, with early models of the Spongecake being produced in small numbers and feedback being used to inform the design. The Union Marine unit sent along with the Edward Deming to monitor and respond do moves by the Empire of Daqin in 2319 would be equipped with numerous mismatched version of the drone.

By 2320 after the New Years Revolution, Heram J Wazu and the Magnetic Assembly had fielded 20 different iterations of the Spongecake resulting in the relatively mature Version 17 point-defense model that was widely deployed throughout the Hawking system and saw use in the defense of Reiss against Union Forces. The New Years Revolution would also see the ownership of the Spongecake move to the Magnetic Assembly, causing the American Union to mothball the few drones it had.

The Spongecake is designed to be lightweight enough to go anywhere, but still be able to carry heavy weapons that aren't suitable for infantry.



The modular design allows for local components to be easily swapped in as needed, so only the bare minimum of the drone needs to be shipped to the operations area to be useful. The drone's skeleton includes control systems, power distribution, locomotion systems, and the structural framework to support a turret, forward module, and rear module. Normally a rear engine module, front storage module, weapon turret, and appliqué armor plating is added to this skeleton to create a fully equipped drone, but to reduce transport mass the drone can use locally sourced power storage, armor, or other equipment just by connecting it to the power and data bus of the skeleton.

The suspension system of the Spongecake is also designed with handling harsh environments of varying gravities. Its legs can traverse up and down, as well as swing outward to handle difficult terrain. This can be used to lift the body of the vehicle up off the ground to better deal with the threat of IEDs, or the wheels can be spread out to provide a wider base to better handle the problems of low gravity. Similarly the legs can be used to prop the vehicle up to see over terrain or simply spread out to provide a sturdy base for a crane or artillery piece.

The two spaces for modules in the front or rear can be filled with anything, though the typical configuration is to have a generator in the rear and batteries in the front. This allows the batteries to be used as an additional layer of armor for the vehicle, while the generators in the back can leave radiators or ventilation equipment that needs to be exposed facing rearward.

Extra armor can be applied to the outer frame where needed. Typically there is a bolt-on armor module for the front section of the vehicle that includes shock absorption material, forward facing lights, and a thick layer of composite material to shield the main body. Similarly, a V shaped wedge of material is also applied to the underside of the vehicle to help protect against IEDs and other buried mines.

The main turret of the vehicle is also designed to be modular, and a variety of different weapon-modules are planned. For general area-defense the Spongecake has two large laser optics on either side of the turret along with a rotating radar system for target acquisition.
For communication, the drone uses basic radio systems. Though it is expected that in a real fight radio signals may be difficult to send. The drone's AI is reasonably capable of taking care of itself and will follow basic orders, though direct control can always be established by using a physical signal wire connected to the rear access port on the drone.

The standard configuration of the Spongecake is intended for general area-defense. The lightweight armor provides protection against radiation, fragmentation, and small arms fire but is not suitable for protection against heavy weapons. Similarly the blue-wavelength laser weapons are best suited for firing through an atmosphere at airborne or low-orbit targets. Outside of an atmosphere, the weapons can track targets at far greater ranges using the side by side optics to determine range. This makes the Spongecake best suited for protecting a ground force against aircraft, missiles, drones, artillery, or low-orbit spacecraft.



Version 17 Spongecake Drone in Crab Mode


Version 18 of the Spongecake includes a 20mm rotary cannon, a smaller laser projector array, upgraded omni-directional sensors and a ground penetrating radar on front to search for mines.


Version 19 incorporates more of the design elements intended for use in contested areas. This includes a ground penetrating radar in the front to detect buried explosives, and a combination radar/ thermal / optical camera and range finder mounted in a 360 degree mount to help search for targets. Additionally two eight barreled stacked launchers for 40mm SUPER drones have been added to allow the Spongecake to carry with it 80 small drones for close in usage.


Version 20 of the Spongecake removes the weapon systems, high end sensors, and heavy armor in the front in exchange for two robotic arms for cargo loading.