by Peter Walker and Pieter Thomassen, with Robert Morgenstern
edited by Tim Wing
Designation: ADR-10-Mk II Raider Air Defense Robot
- ADR-10 Reference File
- ADR-10 gallery
I. Dimensions:
- Total Height: 7.6 meters
- Total Depth: 2.1 meters
- Total Breadth: 4 meters
- Weight: 17 metric tons
II. Type:
- Design: Vickers-Chrysler Robotech Systems Inc.
- Construction: Vickers-Chrysler Robotech Systems Inc.
- One man, all weather, medium range air defense robot.
III. Service History:
- ADR-10-Mk I: Served with the REF (later UEEF) Expeditionary Tactical Corps (E-TC) and Expeditionary Marine Corps (EMC) from 2021 till 2029.
- ADR-10-Mk II: Served with the REF (later UEEF) Expeditionary Tactical Corps (E-TC) and Expeditionary Marine Corps (EMC) from 2022 till 2029.
- ADR-10-Mk III: Served with the UEEF Expeditionary Tactical Corps (E-TC) and Expeditionary Marine Corps (EMC) from 2025 till 2035.
IV. Propulsion:
Generator:
- One Tirolian mecha proto-generator (known on Earth as the RT/PS-2a), providing electrical power to the mecha; output classified.
Reserve Power Supply:
- CT HDB-4SC superconductor battery, can typically supply 400 kW for 16 hours.
V. Performance:
- Maximum speed: 160 km/h.
- Maximum sustained speed: 80 km/h
- Maximum lateral jump: 25 meters
- Generator endurance: 12 years operational use.
VI. Electronics:
Radar tracking:
- Hollandse Signaalapparaten long range (up to 320 km) UWB phased array radar with stealthy modes, optimized for ground-to-air detection and tracking.
- Westinghouse TPG-307 medium range (up to 50km) UWB phased array pulse-Doppler, for detection and tracking of targets, and with battlefield surveillance modes.
Additional:
- Thomson/Hughes ESM systems.
Optical tracking:
- Phillips AllView multi-band digital camera system, for medium range all attitude infra-red imaging, optical and ultra-violet band detection and tracking
- Thomson LT-5 multi-frequency laser ranger and designator.
Tactical Electronic Warfare System (TEWS):
- Elettronica Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
- OlDelft Infra-red Warning Receiver (IRWR)
- Westinghouse ALQ-250(V) active sensor jammer
- Smoke grenade discharger
- Flares
VII. Armament:
(All):
- 2 x GR-100, with 18 total high explosive, short range missiles. The missile launchers are mounted on the shoulders, and normally fold down when not in use. When in use, the launchers would rotate up by 90 degrees, exposing the six-pack missile launcher. As each missile was fired, the internal missile rack is ejected and a new missile slides up from the internal magazine. The missiles were RRG/Hughes Tarantula short range (1.1 km) missiles. Though these missile were available with thermite and HEAT anti-mecha warheads, the most common warheads carried on the Raider were high explosive fragmentation and aerosol smoke dispersal. On the Raider, these missiles were used primarily for anti-infantry and missile defense.
(ADR-10-Mk. I):
- 2x Rheinmetall Type 1001 45mm Electromagnetic auto-cannon, shoots 45mm Fin-Stabilized Kinetic Energy Armor Piercing High Explosive (KEAP-HE) tungsten-steel alloy darts with a muzzle velocity of 4500 meter per second at 120 rounds/minute. Each dart has an IR/Visual/UV sensor coupled to a limited maneuvering system for terminal self-guidance, and an n-Fulleride warhead. Effective range is 15.6 km on Earth-like planets. Total ammunition supply is 300 rounds/cannon. Power to the cannons comes from the mecha’s main protoculture power system.
- 4x RRG PBC-16 particle beam cannons. Cannons fire 7 MJ particle beams each with a rate of fire of 60 salvos per minute, sustained fire at lower power settings is also possible. Drawing power from the mecha’s protoculture power system, the particle beams have effectively unlimited ammunition.
(ADR-10-Mk. II):
- 2 x tri barreled RRG/General Electric mk17 laser cannons , firing a maximum of 7.5 MJ salvos from each barrel for a combined 22.5 MJ (3 barrels) or 45 MJ (all barrels) volley. The rate of fire is 40 bpm at full yield. The cannons are accurate out to a range of 13 km in advantageous atmospheric conditions. Cannons can rotate through a full 360 degrees in elevation and a maximum of plus or minus 45 degrees in azimuth. Though each cannon had three barrels, they were in fact a single pair of solid state lasers. The beams were split three ways through a series of prisms. This was done to increase the dispersion pattern of what were very narrow beam lasers.
(ADR-10-Mk III):
- 2 x tri barreled RRG/General Electric mk17 laser cannons (see above).
- 1 x Vickers mk6 dual laser turret. The Mk II iteration of the Raider added a mk6 laser from the MBR-09 Gladiator. The turret contained two small lasers, optimized for use against personnel and lightly armored vehicles. Laser cannons fired 2.0 MJ in 1.5 seconds of rapid-fire pulses.
VIII. Armor:
The armor on the Raider was a development in low-mass composite-materials Chobham plating that became the standard for all Terran mecha after its application to the VQ-6A Vandal. Aside from the respectable protection provided against projectiles, missiles, and other kinetic weapons, this armor was also resistant to plasma globes (annihilation discs), lasers, and to a lesser extent, particle guns, owing to the fact that the armor could flake off and evaporate in layers under fire from such high-energy weapons, taking much of the weapon’s energy and converting it into the latent heat of sublimation in the armor. The armor stopped all small arms, heavy infantry weapons fire, and light mecha-mounted weaponry, and provided good resistance to medium mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the Valkyrie’s 55mm APFSDS round, and poor resistance to heavy mecha-mounted weaponry, such as the VHT’s 120mm smoothbore shells.
The Raider provided full protection from nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) hazards, using an overpressure cockpit environment activated by radiation and hazardous chemical sensors, or manually when NBC conditions were anticipated. The internal consumables supplies could provide atmosphere for three days maximum.
IX: Development:
In the drive to commission new Destroids that incorporated the newest technology, the Reconnaissance Expeditionary Force (REF) planning commission drew up in 2018 specifications for an air defense artillery robot, a complement and eventual replacement for the ADR-04-Mk X Defender.
Plans already existed to equip the Defender Destroids with a combined 78mm cannon/particle beam arm, and the UEEF planners were so impressed with the simulated effectiveness of this configuration, that they prescribed it for the ADR-10 as well. However, the design bureau that designed the Raider’s torso (the legs were to be shared with the Excalibur and Shark) asked for and received permission to mount the successors of the 78mm cannons, the Type 1001 cannons, instead. These cannons featured an electromagnetic propellant system (Gauss cannon) and fired a smaller projectile than the 78mm’s, but the muzzle velocity of this 45mm AP dart was higher. The Type 1001 shell was, because of its new warhead and kinetic penetration, as effective as the 78mm shell, but because of its lower weight the cannon could be lighter, and more ammunition could be carried. In addition, the terminal guidance could acquire more often than the semi-active laser guidance of the Defender. In total, the new cannons were better, and weighed only 70% of the 78mm cannon they replaced. In addition, the Mark XII Defender’s two particle beam cannons were replaced with two twin particle beam cannons. Individually less powerful, when combined they produced far more on-target beam energy.
In theory, the four particle beam cannon and twin Gauss cannon fit was to added redundancy and flexibility to the design. With this, it also added increased complications and weight. Soon after the Mk. I was fielded, the mean rate of failure persuaded the REF to seek a different solution. The Mk XI version of the Defender already had been fielded with a high energy, long range laser cannon armament, and the REF planners were so impressed with the effectiveness of this configuration, that they prescribed it for the Raider as well. Vickers-Chrysler Robotech Systems Inc. mounted two tri-barreled RRG/General Electric mk17 laser cannons, which had the ability to put a combined 45 MJ of energy on target. These cannons were frightfully effective against all types of enemy mecha, to include the Robotech Master’s Roil Tiluvo class assault corvette. The mk17 was also extremely effective in intercepting and destroying ballistic missiles. The overall effectiveness of the Raider’s weapons fit was further improved by mounting two short range missile pods (the design was taken from the Excalibur) on the shoulders. These weapons had the shortest range of all the weapons mounted, and were used mostly for defense against anti-mecha guided missiles and enemy troops. On the Mk III, additional close in missile defense was provided for by the addition of the Vickers mk6 dual laser turret, mounted on the lower front of the torso.
The Raider Destroid was, as all REF ground mecha were, faster than its predecessor, as well as equally or better armored. It also looked much the same, only it was smaller and did not have a vulnerable radar antenna sticking out above it. In addition, the newer technology improved the effective firing rate of its laser armament. A single pulse from one of its tri-laser cannons was sufficient to dispatch any Invid mecha. Due to the azimuth adjustability of the cannons, the two arms could independently target and engage two mecha at the same time. Average time for the targeting computer to acquire and engage a pair of follow on targets was about one second. The Raider could keep this rate of fire up for about five minutes, before heat became an issue. Since it took an attacking Invid group usually a minute of in-range flight to reach an REF ground task force, this meant that theoretically one Raider could shoot down 60 Invid mecha before they had even reached the REF forces.
The refitted ADR-04-Mk XI Defenders were only slightly less effective, and both of these Destroids were still, by far the most effective anti-aircraft mecha ever produced prior to the ADR-26 Jackal Air Defense Robot. While the Defender served exclusively on REF/UEEF capital ships in the same capacity as it did on the SDF-1 during the 1st Robotech War, all REF/UEEF ground installations had a compliment of Raiders stationed for air defense. Though the Raider was used briefly by the United Earth Defense Forces (UEDF) on Earth, by the mid-twenties all of these mecha had been transferred to the REF along with their Alphas and other R-10 series Destroids.
Robotech (R) is the property of Harmony Gold. This document is in no way intended to infringe upon their rights.
Original artwork by: Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. (Robotech II: The Sentinels)
Acknowledgement is extended to Peter Walker, Pieter Thomassen and Robert Morgenstern of the unofficial Robotech Reference Guide. Peter Walker, Pieter Thomassen and Robert Morgenstern are given credit for all quotes and paraphrasing of the unofficial Robotech Reference Guide that has been utilized on Robotech Illustrated.
Content by Pieter Thomassen and Peter Walker, edited by Tim Wing
Copyright © 1997, 1995 Robert Morgenstern, Pieter Thomassen, Peter Walker; 2015 Tim Wing