Rifts Up Close: Urban Warrior Armor

By Tim Willard

In 86 PA Titan Manufacturing released the Urban Warrior environmental body armor, and also sold the plans for the armor to Northern Gun and Bandito Arms. Both of these manufacturing concerns quickly released an identical version of the para-military armor, finding it cheap and easy to produce, as well as looking sharp and performing well in the field.

The armor is made with standard polyceramic plates for kinetic and energy resistance, advanced polymers for shock absorption and kinetic diffusion, and articulated joints to allow full protection to joint. The armor is lightweight, providing adequate protection

The internal layer contains nano-fluidic gel bladders designed to quickly disperse energy, both high energy particle transfer and kinetic energy transfers, which sits between two thin layers designed to act as self sealing bladders.

Next is the environmental tubing systems designed to maintain the internal temperatures. Once again standard nano-fluidic coolant of the same type as used to keep SAMAS thrusters cool, as well as keep the high velocity fans from supercooling. This keeps the wearer cool in temperatures as high as 800 degrees Fahrenheit, far superior to most armors. and appears to be a redesign and modernization of the Plastic Man armor series internal environmental control system. The system can also keep the wearer comfortable in temperatures as low as -115 degrees Fahrenheit, although this had to be tested in controlled laboratory conditions. In addition, this suit contains an environmental umbilical port, allowing the wearer to plug into outside environmental systems to extend the endurance of the armor.

Below that is a thin layer of armor designed to provide advanced protection against radiation threats. In laboratory designs, wearers were kept safe for over 72 hours in high radiation environments, including reactor maintenance, nuclear reactor fuel exchange, simulated cosmic radiation fields, and other high energy environments. In addition, this layer of armor also contains a nano-fluidic layer designed to seal the radiation proofing and act as emergency measures to keep the environmental system intact in case of suit breach. The internal self-sealing layer can keep environmental seal when armor integrity has been reduced to below 83%, making it one of the most environmentally sound armors out there.

Below that is the electronic systems of the armor, including the environmental control system, internal HUD management, radio, and several features not found in modern armors. The internal electronic systems provides the following:

• Computer controlled NBCR Protection: The system can detect and provide environmental countermeasures for detected chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiation hazards. This includes an internal environmental emergency flush, replacing the internal air with air from the oxygen supply.
• Direction Frequency Agile Multi-Frequency Radio: This radio is more advanced than usually found in non-military armors. It is capable of roaming over a set pattern of channels, breaking transmissions up over the various channels, which can only be received/decoded by radios that use the same algorithm and security settings. In addition, the radio runs from the HAM bands up to the higher reaches of UHF. The radio can be used omni-directional or direction, and the antenna is built into the helmet, as well as a directional wand (attached to 250 feet of heavily shielded micro-filament cable) that is hidden in a thigh port.
• Radar Detection: This armor has a helmet audible warning, as well as a flashing HUD warning, whenever the wearer is scanned by radar.
• ECM/ECCM: Titan Industries versions of this armor contain ECM/ECCM electronics, allowing the armor to attempt to break target locks, as well as attempt to overcome target's ECM. This feature was removed in 88 PA from the Titan Industries suits.
• Heads Up Display: The helmet HUD can be interfaced with weapons, keeping track of weapon temperature, ammunition count, energy throughput, and other details that the weapons onboard systems will provide. The HUD can also provide a window for anything transmitted via wire or low pulse radio by the weapon's sight. In addition, the armor keeps track of the suit's integrity, any NBCR hazards, outside temperature, wearer's biometric data, text displays of incoming radio messages, target bracketing and tracking, and compass. The Titan Industries suits also projected a terrain map, updatable by other wearers on the combat data channel, that tagged friendly, unknown, and hostile units according to data provided on the combat data channel. However, this features was rarely used and discontinued by all but a few standing orders for larger police forces in 94 PA.
• Piezo-Electric Kinetic Charging System: The suit has a thin layer of piezo-electric crystals suspended in the nano-fluidic layers. These small crystals produce a slight electric current when compressed, turning the motion of the wearer, including breathing and heartbeat, into power for the suit's energy cell.
• Ion Lithium Nano-Power Tubing: This innovative system stores power for the suit in the micro-tubing in the cooling layer. It provides power to all sections of the suits, regarding of breaches and missing parts. Just breathing is enough to keep the suit fully powered with all functions but the stealth system on the early systems engaged.
• Stealth: Until 92 PA the suits had advanced stealth features built into the armor, including electronic profile jammers, thermal spoofers, and magnetic/radar profile scattering. This feature was not discovered until 89 PA, and made this armor extremely popular with Juicers, M.O.M. enhanced warriors, and other people who rely on stealth. The stealth system would also shut down the armor's internal systems, to further avoid detection.
• Waste Management: The computer system keeps track of the fill status of the waste collectors, as well as distills sweat and urine to fill secondary water resivoriors.
• Thermographic Systems: The HUD can display IR, UV, and thermographic sighting.

The armor's advanced electronic suites, all using existing technologies at the time, in merely innovative ways, led to the suits being purchased by mercenary companies, police forces, and explorers. The CS purchased thousands of these suits for the Iron Heart Defense League, and copied the system as well as enhanced it, for the 99 PA Dead Boy series.

The armor's waste collection system is highly effective, and contain ports to attach the suit to an outside system, such as those found in the better robotic power armors and power armor suits. A wearer can go for over six days before the waste disks need removed, and waste disks can be cleaned in the field if necessary. The internal air supply extracts oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide from exhalation, as well as from outside, in order to provide a safe air mixture. The air supply consists of four circular tanks, and can last up to 32 hours. The system can also filter most chemical weapons, larger biological hazards, as well as contaminated air, in order to provide fresh air for the occupant. In addition, for a small additional fee of 2,500 Credits, mechanical gills can be purchased, that are built into the armor and provide air for submerged wearers. The suit can handle an astounding depth of 1,750 feet, as well as keep the wearer self in vacuum. Additionally, unlike many armors, the Urban Warrior has high altitude environmental controls, providing additional air intake to allow the wearer to operate with ease and comfort in a low pressure/oxygen environment.

The helmet's visor will automatically polarize if the wearer is exposed to excess levels of light, and it does provide limited flare compensation, although it can be upgraded to provide full flare compensation, an option often purchased by Juicers and M.O.M. enhanced warriors.

The armor is manufactured in over 22 locations, including a major factory located in the Chi-Town Burbs operated by the same company that produces late model Dead Boy armor for Coalition States soldiers and ISS troops. Northern Gun caravans are known to carry extensive supplies of this armor.

Weight: 11 lbs
Available Sizes: extra small to extra extra extra large. Specially ordered suits are available from Bandito Arms, Northern Gun, and American Armors (located in Fort El Dorado)
Mobility: Good
Availability: Excellent

Manufacturer's Cost: 12,000 Cr
Wholesale Cost: 24,500 Cr
Manufacturer's Recommended Price: 35,000 Cr
Black Market Price: 30,000-45,000 Cr
Wilderness Price: 15,000 Cr