BOLO MK V

The first member of a family of specialists with roughly comparable on board computer support but different weapons fits and functions. The Mark V was the first so-called "deep-wader"-that is, it no longer required bridging support, as it was designed to cross river barriers (including lakes and even small seas) by submerging and driving across their bottoms-and this capability became standard with all subsequent marks of Bolo. Power demands continued to grow, surpassing levels which even ionic battery technology could meet, and the Mark V was the first Bolo to use an onboard fission power plant. The growing size and weight of later models of the Mark IV had led to efforts to diversify design in the immediately subsequent marks, and the Mark V was the "general battle tank", fitted with a heavy caliber railgun (190mm) for main armament, supported by twin lateral batteries of six 60mm "gatling style" infinite repeaters using spent uranium slugs and lighter gatlings and laser clusters for point defense. The laser clusters' anti-personnel function was limited, and the Mark V also saw the first use of multishot anti-personnel flechette/HE clusters, which became standard on all subsequent Bolos. Missile capacity was severely down-sized and restricted to SAMs as part of the drive to hold down weight. The Mark V had a one man crew, a battle weight of approximately 180 metric tons, and a maximum speed of 50 kph (cross-country) to 80 kph (road).