Seismic Tank

[Rose]

Seismic Tank

Basic Information -

Size: 55 meters tall
Manufacturer: Haor Chall Engineering
Type: Seismic Hover Tank
Weapon: Seismic Driver
Affiliation: Confederacy of Independent Systems; Trade Federation; Commerce Guild
Associations: Seismic Tank


Massive corporate entities like the Trade Federation had skilled legal departments capable of finessing Republic legislation intended to limit their military prowess. Often, powerful military assets were cloaked under the guise of industrial applications. Legally speaking, the seismic tank developed by Haor Chall Engineering is a mining vehicle, and that's how the Commerce Guild and others were able to justify its use. With the outbreak of the Clone Wars, there was no need for such duplicity. The massive repulsorlift vehicle contains a powerful weapon. Its name is derived from the huge seismic driver contained in the core of the tank. Magnetic impellors guide the frictionless driver through a central channel; its heavy metal core gives it tremendous inertia. When the driver exits the channel, it strikes the ground with great speed and impact, creating a seismic undulation in even the hardest of surfaces.

For mining applications, such strikes would pulverize the surrounding rock and clay found on terrestrial worlds, exposing harder mineral and metal deposits in the dusty wake of the blast. In military use, whatever is not crushed by the hammer-blow itself is invariably destroyed in the shockwave that follows. The magnetic impellors keep the driver perfectly aligned in the channel. They prevent the shockwave from traveling up the shaft and into the rest of the vehicle. A quartet of stubby repulsorlift generators carry the tank aloft at heights up to 30 meters above ground level. A skirt of stabilizing repulsorlifts line the vehicle's lower section. The repulsorfields are designed not to envelop the seismic driver itself, so as to ensure that its full gravitic force is intact upon impact. As a result, the tank is very unwieldy and slow. A team of battle droids operates the vehicle from the topside command bridge. A dedicated team of repair droids carefully monitor the driver, as a misalignment could cause a catastrophic shockwave to rattle the vehicle apart.