Gue'tra ISV Fanart

Today, we have some absolutely awesome artwork submitted by DeltaV featuring the Gue'tra buggy as seen in The Autumn War, fondly referred to as the clown car. This vehicle was used extensively by Valbaran Commando units on the surface, particularly during the joint assault on the chemical plant. He really went above and beyond with the detail and the different variants, so I went ahead and gave it a full breakdown.
You can see more of his work on his Twitter page over here: https://x.com/mr_dee_vee

A Gue’tra ISV in its Kerguela Campaign configuration and livery.

The Gue'tra is the latest infantry support vehicle fielded by the Valbaran Consensus, featuring traditional design principles along with new techniques and technologies adopted from their Coalition allies. The ISV is a light squad vehicle intended to transport and provide a support weapon platform for a squad of Commandos, able to carry up to six Valbarans in standard configurations.

While the Gue'tra has only light armor plating, its speed and maneuverability afford it a great deal of flexibility on the battlefield, and it has become a staple of Consensus military operations since its adoption.

Even before the invasion of Valbara or the Kerguela campaign, it became clear that any Valbaran infantry operating on the ground for extended periods of time would need transportation. The species is not known for their endurance, often favoring scooters and other small vehicles when traveling over moderate distances. Being limited by the size and capacity of their dropships, the Consensus put out a request for a light transport vehicle that was to be no more than four meters long and six tons in weight, thus allowing four of the vehicles to be transported via the standard dropship operated by the Valbaran Navy.

The winning design was the Gue’tra ISV, which was later upgraded using Coalition technology during the inter-war period from 2625 to 2627. The Gue’tra was named after a species of flighty, fast herbivores native to the planet – an allusion to the intended speed and maneuverability of the design.

The first Gue’tra ISVs were deployed as part of the invasion fleet during the opening stages of the Kerguelan war, where they were fielded primarily in the Blue and Yellow zones of engagement. Often operating in groups and supported by Cozat’li tankettes, the ISVs greatly augmented the range and capabilities of infantry operations on the forest moon’s surface.

While being susceptible to heavy weapons fire, the vehicle nevertheless became a fast favorite of Commando units who praised its speed, its ability to tackle harsh terrain, and the surprising potency of its weapon systems.

In its default configuration, the Gue'tra can carry a flock of six Commandos within its passenger compartment and comes equipped with a remotely-controlled XMR configured as a squad support weapon. The XMR is a highly scalable railgun capable of high rates of fire and variable voltage levels based on the available power source. While considered relatively low caliber by the UNN, it can nonetheless punch quite far above its weight and is even capable of defeating light armor.

Featuring a hydrogen fuel cell power plant and hex-reinforced tires, the ISV can operate in a variety of environments. It can be sealed against vacuum, radiological and chemical threats, and even has limited amphibious capabilities that allow it to ford small bodies of water. It includes smoke launchers for concealment, along with a high-bandwidth radio and data link that ties its onboard computers into the fleet network.

Due to the limited size of the ISV, much of the equipment carried by passengers is often strapped to exterior bustle racks to save on internal space. There are many attachment points spread around the hull, including airlift hitches and tow cables.

 ISV-PDT variant fielded by Indigo Group special forces units with desert livery.

After the conclusion of the Kerguela campaign, the platform was further upgraded and expanded with new variants designed to fill different battlefield niches. One of the more prominent of these is the ISV-PDT variant, which uses a laser point defense system developed in Kalahar.

Traditional Valbaran Army Camouflage.

The LPD system requires a larger battery bank that takes up much of the troop compartment, thus reducing the passenger capacity of the ISV while also providing a limited but highly portable point defense solution. Using its radar, the pulsed laser can target and engage light aircraft, missiles, and mortar threats to protect dismounted troops.

In a scout role, the ISV can also use chemical and seismic sensors to help detect the presence of Betelgeusian pheromones and tunnel activity.

Other recent upgrades include an 80mm mortar system capable of firing a range of specialized shells, including airburst, timed fuse, smoke, and incendiary projectiles. The mortar is intended to be used primarily in a support role, where it can help to suppress enemy strongpoints such as bunkers and trenches during an infantry assault.

Modular 80mm mortar system.

Taking advantage of the expanded power pack, the twin active electronically scanned array (or AESA) is a type of phased radar antenna that can be used to create a mobile, easily concealable early warning system in forward positions. Several ISV-AESA vehicles can be positioned to work in tandem, expanding their area of effective coverage, sharing data with one another or with command units stationed nearby or in orbit. These are commonly used to direct orbital strikes, guide friendly CAS, or to enhance local LPD coverage.

Twin AESA search and tracking radar.