FLOATER Program — Containment Systems Ltd.

LEVEL 4

TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION — FLOATER AERIAL PLATFORM

FLOATER PROGRAM

AUTONOMOUS AERIAL CONTAINMENT UNIT

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The FLOATER program was initiated in Cycle 0x0012 after ground-based PMC units proved insufficient against high-mobility intrusions. Director Voss authorized Eng. Okoro to design an autonomous aerial platform capable of sustained patrol, target tracking, and suppressive fire from elevated positions.

The original specification called for a unit that could maintain station over a corridor junction and engage targets moving up to 400 u/s. That specification is now obsolete.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

STANDARD VARIANT

Hull Rating	50 structural points
Propulsion	Digital rocket exhaust — directional thrust
Turret	Stabilized single-barrel, counter-compensated for movement tilt
Accuracy	Higher than ground units — max_miss_offset 1.5m (vs 3.0m PMC)
Patrol Mode	On-rails, Point A ↔ Point B, configurable per deployment
Engagement Range	60m
Burst Pattern	5 rounds, 0.1s interval, 0.8s cooldown
Movement Tilt	15° max, responsive at 6x/sec
Score Value	150 (to the threat)

ELITE VARIANT

Hull Rating	100 structural points (2x standard)
Scale	200% standard dimensions
Damage Output	2x standard per round
Visual Identifier	Red edge glow (vs orange standard)
Score Value	300 (to the threat)
Unit Cost	3x standard production cost
Production Status	ACCELERATED — 340% above baseline

TURRET STABILIZATION SYSTEM

The FLOATER turret operates independently of hull orientation. When the unit tilts during movement, the turret counter-rotates to maintain target lock — similar to how legacy tank cannons compensated for chassis movement over uneven terrain.

The stabilization system calculates the desired world-space aim direction, converts to parent-local space accounting for hull tilt, and applies smoothed quaternion interpolation at 8x per second. This allows the turret to track a target while the FLOATER is mid-patrol and banking into a turn.

Against standard intrusions, this system is adequate. Against << 死 >>, the 8x/sec tracking rate is approximately one-third of the speed required. The turret consistently aims at where the target was 0.3 seconds prior.

DESTRUCTION BEHAVIOR

When a FLOATER's structural points reach zero, the following sequence occurs:

        1. THREE-LAYER EXPLOSION

          - Fireball: 30 chaotic fire blobs, billboarded, white-hot → orange → dark

          - Core flash: emission 20, expands 2.5x over 0.15s

          - Shrapnel: 60 debris chunks, gravity-affected

          - Smoke: 20 billboarded puffs, rising, 1.5s duration

        2. HULL TUMBLE

          - Random spin applied on all three axes

          - Upward kick + lateral drift

          - Gravity pulls the hull to the floor

          - Smoke puffs trail during descent

        3. GROUND IMPACT

          - Second explosion on contact with floor

          - Hull rests for 2 seconds

          - Shrinks to zero and is removed from memory

The explosion radius of an ELITE variant is sufficient to cause collateral damage to nearby ground personnel. During the Sector 0 breach, a single ELITE detonation killed 12 of our own people who were sheltering in its patrol shadow. Recommend minimum 15m clearance for all personnel operating near ELITE units.

— Eng. Okoro, Post-Incident Analysis

VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

The following vulnerabilities have been identified through field testing against << 死 >>:

Tether Susceptibility: The subject can attach its grappling filament to a FLOATER and use the unit as a swing anchor. The FLOATER's patrol programming does not account for external mass on the hull, causing destabilization.

Shotgun Vulnerability: Spread-pattern projectiles at close range bypass the hull's directional armor weighting. A standard sawnoff discharge at under 10m is capable of hull breach in a single trigger pull.

Collision Kill: At speeds above 650 u/s, the subject has been observed physically ramming FLOATER units. The kinetic transfer exceeds structural tolerance. The subject sustains minor velocity loss but no lasting damage.

The tether attachment issue is still open. The subject repurposes our hardware faster than we can redesign it. I need direction from Executive on whether continued production is justified given current loss ratios.

— Eng. Okoro, private journal entry

PRODUCTION FIGURES

CYCLE	STANDARD	ELITE	LOST	NET
0x7900	40	0	2	+38
0x7950	40	5	3	+42
0x79E0	40	20	4	+56
0x7A00	60	20	74	+6
0x7A10	120	40	31	+129
0x7A20	200	60	12	+248

Note: Cycle 0x7A00 losses include all units operational in Sector 0 at the time of the breach. Production was tripled in subsequent cycles by direct order of Director Voss.