Asher

Description
The Asher Missile Platform was an early hover vehicle designed as a fire support and recon vehicle. The Asher, originally known as AS-H, was initially a redesign of a failed civilian industrial transport. Sheinhardt Universal Technologies (SUT) of Sirius reworked the design as an inexpensive combat vehicle. SUT managed to win a contract from the Terran Alliance's Alliance Global Militia after a trial vehicle proved to be successful in the field. SUT produced 5,000 of the Asher for the AGM, however quality issues were discovered after large production runs were begun. Investigation discovered that SUT's trial units produced on Sirius were without issues, however production models were fitted with components from several companies subcontracted to produce the vehicle for Sheinhart Universal. The logistics of maintaining the Ashers was complex due to a mix of manufactures using different methods of producing the Asher.

Once in service, the vehicle was adequate at its roles. The vehicle did not perform perfectly, being a challenge to drive and prone to turret malfunctions. Due to its handling issues, it gained the nickname "Ten-Pack" for driving drunkenly when it was firing its 10 tubes of missiles on the run.

The Asher remained in production for sixty-two years, in service with both the Terran Alliance and Terran Hegemony. However, by the mid Twenty-Fourth Century, SUT's subsidiary companies began to cosmetically change the Asher and sell it to foreign interstellar nations. Sheinhardt was shut down and production of the Asher was ended due to the company breaking technology export laws.

Equipment and Capabilities
The Asher was originally designed as heavy civilian transport. The vehicle was constructed with what was later termed Primitive Technology for combat oriented vehicles. The vehicle's internal combustion engine powers the vehicle to 129k kph and is fueled by a two ton fuel tank. Its hull is protected by 2.5 tons of BAR7 grade armor, giving it modest protection for its day.

Its primary armaments consisted of a pair of 5-tubed Long-Range Missile launchers housed in the turret. The launcher was fed from its one ton ammo bay, giving it modest sustainability in the field. While not intended to engage heavy units at short ranges, it was equipped with three machine guns and a Vehicle Flamer to handle infantry should it encounter them. One pair of machine guns were turret mounted, while a single gun and the flamer were fixed forward. The weapons were guided by an Advance Fire Control, giving the weapons high accuracy for the time.

Design Quirks
The Asher Missile Platform has the following Design Quirks;
 * Hard to Pilot
 * Non-Standard Parts
 * Obsolete (2360)