M12 Warthog (Earth-5875)

"Somebody order a Warthog?"

- - Carol Rawley

The M12 Force Application Vehicle (M12-FAV), better known simply as the Warthog or the Hog, is the primary vehicle issued to the UNSC Marine Corps, manufactured by AMG Transport Dynamics. They are multi-purposal, and are able to perform armament carrying, utility, command and control, reconnaissance, ambulence and a myriad of other roles. It is highly mobile in most environments.

Specifications
The M12 is a four-wheel drive, all-terrain utility vehicle capable of going over any obstacle without difficulty. Under the hood the M12's power is generated by a forward-housed low-profile liquid-cooled hydrogen-injected ICE I/C plant, coupled with an automatic infinitely variable transmission (IVT). The hydrogen fuel is burned at a very high temperature with a synthetic carbon/silicon catalyst to achieve even better fuel consumption. This hydrogen engine is the standard among all UNSC ground (and most air) based vehicles, replacing fossil fuel-based engines some 400 years ago. The M12 features a Graf/Hauptman solar/saline actuator, which is capable of converting up to twelve liters of fresh, brackish or salt water into hydrogen on the fly. Detritus from the process is compacted on board and disposed of manually by the crew. This allows the Warthog to travel 790 kilometers (490 miles) before it needs to be refueled, a range that can be easily extended by the addition of any container capable of holding liquid. Older models boast a fully independent swing-arm suspension system and four in-hub wheel motors.

The M12 is a huge, unwieldy, difficult to steer vehicle—until a user learns how to drive it properly. With proper application of the hand, or "e-brake" the M12 can actually turn on a dime. Massive disc brakes and its automatic braking systems allow the vehicle to come to a near immediate, but controlled stop should the driver be ejected, or choose to leave the vehicle. The Warthog's tires have moved away from previous inert-gas pocket inflation with far more resilient and superior burst-proof single unit nanotube skeletons. They provide the buoyancy and ride of gas-pocket tires, but are almost indestructible, allowing the M12 to easily roll through situations that would leave other vehicles disabled and vulnerable. The relatively massive tires are a joint project between Asklon and AMG Transport Dynamics.

The M12's design places it into the jeep family of vehicles; it has no doors and has a total seating of two or three in the base model. The M12's description as a "force application vehicle" is spectacularly accurate; the M12 has both offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as intel gathering and supply transport and practically any other task that can be accomplished by a wheeled vehicle. The M12 can be configured to become a troop carrier, armament carrier, ambulance, reconnaissance vehicle, or communications vehicle. All M12-based vehicles are designed to travel both on and off-road, in all weather conditions.

The M12 Warthog shares parts – and handling characteristics – with the Spade and its sibling frontier trucks, which means that many recruits are already proficient with basic vehicle maintenance and off-road driving skills before they ever arrive at an UNSC boot camp.

Operational history
The first M12 Warthog was designed by AMG Transport Dynamics in mid 2319, and was dubbed the "Z-12". After its launch, the Z-12 proved to be a franchise-holder after an extensive marketing campaign and the impressive featrures it held in remote territories across Luna and Mars; the marketing had AMG declaring the Warthog could "go anywhere and do anything". After eight months, the Z-12's popularity was massive enough for the company to receive three dozen contracts, most of which came from the Colonial Marshal Bureau. By 2321, the AMG and the CMB started to work together, with AMG fielding all of the CMB's land-based vehicles. The Z-12 was transformed into the M12 Warthog, and alongside its new look came a hard armor plating.

By 2329, the M12 Warthog had become the most common vehicle fielded by the UNSC Marine Corps, alongside the M274 Mongoose, which was also manufactured by AMG. The nickname "Warthog" was established after the nomenclature given to it by CMB officials. Once they entered in the UNSC, the Warthog saw dozens of design changes over the next two centuries. Because of the standard issuing of the Warthog, all UNSC personnel, both from the Marine Corps and the Navy, are required to know how to operate the vehicle, regardless of rank.

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