M12 Chaingun Warthog

M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
M12 w/ M41 M12B w/ M46 M12B w/ M343A2
Production information
Manufacturer:	AMG Transport Dynamics
Product line:	Warthog
Model:	M12 Force Application Vehicle M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle
Technical specifications
Length:	6 metres (20 ft)
Width:	3 metres (9.8 ft)
Height:	2.5 meters (8.2 ft) (M12B)
Mass:	Approx. 3.5 tonnes (7,700 lb)
Maximum speed:	125 Km/h (78mph)
Engine(s):	12.0 L liquid-cooled hydrogen-injected ICE
Hull:	Ballistic polycarbonate, titanium, carbon nanotube
Armament:	M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun (1) or M46 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun (1) or M49 Vulcan (1)
Crew:	1 driver 1 passenger 1 gunner
Usage
In service:	Insurrection Human-Covenant War Post-Covenant War conflicts
Role(s):	Reconnaissance Anti-personnel Anti-aircraft
Affiliation:	United Nations Space Command Insurrectionists Liang-Dortmund Corporation

"Somebody order a Warthog?"

— Carol Rawley drops off an M12 Chaingun Warthog during the Battle of Installation 04.

The M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (LRV), colloquially referred to as the Chaingun Warthog or simply Warthog, is one of many weaponized configurations of the UNSC's ubiquitous Warthog platform. Models fielded during the Insurrection and the Human-Covenant War featured a turret-mounted M41 Vulcan or M46 Vulcan, while some more modern post-war variants are armed with an M343A2 chaingun.

Design details

Main articles: M12 Warthog, M12B Warthog

Removing the turret of a Warthog to create dedicated scout or other weaponized variants of Warthog is a simple process, and has allowed the UNSC to employ many combat configurations of the vehicle with different weapons for different roles. Warthogs equipped with Light Anti-Aircraft chainguns are designated as Warthog Light Reconnaissance Vehicles. The Light Reconnaissance Vehicle is the most common variant of the Warthog seen on the battlefield, designed to eliminate lightly armored personnel and low-flying aircraft.

Chaingun Warthogs have been employed on both the M12 Warthog and M12B Warthog chassis types, all unified with the presence of a 12.7x99mm chaingun of some variety. M12 Warthogs and their derivatives such as the M864 Arctic and Fireball Warthogs typically employed the M41 Vulcan, a triple-barreled, electric-powered, linkless belt-fed machine gun capable of firing 500 penetrating rounds per minute. The standard ammunition loadout for the chaingun is armor-piercing but a number of specialist rounds exist, such as proximity-fused-high-explosive or less-than-lethal-stunball rounds.

M12B variants of LRV, introduced in 2552, serve the same basic function as their forebears, though have upgraded armament to suit their upgraded chassis. M12B Chaingun Warthogs typically employ the M46 Vulcan chaingun, though some introduced by late 2558 employ the M343A2 chaingun. The M12B has seen considerable evolution in the LRV design, with ONI-branded Chaingun Warthogs replacing their typical ammunition with High Explosive Dual Purpose ammunition. UNSC forces working with the Swords of Sanghelios have additionally produced a unique variant of the Chaingun Warthog, designed to incorporate Energy shielding and Kemuksuru ammunition into the vehicle's design.

Variants

Theoretically, any Warthog chassis is capable of being fitted with a chaingun mount. The following list summarizes all thus-far observed variants seen in an LRV configuration.

• M12 Warthog
  • Fireball Warthog - Unique Warthog employed by the UNSC Spirit of Fire.
  • M864 Arctic Warthog - Warthog variant designed for cold-weather environments.
  • Red Team's Warthog - Unique Warthog employed by Red Team on Trove.
• M12B Warthog
  • Arctic variant - an Arctic camouflaged variant of the M12B LRV.
  • Armored Warthog - Up-armored Warthog variant designed by Isabel for combating the Banished on Installation 00. These Warthogs feature larger gun-shields.
  • Corp Warthog - 2558 Liang-Dortmund Corporation-branded security LRV.
  • Khaki variant - a desert-camouflaged variant of the M12B LRV.
  • ONI Warthog - 2558 ONI security LRV firing high-explosive ammunition.
  • Sword Warthog - Experimental 2558 LRV designed by joint UNSC-Swords of Sanghelios efforts. This LRV is equipped with an energy shield and a chaingun that fires Kemuksuru.
  • Tundra Warthog - 2558 Warthog variant designed for cold-weather environments.
  • Woodland Warthog - 2558 Warthog variant designed for use in forested regions.
  • Urban Warthog - 2558 Warthog variant designed for use in urban environments.

Operational history

Chaingun Warthogs performing recon during the Harvest campaign.

As the most common variant of the M12 Force Application Vehicle, the M12 Chaingun Warthog has been in service with the UNSC for over two centuries. They saw use throughout the Insurrection and into the Human-Covenant War. They would see action in almost every major battle of the war. By 2552, M12B variants of the Chaingun Warthog had entered circulation, though both LRV variants saw action in the battles of Installation 04 and Ear