OpenStandard Personal Powered Armour
The OpenStandard Personal Powered Armour or OSPPA is a design of PPA that is contained within the Library of Alexandria, based on the NATO Specifications for standardised PPA capabilities. The OSPPA is always a few years behind in capabilities compared the the NATO Specifications, but provides a decent baseline for PPA used by countries and settlements that do not have the capabilities to independently design their own PPAs.
Being an open source design, the OSPPA can be easily acquired on the open market, and easily be modified to fit into a specific use case. Most of these use cases have their own templates within the Library of Alexandria.
The base design of the OSPPA is made up of four parts that come together to form the complete Personal Powered Armour.
Protective Thermal Undersuit¶
The Protective Thermal Undersuit, short PTU, but usually called 'Long Johns' by its users, is worn under the rest of the OSPPA.
It is made out of several layers, to add some basic protection to the wearer, provide thermal management, sensors to keep track of health, as well as a comfort layer that wicks away moisture and sweat from the body. This also includes a layer of myomer strands that allow the suit to conform to the wearers body shape, act as a mechanical counter pressure space suit and can provide an integrated tourniquet in case of traumatic amputation or other lesser injuries.
The wearer can easily relieve themselves without the need to use integrated systems for waste management.
The Protective Thermal Undersuit is rated as stab proof and bullet resistant up to PM 2 on the International VPAM armour standard.
Powered Exoskeleton¶
The Powered Exoskeleton is a system worn over the Protective Thermal Undersuit, to support the wearers own musculature and decrease the weight of any other equipment worm.
It utilises myomer bundles to provide movement, connected to a skeleton made of graphnene fiber and sheet reinforced titanium alloy. Unpowered, the myomer bundles act more like extremely flexible bands and in combination with low friction bearings in the joints are almost imperceptible by the wearer.
The Powered Exoskeleton connects to the wearer Direct Neural Interface through a wireless link with several transceivers running along the wearers spine, and up the the base of the skull to keep active even when the spinal cord of the wearer is damaged in combat.
The Powered Exoskeleton if the OSPPA is designed to allow the wearer to carry up to 500 kg of material, with the load being shed through the sock like soles of the Exoskeleton under the feet of the wearer, while gauntles designed to appear like fingerless gloves that allow the wearer to grab and hold such weight.
The weight limit was designed to allow one OSPPA equipped soldier to easily carry and evacuate an injured OSPPA equipped soldier.
Combat Dress Uniform¶
Designed to be reminiscent of the Battle Dress Uniform used by infantry before the advent of PPA, the Combat Dress Uniform is a multi part uniform that can be worn by a soldier as an every day uniform, if combined with the Protective Thermal Undersuit and Powered Exoskeleton.
The pants and jacket of the Combat Dress Uniform are made of a multilayer fabric armour, consisting of graphene and titanium mesh sheets, several layers of kevlar and graphene fibers, several of them embedded inside a matrix of non-newtonian gel. Both pants and jacket have internal pockets to carry specialised trauma plate for low intensity situations.
The Combat Dress Uniform also includes a pair of combat boots that are designed to connect to the Powered Exoskeleton and are made of multiple layers of flexible plastic and reinforced fiber layers, topped by a layer of textile and leather reinforcement. The soles are stab and nail proof and integrate electrostatic adherence 'gecko' pads that allow a single boot to hold up to 200 kg overhead under 1g.
On their own, the pants and jacket are rated for PM 10, with trauma plates moving their protection up to PM 13. Be combat boots are rated for PM 14.
Combat Armour¶
The OSPPA Combat Armour is a shell of metal-ceramic laminate composite material that is designed to protect the torso and head of the wearer in combat situations, and provide life support and battle-field awareness.
Due to a design reminiscent of Roman lorica segmentata, with additional protection for shoulders, hips and crotch areas, is is commonly called Legionary Armour.
It also combined with a pair of combat gauntlets and greaves to provide additional protection to the lower legs and lower arms. The gauntlets integrate power feeds from the Combat Armours internal power supply to external devices, such as carried weapon systems. The armoured fiber gloves integrate electrostatic adherence 'gecko' pads, capable of holding up to 200 kg overhead under 1g.
The integrated helmet of the Combat Armour is covering the entire head, including the face, with multiple camera cluster set over the head and armour providing sight to the wearer through their Direct Neural Interface, with integrated computer systems providing encrypted multiband radio and laser communications links with squad mates and a bidirectional data link to and from deployed drones and battle management systems. The helmet seals on the head, providing NBC Protection as well allow vacuum operations.
The power systems of the Combat Armour are made up of multiple packs of super conducting batteries in semi-external slots in the back of the armour, allowing them to easily swapped, and to protect the wearer and internal systems from any injuries and damage in case of destructive damage to a cell. Combined, the cells provide up to 48 hours of continuous operation for the combined OSPPA system, including weapon systems.
In general OSPPA includes bays for up to three reconnaissance and limited combat drones, as well as dispensers for Battlefield Smart Dust.
The OSPPA does include internal water bladders and liquid food packages. It also has an integrated backpack, allowing a soldier to carry their conventional equipment and ammunition load out.
OSPPA armour protection for torso and head are equivalent to 20 mm of rolled homogeneous armour.
Incremental Backup Storage Device¶
At various places in the Combat Armour, there are compartments that can be easily opened from the outside, each containing a Incremental Backup Storage Device, also commonly called a Cortical Stack. These devices are responsible for holding a soldiers incremental backups of their mind states that can be integrated into the last full mind-state backup made before a combat operation, in case of the soldiers body expiring, allowing the soldier to continue life as an upload, preventing the loss of valuable knowledge and skills.
These incremental backups are made every thirty seconds during operations, with the backup frequency raising to five seconds during active combat.
Only incremental backups are stored inside the devices, to prevent a soldiers mind-state to fall into the hands of the enemy.
Semi-Autonomous Medical System¶
The Semi-Autonomous Medical System, also called 'Sammy', is a system that is part of the Combat Armour system, responsible for supervising a soldiers medical situation and to react to limited medical emergencies.
This might include any form of wound a soldier might take during combat operations. Is is responsible for closing of smaller wounds with med-foam from a delivery mesh inside the Protective Thermal Undersuit, and to inject drugs to keep a soldier stable and protected from shock and to apply a tourniquet, in case of traumatic limb amputation. In case of loss of consciousness, the system requests immediate evacuation from the battlefield.