C3M4 Combat Drone

The M4 series Combat Drone is the standard template designed fighting drone in the Concord Combined Command. It is often referred to in its base format with a plasma cannon and plasma light support as a Pulsar drone. It has neither crew nor any capacity to carry them, forming a distinct machine shard together with its buddy drones.

The M4 is carried upon powerful suspensors which provide lift, manoeuvring capability and low speed propulsion. Reaction thrusters augmented by suspensors are used to attain higher speeds. Powerful kinetic shields protect the drone all round. Powerful reactive generators adjust shield strength as required, making the drone capable of resisting most attacks.

M4 series drones carry various support weapons but are usually armed with a plasma cannon and plasma light support for dealing with enemy troops and lightly armoured vehicles – this weapons loadout is referred to as the ‘M400 Pulsar Template’  – however, they also have the option of replacing the main armament with either a fractal cannon (M402 Engineering variant) or compression cannon (M404 variant) for more specialised application.

An obsolete version, the M407 Assault Drone, can still be found in some forces but suffers from power supply problems to its three plasma light support weapons. The drone has older and less-effecitve power distribution than the constantly upgraded other models so has less effective armour.

Of course, it’s not just the forces of the Concord who have access to the C3M4 – the vast fleets of the mercantile Freeborn carry goods, services, technology and people from one world to another – and their vast networks of trading connections provide access to as many weapons and pieces of equipment as they need – and the M4 is available to them as well!

We have an in-depth article that goes through the Concord weapon systems in more detail.

Tactics

A very adaptable drone, the C3M4 base version carries two weapons from a nice variety of available options. Being classed as ‘Large’ in the game allows it to draw Line of Sight (LoS) over the top of friendly units and as such can engage the enemy from behind an infantry screen. If expected to be used relatively close to opponents, the compression cannon can be effective with a high SV (penetration) but for all-round effectiveness and shock value, the plasma cannon has an SV of 7 and with the plasma light support turret can cause serious problems for Ghar battlesuits and Algoryn hazard troopers.

Assembly Instructions

The C3M4 comes on a pair of sprues and requires plastic glue. Assembly instructions are in the box but can also be found here.