Aliens: Dark Descent Vehicles
Posted by Darkness on July 22, 2023 (Updated: 08-Sep-2023)
Here are all the vehicles that you will see in 2023’s Aliens: Dark Descent.
M540 ARC
The M540 Armored Recon Carrier is a reconnaissance vehicle employed by the USCM. Designed and produced by the Cobb Motor Company, the M540 is known for its excellent all-terrain mobility, which makes it a great supportive element for armored columns and an ideal patrol vehicle.
Despite its size, the ARC can still hold a four-man squad and a crew of two – one driver and one subsection leader, who operates the turret and a scaled-down version of the Tactical Operations Center. Armed with two synchronized Republic Electric RE700 20mm Gatling cannons, the M540 can protect itself when trouble comes knocking.
M577 APC
The M577 Armored Personal Carrier is a tactical response vehicle that is widely used by the USCM. With a self-contained turret boasting two 20mW Boyars PARS 150 phased plasma cannons and a hull-mounted cupola with two Gatling cannons, the APC is well-armed, but it sacrifices armor for lighter weight.
This makes it vulnerable to antitank weapons, but allows for greater mobility and, perhaps more importantly, transportation via dropship. Able to carry a full squad of 13 men, the M577 is operated by a small crew of two—one driver and one section leader, who enjoys the control of a full Tactical Operations Center.
UD-4 Cheyenne Dropship
Designed by UA Northridge, the Utility Dropship 4, better known colloquially as the “Cheyenne,” is the absolute workhorse of the USCM. It can be dropped from the belly of a spacecraft in orbit and can also take off and land vertically, allowing it to transport Marines, vehicles, and military equipment from one place to the other in no time.
And the UD-4’s flexibility doesn’t end there. Armed with a GAU-113/B rotary cannon, along with a variety of explosive ordnance, which is stored in its weapons pods and secondary weapons bays, the Cheyenne is a more than capable gunship, feared even beyond the frontiers of the Three World Empire.
P-5000 Power Loader
The P-5000 Power Work Loader is a mechanized exoskeleton used for lifting heavy materials and objects. Powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, the P-5000 offers unprecedented flexibility while multiplying a human operator’s strength and lifting capacity by several thousand times—great qualities that explain why this machine is so well-represented on commercial and industrial sites, but also in field operations.
The USCM, for instance, use the P-5000 to load ordnance and perform heavy maintenance on starships. At one point, the Colonial Marines even deployed militarized variants of the P-5000, but those proved to be less consistent than their civilian counterparts.
UD-4SR Dropship
Despite being based on the trusty UD-4, this variant of the famous Cheyenne Dropship was designed under wraps directly by Weyland-Yutani’s spacecraft division. The SR is recognizable by its planed nose, which is complemented by sensors, antennae, and cameras. These nose modifications suggest that the UD-4SR could be used as a spy spacecraft, but Weyland-Yutani has always denied accusations of corporate espionage.
Moreover, the additional tri-layer carbon-ceramic plates on the cockpit tell a different story: these additions simply indicate that this dropship was built to last and nothing illegal. Whatever the truth may be, Weyland-Yutani’s private contractors seem very attached to their vehicle.
