The AVS-98 Economy Mk.II (Also known as the AVS-98 Economy Ingram Mk.II or Standard) was a prototype patlabor developed by Shinohara Heavy Industries (SHI). The type was closely based off of the AVS-98 Economy Ingram, and was intended to compete with the AV-98 Ingram in the patlabor market. It would not be developed past the prototype stage, despite a good deal of effort being put into testing and tuning the machine.
Design & Development[]
The Mark II is extremely visually similar to its predecessor, the Economy. The armor layout is almost identical, the only difference being the enlarged shoulder armor of the Mark II. The head unit is the main visual differentiator, as its design is rather different from the original. This difference is not purely aesthetic, as the head unit featured a revamped sensor array that far surpassed the capabilities of the original.
A learning computer had been integrated into the drive system to close the gap in skill needed to pilot at an experienced level. This means that just like the Ingram, the machine's operational capacity improves with continued use. The Mark II was shown to have increased power and maneuverability over the original, all on top of a vastly improve autobalancer system.
Reception[]
In On Television after the prototype was completed, pilots from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Special Vehicles Unit, Second Section were invited to SHI's Hachioji factory to test the new model's capabilities. After the first day of testing, pilots remarked that the type was indeed an improvement over the original Economy, but was still too clumsy to be a successful replacement for the Ingram. However, after every day of testing, SHI engineers would take note of pilot feedback and tune the machine, resulting in better handling and overall performance. With each iteration, the Economy Mk.II's performance inched closer to that of the Ingram, pushing the envelope of this economically-built labor.
Despite the constant testing and tuning of the machine, the Economy project was cancelled before any serious production of the type could occur. SHI's higher-ups had determined that developing a model based on cost-cutting was not going to yield any real contender for replacement of the Ingram. Instead, it was decided that a no-expense-spared approach was necessary, and that the next Shinohara patlabor would be far more technologically advanced than the Ingram. Thus, the resources diverted to this project would be redirected to the development of the AV-0 Peacemaker, a highly advanced Third-Generation Patlabor.
However, in the manga, the Economy Mark II would be fully adopted by Section Two Division One with little push back in comparison to the anime. Division One and Two had positive feedback on the response times and maneuverability, with Shinobu herself confidently calling it an "Ingram Successor." This would be evident during their first deployment against the Griffon at a Babylon Project development site, as one of the machines was shown capable of putting up a decent fight.
Further Development[]
The Mark II would be down tuned to civilian standards and sold to the public for civil work, eventually becoming Shinohara Heavy Industries' attempt at entering the security market. While popular with security companies for it's price performance ratio, competition with security labors on the market that were already well established such as the SR-70 Saturn made it difficult to cement itself into the industry. Production would slow to a halt and hasn't been picked up since December of 1999.
In the manga, the police would continue to use the Mark II as they became standard use despite the ongoing controversies around Shinohara Heavy Industries. Eventually they'd be given the operating system HOS and would see an improvement in performance, something that was hard to discern from an untrained eye. Rather than overall increasing the labor's speed and response time, it's movement was optimized to increase the ease of operation. By this point in time it wasn't wrong to assume that the performance of the Mark II was close enough to the Ingram to justify it's use, especially when it was only one third the cost of the machine.
Specifications[]
Physical Specifications[]
- Height: 8.02 meters
- Width: 4.37 meters
- Empty Weight: 5.89 tonnes
- Loaded Weight: 6.12 tonnes
- Lifting Capacity: 2.45 tonnes
- Minimum Revolving Radius: 4.0 meters
- Armor Material: Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics
Armaments[]
- 37 millimeter Revolver Cannon x1 (6 rounds, stored in right leg)
- Anti-Labor Stun Stick x1 (stored in arm shield)
- Arm Shield x1 (mounted on left arm)
Gallery[]
Anime[]
Manga[]
References[1][]
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