S.H.I.E.L.D Technology Programs (APOC DOM LORE)

Technology Programs of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Union of America
In the early to mid 1960s, the S.H.I.E.L.D agency through the V project, sought to utilize new developments in VTOL technology and other vehicle systems to create ground effect vehicles under the guidance of a Russian deflector from the late 1940s, Bartini Beriev.

With a catamaran-like fuselage the vehicle would be optimized to fly within the ground effect, giving it endurance needed to fly long-range missions, whileit would have wings so that it could fly like a conventional airplane as well. The VVA-14 was equipped with both a conventional landing gear for runways and a unique inflatable pontoon system to give it amphibious capabilities. Ten lift jets would allow for vertical take-off and landings (VTOL) from any kind of surface. These features allowed it to be a amphibious, ground-effect vehicle that could go into the air, land or the sea.

Another ground-effect vehicle developed by the V project was a ground-effect based craft known as the SM-01, which could move as fast as a aircraft, but lift a more extensive and heavy payload than a standard airplane. Able to fly low to the surface, and completely out of the water, it would be invisible to radar and sonar while it could also pass over sea mine fields. With it's small draft the ekranoplan could access shallow coastlines and beaches inaccessible to ships. With simple design and construction standards, it would mix aircraft and shipbuilding construction. This allowed for the fast and efficient construction of these large ekranoplans.

The SM, over it's period of development, evolved from a small ground-effect craft to a giant, fast and agile ekranoplan. Capable of traveling at over 500 kilometers a hour and lift 600 tons, it was equipped with eight forward mounted jet engines that directed thrust underneath the wings to get the craft into ground-effect, while once in ground-effect the forward jet engines were shut off, and only two engines were enough to shut off, with two other engines able to keep the 600-ton machine moving at aircraft-like speeds. A giant tail, five-stories high, was used to counter the instabilities of flying with ground-effect and keep the vehicle flying at high speeds. These capabilities were designed to stabilize and put the ekranoplan into action.

The Death Weapon Project
During the Union Era, the discovery of minerals such as Terrigen, Terrigirum and Orium, revolutionized the technology of the Union of America, with high-level applications in weaponry, spaceships and engines/equipment. Throughout the Union era's early phrases, the Death Weapon Project developed many weapons and technologies to further utilize the minerals.

Applications of the mineral of Orium included the development of gunnery and firearms such as the K-Class pistol, which was utilized as a sidearm and small-arm pistol with standard issue for Spaceforce personnel, and another gun known as the R-class sniper rifle. The pistol, against un-armored, unshielded targets, is a highly-accurate, effective weapon, capable of burning through clothing, flesh, and bone, delivering a killing blow in a single hit while at reasonable range.

While on the other hand, the R-class sniper rifle is a powerful, semi-automatic weapon suited to long range engagements, with the capable training of snipers enabling it to kill multiple targets with a single blast, with the bolt of the rifle appearing to track target to target with the sniper crosshair. The weapon also possessed a enemy identification system which showed friendly forces as green, neutral as yellow, and enemies as red in its sights. R-class sniper rifles can kill instantly with a single shot, both at short and long ranges, and can be fired rapidly. They also appear to have a holographic sight, capable of zooming in with enough clarity to view the details of an individual's face in low light.

In conclusion, the Orium mineral had large-scale applications on weapons small and big, from assault and sniper rifles, to small-arms pistols and light-weapons such as normal rifles.

During the Cheyenne Project (2167-2176), the applications of genetic modification was utilized through the medication of soldiers that, once enrolled and recruited, were given supplements of a genetic-enhancement serum called Chyen, which made them able to consume a super-human serum encased as a drug called Cheynus, which was only able to be consumed by people who were given the serum and supposed to be used when the soldiers make their last stand against enemies

Once consumed, Cheynus makes it's user to go into a state of intense and uncontrollable rage by stimulating all the cells in their body, allowing them to fear neither pain nor death. The Odium colors the eyes of the subject in black and black liquid sprouts from the mouth and the eyes of its user. It also provides them with a number of superhuman abilities. Drinking it ends in certain death, as the Odium eventually causes its user's heart to explode.

The Earth Defense Network Project
The Earth Surveillance Network (E.S.N) Project was a project aiming to construct a defensive network of satellites that could track and pinpoint enemy targets with extensive accuracy thanks to new simple-AI based tracking. Utilizing it's AI-based tracking known as the E.D.N Intelligence System, E.D.N.I.S for short, the E.S.N's satellites can effectively track and pinpoint targets very accurately, scouring their traces on digital devices and accounts online before giving away intelligence inside reports. After the satellites send away their intelligence reports to forces on Earth, they allow for pinpointed locations of the enemy.

Additionally, these satellites could work together to pinpoint targets for a array of armed satellites to fire upon and launch missiles at. These satellites, serving as a defense platform, could shoot down incoming missiles and utilize information gained from the E.D.N. Intelligence System to attack targets with extreme accuracy. Called the E.D.N Defense Platform System, E.D.N.D.P.S for short, these satellite arrays of defensive/offensive mechanisms helped defend the Union of America from incoming threats, while also assisting the military operations of the UOA.

Project HOVER
Project HOVER was a development project during the 2170s-2180s that focused on developing hover-propulsion technology for use inside vehicles and other objects. The hover-propulsion engines developed by the project were called the Merlin/HOVER-1 and the HOVER-2, or "Antigrav" engines for short. Merlin engines could allow a craft to hover or fly over the surface of the ground, pushing against it's gravity to produce thrust, in contrast to antigravs, which instead created fields of negative gravity called 'hover fields' which pushed against a planet's natural gravitational field.

Vehicles that utilized hover-engines as their main form of propulsion were known as hovercraft. By hovering across distances, formerly tracked or wheel-equipped vehicle craft such as tanks or motorcycles could travel at exceptionally more maneuverable and faster speeds, giving the Union of America's military the ensured superior advantage of speed when it comes to vehicles such as tanks, motorcycles and hover-copters. Hovercraft could hover across rivers, lakes and other obstacles, eliminating the need for bridges to be built for them. However, the weakness of hovercraft was the fact that they could not be driven across unpredictable or rough terrain, such as fields of large rocks or a ruined battlefield without difficulty crashing into things.

On spaceships, hover-engines were utilized as a second mode of propulsion in use during landings or flight inside atmospheres of planets. These engines were used in many ships of different sizes, from spaceplanes to large battleships. However, aerial vehicles such as hover-copters or sky-taxis used the hover-engine as their main method of propulsion, enabling for more precise, accurate landings and hovering in the air.

The third type of hover-propulsion engine, the HOVER-3, or Recker, were significantly more smaller and miniaturized than their counterparts, being used inside everyday objects such as chairs or speaking platforms. Developed by a government-owned corporation called Recker Technologies, the hover-engine maintained less power and speed than military hover propulsion, enabling it to make less noise and be used inside furniture or be used in civilian vehicles like private jets or commercial spacecraft.