: Interesting.
: So, what do you make of the "Mil-Spec R2 Unit" on the turret? It's
: supposed to be some kind of sensor station. Good position? Bad position?
: Worse than someone who can stick their head out the cupola? The turret is
: shorter than that of the Abrams, but it looks taller too. Is that so they
: can depress the gun further? Are those cans under the front turret some
: kind of TROPHY system?

I think that's a feature that won't be functional until the second trilogy generation of Armata tanks.

: Also, the Russians are talking like the Armata will be wired for war.
: There's even talk of fully robotic versions being produced in the future.
: Is this just salesmanship, or do you think drone escorts are on the way?

The networked components are already a part of many systems worldwide so that's no surprise. The natural progression of technology would push for greater automation leading to unmanned land combat systems. I don't know much about the maturity of unmanned platform in the Russian Armed Forces to say anything more on the matter. But I do have a fun quote that kinda sorta applies!

"The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned? I'll tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot's instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilot's judgment."

: I don't think the absence of an autoloader contributed anywhere near 1% of
: those victories. Training, yes. Doctrine, certainly. Armor design,
: definitely in the medium double-digits. But autoloaders?

Honestly at that point I was just comparing the tanks as a whole instead of boiling it down to auto loaders. I'm sorry for misleading you there. :P

: Gameplay vs. Story. =P

The bane of every Halo story fan's existence.

: I have yet to see Pelicans or frigates facing trouble in transporting them.

Gameplay vs. Story. :P

I would imagine that the atmospheric performance of a Pelican drops ridiculously when they're slugging a Scorpion along. It would probably turn into something like dropping a C-17 on the beaches of Normandy. I'd rely more on Albatross or something like a space-faring LCT that can lift heavy loads into combat without straining itself.

: Heh. My headcanon has already reduced the Warthog and Scorpion's size in all
: dimensions by 15%. Essentially, this scales them to Marines and Army
: Troopers, rather than the Chief.

Do you think they have booster seats for unaugmented Humans?

: For weapons, I'd go with the standard 90mm main cannon, a coaxial 30mm
: autocannon, and two or three independently-targeted MG turrets. Not sure
: about their placement. Smoke/Grenade launchers would be nice, but I don't
: know how well they'd mesh with Halo's gameplay. Drone escorts would be a
: given after Halo 3, when the UNSC has had time to breathe and needs to
: supplement its limited manpower.

I'd use two remote weapons stations for the machine guns. One atop the turret for 360 degree coverage primarily for air defense and the second forward of the cabin for everything else.