GunRiot

The following is an excerpt from Global Defense, a quarterly magazine offering news and analysis on subjects and trends in weapon technologies, market developments, defense policy, legislation, military budgets, issues affecting the industrial base, and insight geared towards defense professionals in private and government sectors. [Article originally published 4 years ago.]

Two decades ago, Global Defense referred to utanium cores as “the greatest achievement in portable power supplies.” Once hailed as a triumph in technology, the promise of utanium would eventually fall short.

The first and second generation cores lived up to their early reputation—they were durable, reliable, and had enough power to supply an HGS-A1 AirBat. Despite this, initial utanium cores were expensive, making widespread use impractical and leading many to seek out less costly alternatives. By the time third generation utanium cores were produced,  the manufacturing costs had finally dropped, allowing them to be used in a variety of applications.

Unfortunately, this also led to a reduction in quality. Following the second generation utanium cores, cheaper core housings were widely utilized, along with recycled lower-yield utanium. Over the years, this would result in the utanium cores being less effective and potentially unstable. Incidents where the cores melted, or exploded, were documented.

Today, utanium is mostly viewed as a flawed energy source—a victim of cost-cutting practices. Yet, early-generation cores, particularly the first T-98 cores, are still in demand due to their high-performance output and dependability.

GunRiot. Story by Midnight. Art by Kuraikabe1990.