| The Chameleon was deveoped in the aftermath of the War of the Alliance as part of the Southern push to bridge the technological gap opened up by the North in the previous decade. During the conflict, Southern commanders saw Northern stealth Gears like the Black Cat and the then-experimental Panther in action. Although they were happy to have stealth units deployed during the war, Republican leaders understood that they could just as easily be turned against them and were determined to match the North Gear for Gear. Territorial Arms Skunk Works was contracted to produce two stealth Gears in the TN 1920s and the Chameleon was the first to reach the battlefield. The Snakeye Black Mamba would soon follow.
As the name indicates, the Chameleon is a unit designed especially to "disappear," blending in with its surroudings. At first glance, the Chameleon looks simply like a modified Iguana with slightly more glocky armor plates. This impression soon vanishes when the advanced electronic modules and the interior of the machine's cockpit are examined. While the Territorial Arms Iguana did provide the basic model for the Chameleon, very few, if any, components remain the same. The Gear's instrumentation has been updated ot the new generation of Virtual Reality Heads Up Display (VRHUD) system, and the Skunk Works reportedly commissioned a low-emission version of the Obelisk Electronics MERIT sensor and communications suite designed for the Iguana, but the details of its manufacture and capabilities remain classified. Just like its larger brother, the Snakeye BM, the Chameleon is powered by a gas turbine engine linked to an electric generator and a super-conducting battery. This system enables the pilot to switch from turbine to battery when passing from standard to silent -- or "whisper" -- mode. The machine's skin is covered with a black, rubber-like polymer glazing that absorbs both sound and light. The Chameleon's weapons are specially modified versions of the standard Iguana weapons payload, consisting of a TASW-15 pack gun and a Vogel-6 STL rocket pod.
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