| For the greatest part of the history of the Gear, starting with the venerable Jager Paratrooper, the Southern military has only used general model type machines in their commando and paratrooper units. The Iguana, the South's standard scout Gear for the last 50 cycles, was a good candidate for a paratrooper, however. It had good armor for its size, and was fast and very manueverable. It was also small (4.1 meters tall, 5 tons) and its tough composite/metallic frame, as well as its high-strength suspension system, made it a natural for operations requiring an airdrop. The Iguana also comes equipped with a vast array of sensors, communications gear, and ECM pods. Thus, it took only ten cycles for a dedicated paratrooper variant of the Iguana to be born. A reinforced rack was installed on the back for a parachute, with airbrakes on the external lower legs to slow down the machine's descent during the last phase of the drop. External padding and crashbars were also added onto the torso, shoulders, lower legs, and feet. The cockpit was slightly modified to better absorb the shock of landing, while the suspension system was recalibrated and reinforced. The armor and sensors remained the same as those in the standard model. The armament was completely changed to suit the machine's new operational role. The standard MGPU-22 pack gun was replaced by the AK-67 Paratroop rifle, a specialized light grenade launcher combined with a 20mm autocannon -- the standard weapon of the Jager paratrooper. Some pilots sometimes carry a Riotmaster frag cannon instead of a PAratroop rifle, but its ammunition is very limited.
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