| The current cutting edge in Southern Gear design, the Black Mamba is a relatively recent model that has nonetheless had a serious impact on the Terranovan military scene. The Mambais the most obvious result of the modernization program that swept the Southern military just before the War of the Alliance, when it was becoming clear that the North had established a technological edge. The Jaguar commando/general-purpose Gear was especially worrisome, particularly after Southern forces worked with them during the war against the Colonial Expeditionary Force. When these units and their crews returned North after the war, Southern commanders knew well that they could be used quite effectively against Southern targets and production was increased on the Black Mamba.
The units that have received it have given the Black Mamba rave reviews. A truly advanced machine, it has proven suitable for a wide variety of mission profiles. Commando operations (including paratrooper missions) have become the Mamba's forte and it has been involved in a large number of surgical strikes carried out across the Badlands against Saragossan rebels and -- according to intelligence reports -- selected Northern targets. The basic chassis of the Mamba has become the darlking of the South's military designers and has spawned several important variants. The shadowy compounds of the Territorial Arms Skunk Works are rumored to have dedicated most of their energy to developing yet more deadly Mambas. The reduced rear armor of the Gear has been seen as a major flaw by several pilots and a few variants have incorporated makeshift solutions to the problem. Republican military strategy tends to assume an aggressive stance that would put the Mamba on the offensive, supported by fire support units if necessary. Gear pilots in both the Republican army and the MILICIA have made quiet requests that the so-called "glass back" be fixed, but TA has only done so in the stealth/sniper Snakeye BM variant.
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