Bamides

The Bamides is an unusual fourth generation Knightmare frame developed by the Middle Eastern Federation in order to combat against the Holy Britannian Empire.

Design and Specifications
The Bamides' design is highly unconventional as far as Knightmare Frames go: it has no limbs to speak of, save for three tripod-like legs and an elevated "shoulder" area. Its legs are equipped with hover engines or Sand Panels instead of Landspinners, which grant improved traction over the desert sands. It is also much larger than a Sutherland or Gloucester, requiring a large crew to operate it. Its configuration gives it fairly good speed compared to more traditional Knightmares, but the large size and lack of maneuverability make it an easy target for higher generation Knightmare frames.

Despite their shortcomings, the Bamides still have superiority in long-range combat and can destroy a Britannian tank with one shot due their greater firepower and firing range. It is also heavily armored, capable of surviving direct hits from the aforesaid tanks and most other armored-fighting vehicles, as well as small-arms fire. Nevertheless, its focus on long range combat means that it has no weapons to engage in close combat with other than its Machine guns. The long stretches of sand in the Arabian desert is where the Bamides is most deadly, as it can pick off enemies from long range, while floating silently over the sand and rough terrain(s).

Its main weapons include two packs of missile launchers on the shoulders that can carry between six to twelve missiles each, two side-mounted machine guns (one of them is designed for anti-personnel combat, while the other is to target other soft-armored vehicles/installations), and a long-range cannon (designed primarily to target any hard-armored vehicles/installations) mounted directly below the head.

Operational History
The Bamides made its first appearance in the The Princess and the Witch, where they fought and nearly defeated a division of Britannians. They were destroyed in short order by a group of Gloucesters, lead by Princess Cornelia, who went on to destroy the base that they were defending. During the attack, Andreas Darlton dismissed the Bamides as a "shoddy, oversize imitation Knightmare."