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LY10 Bloodhound Light Tank

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Holy Marsh
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Founded: Nov 09, 2007
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

LY10 Bloodhound Light Tank

Postby Holy Marsh » Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:45 pm

LY10 ‘Bloodhound’ Light Tank

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Key Data
Crew: 3 (Driver, Commander, Gunner)
Dimensions
Length (With Gun Forward): 9m
Length (Hull): 6.1m
Height: 2m
Width: 2.8m
Weight: 26 tonnes
Ground Clearance: Variable. Default at 45cm
Performance
Maximum (Governed) Speed: 85kph
Cross Country Speed: 65kph
Speed, 10% Slope: 40kph
Speed, 60% slope: 20kph
Speed, water: 54kph
Acceleration: 0kph to 32 kph in 4.5sec
Range: 480 km (400 km at operational cruising speed)
Manoeuvrability
Vertical Obstacle Crossing: 90cm(36in)
Trench: 2100mm(7ft)
Suspension: Hydropneumatic
Track width: 45cm
Armament
Main Armament: LY415 140mm 30 calibre, ultra-low pressure, rarefaction wave smoothbore (40nds)
Coaxial Weapons: LY60 14.7mm HMG (700 rnds)
Commander's Weapon: 'Acropolis' powered remote rotary platform with LY60 14.7mm HMG (700 rnds)
Additional: 2 x dorsal-lateral grenade launcher racks
Power
Propulsion: LY696, generating 560 HP (747 kW) at 2000RPM.
Transmission: Hydropneumatic automatic transmission (5 fwd gears, 2 rvse)
Power-to-Weight Ratio: 30.77hp/ton
APU: 1 (under armour)
Batteries: 8 x high density Li+ polymer

Armour and Protection
Armour: Titanium, ‘Hauberk' ERA, ‘Acerbitas’ NERA.
Anti-spalling: Dyneema/Resilin
NBC Protection: SCFM, clean cooled air, LYMkII CBRN overpressure system.
Missile Countermeasures: GOLIATH Active Protection System, LA-16 FFR

Background and Conceptualization
As AFV development within the Lyran Protectorate advanced in keeping with known and anticipated threats, the need for a rapidly deployable and highly mobile armoured reconnaissance vehicle and amphibious light tank was realised. The role, previously filled by variants of the LY219 Ironheart AMTV, was determined to be sufficiently important, and requiring of such particular design elements, as to warrant a vehicle specifically built for the purpose. Further, as the Protectorate shifted from a conventional IFV and MBT armoured model to a Light-Medium-Heavy-Assault paradigm, the provision of a ‘light’ component of this spectrum seemed only reasonable. Thus was born the idea and requirement which would come to fruition as the LY10 ‘Bloodhound’ Light Tank.

Shortly after the first submission to the Protectorate Research and Development Commission, it became obvious that currently available materials and technologies would, with adjustment, be able to meet most of the sub-requirements. The advantages of this approach were manifest immediately; development requirements in terms of man-hours would be drastically reduced, and product introduction schedules could be accelerated as a consequence. Elements of AFVs as diverse as the M23 Stingray, Stormer 30 and LY9 have been implemented in the LY10, and the synthesis has thus blended proven technologies with the leading edge of applied force systems to provide reliable and lethal armoured mobility for operation over or in any terrain or environment, with particular reference to the littoral.

The LY10 prototypes were trialled and demonstrated within the Lyran Protectorate, Kingdom of Imbrinium, Holy Marsh and the Federation of Ekraysia, to ensure combat effectiveness across as varied environments as could be reasonably tested. The vehicle’s amphibious capabilities in particular were put through rigorous testing procedures, and careful development and extensive testing was performed at every level, given the Lyran Protectorate’s relative lack of familiarity with this form of littoral warfare.

The LY10 fulfils a variety of military (and/or) peacekeeping functions, providing reconnaissance, fire support, escort, screening, amphibious operational fire support, and support within internal security roles. The fully stabilised, unmanned turret is supplied by the Lyran PR&DC, and is equipped with an unusually high lethality armament for a light tank, by means of the 140mm LY415 30 calibre, low-pressure, rarefaction wave smoothbore, and dual LY60 heavy machine guns. The weapons load out thus provides the LY10 with a nearly unmatched versatility within its role, rendering it capable of engaging threats at all levels of the battlespace.
The Bloodhound can be lifted by CH-53 helicopter, and will fit into a C-130 transport aircraft. It can be moved by commercial truck, on rail flatbed rolling stock, or by an amphibious landing ship. Coupled with the AFV’s amphibious capabilities, the LY10 offers high lethality alongside world-benchmark strategic, tactical and operational mobility.


Main Armament
As is the current Lyran norm, the LY10’s main armament is fitted to an unmanned 360 degree-traverse turret, in a fashion not dissimilar to a very large remote weapon station. The gunner is located in a rotating station, directly below the main gun, and is provided with backup targeting peri-scopes for use if the electronic targeting systems attached to the gunner’s helmet interface fail.

The Bloodhound utilises the purpose-designed LY415 140mm 30 calibre, low-pressure, rarefaction wave smoothbore. The weapon is possessed of an unusual pedigree, stemming from a marriage of several cutting edge technologies. The first conceptual ancestor of the system is the Yanitarian CCA-140 BRETC, which was the first production weapon to feature an ingenious rarefaction wave-based recoil and pressure mitigation system. Aesthetically similar to a recoilless weapon, the principles behind it are not quite the same. Instead of venting propellant gases as they are generated, the weapon opens the breech while the projectile is still travelling down the barrel. This causes a dra-matic drop in chamber pressure as that pressure bleeds off through the open breech. While one would expect that this would compromise projectile acceleration, this is only the case once the front of the pressure loss (rarefaction) wave reaches the projectile. The speed of this wave’s propagation is limited by the speed of sound within the medium. As the speed of sound is lower in a low density gaseous medium than it is in a high density one, this generates an appreciable lag in the time be-tween the chamber venting and the onset of causally linked acceleration and velocity change. In layman’s terms, the propulsion of the projectile can only be compromised after the projectile ‘hears’ the venting. If the projectile has left the muzzle by the time this has taken place, the pressure loss does not negatively impact the projectile at all.
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However, the advantage gained by the implementation of this system stems from the very pronounced drop in chamber pressure, with all its respective advantages, including phenomenally decreased recoil forces (50% of normal), appreciably lower barrel heating (60% of normal) and wear, and reduced muzzle flash and blast. These factors, amongst other things, also enable the main ar-mament assembly to be far lighter than its more conventional equivalents, and it is that lightening of weight of primary armament that was the driving factor in the Lyran Protectorate’s decision to implement rarefaction wave technology on the LY10.
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A 500mm recoil mechanism is also present, and it is the rearward recoil motion that activates the ‘venting’ of the chamber (commencing at about 330mm). A high-efficiency muzzle brake is also fitted, so as to lower the felt recoil forces still further.
The Lyro-Lamonian ‘Theophilus’ based upon the Compact Automatic Loader designed by Meggit Defense Systems, Inc, of Irvine, California. The Meggit system, ground-breaking at the time, included a fully articulated robotic transfer unit, which could support a load rate of 12rpm, and boast-ed a magazine access rate of 15rpm.
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Diagram, Meggit Compact Automatic Loader

Theophilus is very similar to the Meggit design, although rather than making 34 rounds available, the system (due to the larger diameter of the LY415's 140mm rounds) only allows for 20 rounds. As it happens, this has served to accelerate the loading process, even as ammunition available has come down, allowing for burst fire rates of 30.5 rounds per minute (for about 10 seconds), and sustained fire rates of 20.2 rounds per minute. This is partly due to the Meggit design, being as it was intend-ed to slide into an M1 Abrams without impinging upon crew space, presuming the requirement for a loader and gunner in the turret. Theophilus, bereft of such requirements in the Bloodhound (as with the Dire Wolf, which also operates the same loading system), utilises two such-units, thus allowing 40 rounds in total, and allowing for slightly differing layouts to optimise performance. Each sub-unit uses a double-row closed-loop chain of canisters, granting the magazine excellent volumetric storage efficiency. When the gunner selects an ammunition type (using his switch on the control yoke), the nominated round is moved to the blast port by the carousel, whereupon a ram-arm pushes it into the chamber.

Removal of a loaded round is essentially the same process, in reverse, although using a tri-forked extractor, rather than a ram. Theophilus features a full automatic ammunition inventory, and grants very high load speeds, coupled with an exceptional reliability, due to its relatively simple operation.
Made easier by the turret's unmanned design, and in accordance with standing Lyran AFV design philosophy, the autoloader is able to load and extract rounds at any degree of elevation or traverse. Aiming and firing is assisted in operation by the implementation of the Yanitarian YwSCT-500 tur-ret stabiliser, allowing more precise and stable movement, both stationary and while mobile.

Lessons pertaining to operational turn-around time learned from the LY4A1, and applied in the -A2, have been brought over to the LY10, with the Bloodhound’s turret designed to facilitate considerably faster loading. Once the main gun magazine is depleted, the entire turret magazine (consisting of the two separate carousels), can be removed, and a fresh one inserted, a process not dis-similar to changing magazines on a rifle, only on a larger scale. This does require the presence of a dedicated service vehicle, but takes less than 4 minutes. If such a vehicle be unavailable, the system can be reloaded manually/conventionally.
Statistics (LY415):
Weight:
1,560kg Gun barrel,
3,620 kg Gun mount
Barrel length: 4.2m
Caliber: 140mm L/30
Muzzle velocity: 2,570m/s
Range: 8km max @ 30 degrees, 6km Effective
Recoil length: 500mm
Rate of Fire: 30.5 rounds per minute (burst)
20.2 rounds per minute (sustained)
Ready rounds: 40
Variants: LY415


Secondary Armaments
Lyran vehicles, almost universally, are equipped with moderate to heavy secondary armament, and the LY10 is no exception. Due to size constraints, the conventional Lyran coaxial automatic cannon has been removed, and the equally conventional heavy machine gun is now the sole armament mounted coaxially to the main gun. The LY60 heavy machine gun was one of the first weapons designed and produced by Lyras, appearing in both watercooled and aircooled versions. Combat experience demonstrated that the aircooled version was highly suitable for many applications, following a modest increase in the mass of the barrel, and it is in the aircooled version that the LY60 serves today. In AA roles, the LY60 is used on several Lyran AA platforms, and serves as the primary co-axial weapon of the LY2 Mastiff series, and as the secondary coaxial on the LY7. The weapon is a belt fed, short recoil operated, open bolt, fully automatic weapon. Metallic disintegrating link belts can feed it from either the left or right of the reciever. The quick change barrel is removable with the barrel jacket as a unit. The bore is chromium plated to increase barrel life and durability. The weapon fires the the LY112 14.7 x 115mm cartridge. The LY60 has a maximum effective range of 1400m against air targets, and 2200m against ground targets. The standard firing controls consist of a push-type thumb trigger and sear release buttons located between the dual spade grips. Alternatively, an electric trigger can be installed for mounted vehicle applications. The gun is simple in design and rugged in construction, and considered one of the most reliable heavy machine guns in service anywhere in the world.

The LY60 entered mass production as an infantry support weapon, with a tripod mount designed at the Lughenti Test Range. Within three years, the heavy Lughenti Type-I mount was replaced by a lighter design, and it is the Type-II that continues to see service within Lyran infantry formations. Guns produced prior to the arrival of the Type II mount have been retrospectively upgraded.

The infantry version of the LY60, however, had a relatively short primacy within Lyras, being re-placed in numerical majority by the version fielded as primary armament for several LY219 variants. It also finds use in several anti-aircraft roles, alongside the KWF PAK2 25mm cannon.
Very similar to the Soviet-designed KPV, the LY60 provides almost double the muzzle energy of a conventional 12.7mm (ie, .50 caliber) weapon. With muzzle velocities between 960 - 1030 meters per second and bullet weights near 60grams, the LY60 generates muzzle energy of about 32 kilojoules, and, again similarly to the KPV, penetrated over 30mm of steel armor at 500 meters range and approximately 20mm at 1000 meters.

As with the LY9, the commander’s weapon is mounted on the Yanitarian designed 'Acropolis' RWS. The SNMAE made "Acropolis" RWS is an all new design meant to be integrated with existing and future military technology. Also able to accommodate previous generation heavy machine guns such as the EL-1, ML-147, M-2HB, and Kord 14.5mm, the Acropolis consist of three parts, the interface section, the sensor, and the weapon mount.

The sensor suite used on the Bloodhound’s Acropolis mount is the YwVE-33ML which combines day/night infrared sights with laser range finding for land and naval operations, and is much quieter that previous systems, being inaudible from 50m away (and although this seems ridiculous, this is in fact very good). LY4A2 Wolfhound and CA-39MqIX tanks (both AFVs with extremely low detection footprints), the YwVE-33ML has an 8.1km detection range and a 3.1km recognition range, while the laser range finder is typically good up to more than five kilometres, well out of the engagement range of most weapons which would rely on the RWS's sensory capability, rather than the wider platform's. The YwVE-33ML is meant to be used in multiple applications as a standalone system, with the Acropolis simply being the first. The YwVE-33ML, as one would expect, provides data to the vehicle’s Cromwell system. The total system weighs 100kg and is largely made out of titanium in order to save weight.
The Bloodhound, as with nearly every Lyran AFV also mounts two lateral grenade launchers. Each launcher is electronically-fired, and consists of four barrels which can be intermixed with either smoke, fragmentation or chaff grenades. The smoke grenades are capable of shrouding the tank from visual or thermal detection and the chaff grenades are utilised as a means of breaking up the tank's radar cross-section. Both of these measures work most effectively in conjunction with the 'Warshroud' system to maximise operational performance.
Last edited by Holy Marsh on Tue Feb 01, 2022 12:58 pm, edited 4 times in total.

User avatar
Holy Marsh
Negotiator
 
Posts: 5699
Founded: Nov 09, 2007
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

Postby Holy Marsh » Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:50 pm

Armour and Protection
Despite the platform’s considerable emphasis on tactical, operational and strategic mobility, the armour scheme and protection suite have certainly not been overlooked. While conceptually borrowing much from the LY219 Ironheart and Lamonian M23 Zenobia, the Bloodhound seeks to maximise the available protection, while simultaneously ensuring that additional weight beyond the platform’s 26 ton hard ceiling was not breeched. In particular, with reference to conventional AFV anti-armour doctrine, the armour scheme on the LY10 Bloodhound is designed to be effective against CE threats (very few states instruct their personnel to use KE rounds against light armoured vehicles, though the Bloodhound’s advent may change this), small arms and light cannon. Such specialist armour requires specialised materials, even some that people don’t normally associate with armour schemes. Given their recent experiences in the field, the Protectorate Research and Development Commission worked in conjunction with Lyran Arms – Lamoni, and LAIX Arms, in order to generate the most effective and appropriate armour scheme within the parameters provided.
The outer hull of the Bloodhound is composed of Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (aka Ti-10-2-3). This Titanium alloy is normally used on airframes, but offers one of the best mixes of strength vs. toughness. It is a near beta alloy, developed primarily for high-strength applications in the 1241 MPa (180ksi) range. The alloy also possesses the best hot-die forgeability of any commercial titanium alloy, and is suitable for near net-shape forging applications and isothermal forging. Ti-10-2-3 also offers high strength/toughness combinations and is deep-hardenable.

Composition
C
<0.05%
N2 <0.05%
O2 <0.13%
Fe 1.6-2.2%
Al 2.6-3.4%
V 9.0-11.0%
H2 <0.015%
Ti ~ Remainder
Physical Data
Typical
Density g/cm3(lb/cu.in) 4.65 (0.167)
Melting Range °C±15°C (°F) 1649 (3000)
Mean Thermal Exp.Coeff.20-400°C/°C (68-752°F/°F) 9.7x10-6 (5.4)
Beta Transus °C±15°C°(°F) 796 (1465)
Mechanical Data
Minimum Typical
Tensile Strength MPa (ksi) 1241 (180) 1310 (190)
0.2% Proof Stress MPa (ksi) 1104 (160) 1228 (178)
Elastic Modulus GPa (Msi) 103 (15)
Hardness Rockwell C 41
Tensile Strength
0.2% Proof Stress
Elongation over 2 inches

The alloy is welded via laser welding, which offers precise welding, at a faster and more economical pace than other welding methods.
Lamonian innovations in the form of extruded para-organic resilin are also used. Resilin is an elastomeric fibrous compound found within the musculature of insects. To quote Dr Chris Elvin of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation;
“Resilin has evolved over hundreds of millions of years in insects into the most efficient elastic protein known...”
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Resilin shown under UV at 360nm
Using genetically modified E.Coli bacteria, the CSIRO team was able to synthetically generate a soluble resilin protein, based upon the cloning and expression of the first exon of the Drosophila CG15920 gene. By means of a CSIRO-patented process, the resulting resilin rubber was shown to have structurally near-perfect resilience, with a 97 percent post-stress recovery. The next-nearest competitors are synthetic polybutadiene ‘superball’ high resilience rubber (80 per cent) and elastin (90 per cent). The cross-linking process itself is remarkably simple. It needs only three components - the protein, generally lactose, or a near analog, a metal ligand complex, ruthenium in this case, and an electron acceptor. The mixture is then flashed with visible light of 452 nanometers wavelength to form the polymer - within 20 seconds, the proteins will be cross-linked into a matrix with remarkable tensile strength.

Like its Acerbitas (and Acerbitas-B ) cousin, the Resilin used within the Bloodhound’s armour scheme is intended, as with NERA generally, to warp, bend or bulge upon impact. As the plates move, bullets are subjected to transverse and shear forces, diminishing their penetration, and shaped-charge weapons find their plasma jets unable to readily focus on a single area of armour. In the case of segmented projectiles, the transverse forces are less pronounced, compared to unitary variants, but the movement of the plate essentially forces the projectile to penetrate twice, again lowering total impact upon the platform protected.
For anti-spall, a Dyneema/Resilin blend is used, followed by another thinner layer of Ti-10-2-3. While Lyran semi-synthetic anciniform spidersilk was considered, it was judged that the additional 380kg of weight that this would require would not be justified in this particularly weight-sensitive platform.
All of the armour panels can be removed in-toto, allowing for easy maintenance and rapid repair of combat damage. Armour panels themselves consist of all layers detailed above, and, upon removal, each can be separated out further for repair or replacement.
Fireproof armoured bulkheads separate the crew compartment from the engine bay, which itself forms part of the forward passive protection suite, and from the turret. There have been cases were the turret has been blasted clean off the hull of an LY10, and the hull (complete with shaken but unharmed 3-strong crew) has withdrawn.
Fuel and ammunition are located within armoured sub-compartments with integral anti-spalling layers, and those self-same antispalling systems are also used to protect the internals of the crew compartment. The spall lining is also designed to provide a high degree of noise and thermal insula-tion, making the Bloodhound, in keeping with the Lyran norm, extremely quiet internally, analo-gous, to the operators, to a civilian vehicle.
Passive armour is not the sole defensive mechanism employed, however, and the active protection suite utilises all the standard measures implemented on other Lyran AFVs, with particular reference to the GOLIATH II APS.

Its ancestor, the WATCHKEEPER APS, has become one of the most well-known and effective active protection systems available today, owing much of its success to the tremendous export success of the LY4 Wolfhound MBT, LY219 Ironheart series of combat vehicles, and LY6 Werewolf Assault Gun, the former two in particular being some of the most widely exported armoured fighting vehicles in the world. Originally an interim solution by The Free Reich of the People’s Freedom to Lyran requirements for an APS suite, TPF designers, despite the system's success, often continued to think of it in those terms.
Responsible for a great number of saved vehicles, especially amongst the LY219s fighting on the Cancun peninsula during the Mokan Civil War WATCHKEEPER nevertheless proved to have some trouble targeting and destroying multiple threats that originated from greater than 30 degrees elevation. Thus, designers began work on the GOLIATH, which was to be a multi-tiered system that could combat multiple threat natures effectively, quickly, reliably and flexibly.
GOLIATH block II differs from block I in that it detects incoming munitions by any or all of three means of acquisition, rather than the two of its first generation counterpart. One by millimeter wavelength radar (mounted on seven flat-panel antennae with a combined field of 360°/6400mils), the second by LIDAR, and the third by Cromwell-backed IR/TI. This tri-mode sensor input provides a very high degree of redundancy against failures or jamming methods, and has raised reliability against a number of active anti-countermeasure systems. The new system has a total reaction time of 0.35 seconds, an improvement of 0.05 seconds. Every bit counts, and despite the difficulties encountered in generating that slight improvement, the added survivability was deemed worthy of the effort.

The first defensive mechanism GOLIATH employs is a soft-kill suite. The suite includes a number of features designed to confuse or misdirect enemy guided anti-tank systems. Primarily, the system uses the 'Gold' targeting program, interlinked to the databanks of the Cromwell II, which identifies incoming projectiles, classifies and prioritises them for intercept. By way of illustration, the system would engage a Havik or Helios-series weapon, Koronet and Javelin, most likely in that order, while ignoring the three incoming RPGs. In addition, the Gold program automatically deploys applicable alternate counter-measures including IR-suppressant smoke grenades and electro-optical jammers. When painted by laser-based technology, the platform's LWRs relay the position to the Cromwell battlenet, for engagement or neutralisation by whichever force element is in the most optimum position to carry out appropriate action.
In addition to the soft-kill suite, GOLIATH also features an advanced and layered hard-kill suite. The first layer employs four 2.5 inch kinetic kill rockets. These rockets are designed to engage and destroy incoming targets out to 600 meters. This allows the tank to eliminate threats before they become of concern to the shorter ranged systems. The rockets also have an increased proportional effectiveness against air-launched ATGMs.

The second tier of the hard-kill suite is the most widely used system, and consists of four bundles of grenades, each consisting of four grenades a piece. This allows the GOLIATH to engage many multiple targets at the same time, while still providing a firm degree of protective target neutralisation. The second tier system can reach out to just over 100 meters.

The final tier is based more directly on the WATCHKEEPER, and is rarely employed, and generally only in the case of ammunition expenditure in the previous two tiers. The battlespace management system’s fire control computer detects the incoming weapons system and calculates an approach vector. Once the attack is fully classified, the system determines, if required, the best time and angle to fire the 3rd tier of GOLIATH. The response comes from four launchers installed on the vehicle, two on each side of the turret. The launchers can pivot/rotate about both the x and y axis, and can therefore engage targets in any direction that the fire control computer deems necessary. The launchers fire a spread of tungsten balls, similar to the projectiles of an M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel weapon, at the target at ranges out to 25 meters. The system is reloadable and there is a total of eight spreads.

Criticism of the GOLIATH as 'too complex' was readily accepted and acknowledged by the Lyran Research and Development Commission, and steps were taken to mitigate the drawbacks of this. As it happened, the solution was stumbled across, rather than developed, when the newly-distributed photonic-crystalline fiber-optic computational capabilities of the LY9 were seen to make the operation of GOLIATH considerably less problematic. With the LY10 continuing the computational trends established by the LY9 (admittedly to a lesser degree), the complexities of GOLIATH II as a negative are, for the most part, a thing of the past. However, during moments of abnormally high CPU load (more or less only encountered while the FCS is actively attempting to engage targets with the main gun without manual input), there is an appreciable reduction in the GOLIATH response time. Care is encouraged in these circumstances.

In acknowledgement of the increasing lethality of sophisticated anti-tank mines (and even their less-sophisticated improvised cousins), the Bloodhound comes with a very potent suite of anti-mine systems. The Bloodhound’s underside is now armoured, using dual-layered plates of titanium and SiC lattice. The plates are in turn backed up by resilin anti-spalling, providing for an extremely high level of protection against threats originating from these forms of munitions. The chassis is also the second Lyran AFV chassis to feature V-form angled titanium ribbing, designed to channel the blast out and away from the crew compartment. The crew's stations are shock-isolated by standardised high-g-load springs on the underside of their adjustable seats, and the headsets of the crew are designed to cushion the wearer's heads from impact with the internals of the tank, in the advent of underside explosive detonations or impact in general.

Automatic fire suppression systems are activated in the event of fire, and inoperable systems within the platform are cut off from the central power supply until diagnostics confirm their return to operation. This not only lowers the risk of further damage or injury by electrical fire, but also lowers the power drain to the vehicle.


Network, Sensory, and Fire Control
Focused as it is on winning the information war, the LY10 places a high-priority on situational awareness, both within its LOS and immediate surrounds, but also across the battlespace. The vehicle is fitted with a highly extensive sensor suite so as to enable the transmission of as much information as possible into any extant battlenet, while possessing substantial internal (multiple-redundant) computational facilities so as to handle required downloads from that selfsame network.
While designed to slot into any existing battlespace architecture, the LY10 by default utilises the world-benchmark Cromwell II. Cromwell II is an integrated and adaptive battlespace network that maximises combat lethality, performance, and output and enables command and control on an unprecedented scale. Information is sourced not only from multiple sources on the individual platform, but from every Cromwell II equipped friendly vehicle within the battlespace, which provides constant informational updates across a broad spectrum of sources, both known to the operators, and operating below their awareness. With the LY4A2 and LY224, the Cromwell II system began to mature as a force-multiplier, with effectiveness of the system increasingly and exponentially evi-dent to all but the most entrenched detractors. Image and pattern recognition software constantly interfaces with sensory systems (even while the given input is not being examined by crew), and the results both relayed to friendly and superior force elements, and also displayed for action by the vehicle operators.

At the most basic level, the Cromwell II system aims to accelerate engagement cycles and increase operational tempo at all levels of the warfighting system. This acceleration is achieved by providing a mechanism to rapidly gather and distribute targeting information, and rapidly issue directives. Cromwell II's ultra-high speed networking permits almost completely error-free, high integrity transmission in a bare fraction of the time required for voice-based transmission, and permits trans-fer of a wide range of data formats, from a multitude of compatible sources.

Borrowing from fire control measures designed by the Koreans for the K2 Black Panther, and implemented in a host of Lyran and Lyran-allied AFVs, Lyran Arms and the Varessan Common-wealth's VMRDB developed a built-in trigger-delay mechanism. Most earlier platforms can be found to, despite all other fire control methods, miss their target when they fire their gun/s and hit a slight bump at the same time, a problem exacerbated, as would be expected, by movement at high speeds and/or across uneven terrain. The designers of the K2 anticipated this situation, and generated a solution for it by installing a laser emitter-receiver assembly linked to the FCS, a concept that was brought across for implementation in the main gun on the LY7, and is now commonplace on Lyran weapons.
The emitter is fitted near the top of the barrel, with the receiver being placed at the barrel's base. The weapon can only be fired when the laser receiver array is exactly aligned with the emitted laser. To illustrate, if at the point of firing, when the gunner presses the trigger, linked as it is to the fire control system, the vehicle comes upon an irregularity in the terrain at the same moment, the laser will find itself pushed off the receiver by the sudden movement, and the FCS will delay the round's ignition until the beam reorients to the receiver again. As the barrel shakes up and down, the FCS will automatically fire off the gun when the laser finds its mark, and the barrel is judged to be on target. This system, combined with an advanced gyro-stabiliser, static pendulum cant-sensor and powerful fire control system, dramatically improves the vehicle's capacity to engage targets while moving at speed, even across broken terrain.

In case of an emergency, the vehicle can be operated by only two, or even a single, member of its three crew. The FCS can autonomously locate and track visible targets, comparing them both to known hostiles (identified by way of the Cromwell II datalink) or targets established by image recognition (again as available via information uplink), avoid blue-on-blue engagements and fire its main gun without needing any input from a human operator, although the absence of a human operator will adversely affect engagement tempo, and considerably tax computational resources.

The LY10's crew-stations are nearly identical to that of the LY9, and, like it, again borrow extensively from the LY4A2, -6A1 and -7, and utilise a far more advanced and adaptive control interface than that of legacy platforms. The new system integrates the data gathered by the vehicle's external sensors and projects it directly onto the HUD inside the crew's headset-visor, a feature not dissimilar to that utilised in the BALCOTH helmet. As the operator turns his head, the view pans, and the image displayed can be either a direct projection of the terrain and environs, as would be seen with the naked eye were the tank's hull not in the way, or various overlays, magnification and enhancements that can be applied or superimposed to highlight important elements (such as friendly forces), in a fashion not unlike an aircraft's HUD. From this point, either physical or voice activated controls are then used as required. By way of example, the vehicle commander may look left, with the weapon mounted on the commander's weapon station following his movement (if the function is activated). With Cromwell having identified hostile dismounted infantry, the vehicle's commander simply places the targeting reticle (located by default in the centre of his HUD) upon the desired target, and presses the firing stud. Alternatively, he could centre the reticle at a target, and designate it for engagement by the gunner by either voice command or toggle.

Targets can be sequenced for engagement, and the gunner may target and fire in a similar manner using the vehicle's main gun, or the coaxial. The gunner's station is identical to, and interchangeable with, the commander's, and either can take on additional roles if the situation requires. When used in conjunction with Cromwell II, and the new fast-traversing YwSCT-500 stabilised shielded-electric turret, the engagement speeds of the LY10 are more than double that of most international armoured platforms. Traverse speed is very high, allowing near-real-time orientation and lag-free look-shoot capability.

Some issues with platform stability have adjusted the inputs, with the helmet mounted weapon trav-erse only applying when the operator has his ‘enable’ switch depressed. At other times, the crews’ head movement will simply pan the camera-fed images presented to their helmet displays.
Unlike previous Lyran AFVs (save the LY9), the Bloodhound’s computational capabilities are in-ternally disbursed; making use of widely spread individual, multiple-redundant components, con-nected through the use of solid-core photonic-crystalline fiber-optic cabling. Fibers-optics are used instead of more traditional systems as signals travel along them with less loss and allowing for a higher-than-standard bandwidth, and they are also immune to electromagnetic interference. Photon-ic-crystalline fiber optics have in turn been selected due to the improved confinement (and thus loss reduction) of the light which forms the data carriage.
Image
Highly magnified imagery of photonic-crystalline fiber optics. Image courtesy of the United States Naval Research Laboratory

While adding to the cost of the (already expensive) electronics, the presence of such a system allows for greater parallelity, system robustness and combat durability than an equivalent unitary system. Combat damage may slow the system, but is unlikely to completely destroy it, without having destroyed the entire vehicle.
Continuing on a trend in Lyran hardware that was established by the original LY6, the platform's electrics, more specifically the processors, are composed of Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs), rather than silicon-based semiconductors, rendering the vehicle proof against electromagnetic interference or EMP-based attack, although the InGaAs is itself yet another highly expensive addition. Given the ever increasing utilisation of sophisticated electronic and sensory systems, shielding these systems is, now more than ever, deemed a centre of gravity for the platform's protective systems. It was quickly reasoned that when operating in an environment which may include anti-strategic plat-forms such as the LY4032 “Rampart”, the chances of the platform encountering high levels of electromagnetic interference goes up dramatically, and the dangers presented by these and similar munitions far outweighs the relatively modest (though expensive in absolute terms) cost of the implementation of InGaAs components.

The immense potential of this as a feature of military system was demonstrated in spectacular fash-ion during the Stoklomolvi Civil War, when Lyran warships not only saved the lives of countless Stoklomolvi civilians by defending them from nuclear attack on two separate instances, but also then, in both cases, were able to exploit the massive EMP side-effect the 'Rampart' generates in nu-clear defence. The result was a carrier battle group destroyed, to no Lyran loss, save the missiles required to sink them. While not a land-based example, the lesson has been learned, and indium gallium arsenide is set to stay as a standard feature of Lyran combat electronics for the some time to come.

The LY10 also employs standard and integral short-to-medium range fire-finder radar to its repertoire, borrowing again from innovations of the LY4A2 and LY6A, in this case using the Lamonian LA-16 multi-function radar system. The LA-16 takes software and hardware features from the LA-135 Cutlass, British (DRS Technologies) MSTAR, and Chinese SLC-2 firefinder radars. By making hardware and software changes to the LA-135 fire finder radar, LAIX Arms engineers were then able to miniaturise the LA-135 to a size that was workable on the M-21A1 MBT. This new radar was then designated the LA-16. The LA-16 radar can be used in all weather conditions and is a J band doppler radar. The exemplary performance of the LA-16, in a wide variety of combatant roles, lead to its being transferred bodily across to the LY9, and now LY10, where it now comes as stand-ard.

The LA-16 radar weighs 30 kg, and has a maximum effective range of 42 km. The LA-16 can de-tect incoming artillery fire (artillery, rocket, and mortar types), low flying aircraft (fixed wing, heli-copters, UAVs), as well as ground vehicles, and troops. The LA-16 can also observe the fall of shot of friendly artillery systems; thus improving their accuracy. In addition, the LA-16 can be (and is) used as the platform’s radar rangefinder. Concerns raised about the drain the multi-use system plac-es on the vehicle’s computational capabilities did not continue past the implementation of the new computer system, given the very high capacity of the platform’s processing suite. As with the vast majority of active emitters, the LA-16 on the Bloodhound can be set to 'off' if EMCON is a mission or theatre requirement.
The LA-16 has the following detection ranges in ideal conditions:
Maximum Range: 42 km
Walking soldier: 14 km
Small vehicle, most UAVs, fixed wing aircraft, helicopter: 24 km
Conventional MBTs: 42 km
Artillery/MBT's main gun: 30 km (not including Cromwell II connectivity. When factored in, the system can use the round's trajectory to establish position of initial fire accurate to 10 m at ranges of up to 50 km, despite not, technically, having a solid radar fix on the firing platform.)

Another feature new to the LY10 is the provision of a telescoping reconnaissance mast, affixed to the rear of the turret. The mast is topped by a sensor bundle and, when extended, enables the plat-form to remain in cover, and establish or maintain details of its surroundings. This provides a highly useful service, especially when in the van of an advance, or when positioned along a reverse slope, offensively or defensively, considerations particularly relevant to the LY10 in its capacity as a reconnaissance platform.


Propulsion and Mobility
The LY10 is a scant third of the weight of either the LY4 or LY9 series vehicles and, due to this, bodily transfer of existing tank engines was not only impractical, but highly wasteful of available energy, and would have been needlessly taxing on the logistics tail. As a result of this, the Protectorate Research and Development Commission was charged with the production of a new engine that would combine the utility of the engines designed for the LY10’s larger compatriots in the boundaries of the 26 ton chassis. The result was the LY696.
The LY696 is an 8L hybrid-electric opposing-piston multi-fuel hyperbar engine, designed to gener-ate 800 HP (167 kW) at 2000RPM. In most regards it is simply a scaled down version of the LY693 engine fitted to the LY9 Dire Wolf, and maintains the salient features of that platform. There is, however, one primary exception. The LY696 has two modes of operation; a high power mode for planing over the sea, and a low power mode for land travel. To this end, the hull has a bow flap which is hydraulically actuated, designed to aid planing. Under the LY696’s maximum power, the Bloodhound has a maximum waterborne speed of 54 km/h (33.75mph). Shrouded waterjet propul-sors are fitted to both sides of the hull in recessed ports, and generate in excess of 2850 hp. To aid in waterborne mobility, hydraulically actuated chines can be deployed to cover the tracks, and also to adjust the base of the Bloodhound’s hull, with the v-shaped anti-mine layout being unsuitable for planing over the water.
Maintenance on the LY696 engine is slightly more complex than on legacy systems, but the total package, while unchanged in power output, is lighter, more compact, quieter and provides available power faster and more efficiently than conventional diesels.
Banks of additional high-energy density lithium ion polymer batteries fill the space created by shift-ing from the V-form layout to the more-unusual opposing piston format. These batteries are re-charged from the main engine during normal operation, but lend current and endurance to the sys-tem, and bolster the combat-persistence of the APU.

As with the LY693 engine of the LY9, the LY696 engine uses an electric transmission system, where the drive shafts have been replaced by cable and the power is transferred by cable through-put, which delivers a number of advantages, including volume efficiency, very high fuel efficiency, faster delivery of low-end torque (a key feature in the engine’s viability), reduced lifecycle costs, and reduced environmental impacts.
The electric drive has also greatly improved low observability characteristics in terms of thermal and acoustic signatures as well as low visual and radar signatures, although the latter two detection criteria are very much more a function of hull form than engine.
Once the LY4A2's systems were brought to maturity, the suspension systems, although less of them than were seen on the Wolfhound, were brought across bodily. The suspension is mounted on the underframe and not on the side frames, so that the suspension is separated from the hull. A result of using a decoupled suspension in conjunction with the resilin spall liners and quieter engine is that the internal noise level is as low as 68 dB which is well below civilian vehicle noise acceptability standards, and a new benchmark for Lyran AFVs.

The final drives are connected by a cross-shaft which gives higher power efficiency in turning manoeuvres by transferring the power regenerated at the inner track during a turn to the outer track.
The engine is, like its predecessors, linked to the Cromwell system, which keeps track of the temperatures of each individual segment of the engine, and both monitors and records engine stresses. The system then notifies both the operators and higher command when replacement or repair is required for components, as well as when the engine or parts of it are coming due for routine maintenance. This contributes to greatly reduced attrition, and total combat readiness is markedly im-proved as a result, while lowering maintenance workloads. The Cromwell system is also responsible for monitoring the active cooling of the vehicle's exhaust, as a means of reducing the vehicle's thermal signature, further enhancing the vehicle's low observability characteristics.

The entire assembly is, as per existing standards, also fitted with deployable sand filters for use in high-sand environments, such as deserts or certain parts of the littoral. The new engine is, however, less susceptible to damage of this nature than its predecessors.
Rear-vision manoeuvring cameras also come as standard, a factor which in close country or urban environments, has, in other vehicles, prevented a tremendous number of accidents and eased the psychological load on personnel responsible for moving the vehicles in less-than-optimal conditions. With the BALCOTH-type interface, however, this has become less important, but serves as a backup nonetheless, operable in the advent of combat damage or similar.

Tracks are skirted, as is the case for most Lyran-designed AFVs, to increase resilience to battle damage, and have seven road wheels and two drive rollers, with only the rear roller on each side partially unshrouded. This skirting also, as it happens, tremendously reduces the amount of dust and/or debris thrown up by the vehicle, which dramatically lowers its detection footprint in many conditions. Unlike previous Lyran AFVs, however, the tracks are titanium, being, as covered previ-ously, both lighter and stronger than their steel equivalent.
They are, in turn, provided with resilin padding by default (an expensive measure, unfortunately), which serves to lower their acoustic footprint. The resilin itself never lasts as long as the tracks themselves do, but they’re handy to have while they are around, provide excellent traction, lower damage on the terrain over which the vehicle drives, and which dramatically lowers the platform's acoustic signature.
Last edited by Holy Marsh on Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:03 am, edited 2 times in total.

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Holy Marsh
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Posts: 5699
Founded: Nov 09, 2007
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

Postby Holy Marsh » Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:52 pm

Signature Reduction
The original LY7, upon its inception, represented a tremendous decrease in the observability characteristics of AFVs. Detection ranges for stationary LY7s were 15% that of LY4A1s, and still lower in relation to most competing non-Lyran platforms. The LY4A2, the upgrade from the LY4A1, continued on this pattern, and when even the behemoth LY6A1 had a smaller detection footprint than most non-Lyran AFVs (despite their being barely 60% of the LY6's weight), the suc-cess of the signature reduction measures was put beyond doubt. The Bloodhound steps into this tra-dition and experience and builds upon it still further, to deliver the LY10 a phenomenally reduced detection footprint and the proportional increase in survivability and lethality. The signature reduction techniques are employed to minimise detectability by radar, infra-red, direct line-of-sight observation, magnetic and acoustic means. Given the relatively lower armour protection of the LY10, these signature reduction methods are of proportionally higher value than those put into place for other Lyran AFVs.

The first method by which the detection signature is reduced is through use of the Lyran-designed and manufactured 'Warshroud' advanced multi-spectral camouflage netting system. Based heavily on the Ukrainian 'Kontrast', 'Warshroud' dramatically reduces the detection ranges against known radar, infra-red and visible-band methods. The 'Kontrast' system was developed at the Institute of Automated Systems in late 2002, and was designed to address a notable and growing problem. High-potency modern weapons are able to engage ground vehicles at any angle, from great ranges, by day or by night, irrespective of weather, and with a potency that was becoming increasingly dif-ficult to counter. The Institute's researchers faced a real challenge and, moreover, it was decided to develop a single solution, one that would take into account all noted factors and be implemented within the weight and size limitations.
In approaching this task specialists at the Institute of Automated Systems decided to proceed from the key idea behind the design of high precision weapons. High-precision, high-lethality systems universally require integration with means of detection, which of necessity requires the design of sensor sets and target locators, and the implementation of effective scanning capabilities across several adjacent or near-adjacent visible and invisible spectra, including visible light, close and long infra-red waves, and laser scans(in the infrared, millimeter and centimeter wave bands).

The developers of Kontrast took an ordinary camouflage net as the base and, utilising the latest technological innovations, turned it into a new generation signature-reduction product to combat the sophistication of modern radar systems and other contemporary military reconnaissance means. The result was the development of a surprisingly effective solution.
Developed countries traditionally have utilised a wide variety of signature reduction technologies, many of which include various after-manufacture coatings. The technical requirements of such coating are very high - their reflection capacity must be below 20 dB in a wide range of bands. This factor forced the Ukrainian – and later Lyran – research teams to examine new physical methods for reducing or amplifying reflection of radar waves to achieve effective electromagnetic concealment. With this goal in mind, the 'Kontrast' developers tried to find materials with absorptive and reflective characteristics for attenuating and amplifying electromagnetic waves. Experiments generated a series of composite materials with superb characteristics for greatly diminishing the wave reflection contrast between the protected object and its background.

'Kontrast' simultaneously employed both absorption and targeted reflection of electromagnetic waves. The array of material used within the netting the product, each of which featured at least one of the said qualities, allowed protection from a great range of known target location means. 'Kontrast' tests have repeatedly shown its superiority across a wide range of battlefield conditions to analogues from Sweden and Britain, whether the concealed unit is moving or stationary.
'Warshroud' built on 'Kontrast' by the integration of signature reduction techniques in the IR spectrum pioneered by the LDPCU multi-spectral camouflage. The resultant product takes nearly twice as long to produce, due to the difficulty in applying a coating (which had been done away with under 'Kontrast') to the camouflage netting. Attempts are being made to shorten the 'Warshroud' manufacturing process, but it is somewhat of a moot point. Production as it stands is more than capable of keeping up with the manufacture of the vehicles utilising 'Warshroud'. The system's visible suppression includes, as with most camouflage nets, terrain-appropriate textile strips, which are soaked in a dielectric polymer that can absorb and scatter electromagnetic waves. The textile pieces are made of non-reactive, radar transparent fabric. 'Warshroud II', the successor to the original 'Warshroud', differs only slightly, with semi-synthetic anciniform spidersilk being interwoven into the textile strips, providing considerably higher durability in all conditions. For the LY10, 'Warshroud III' is utilised, featuring spidersilk not only for the interweave, but also for the netting upon which the textile strips are attached. This has been selected to ensure optimum service life for the shroud, and reduce the incidence of reduced signature reduction due to environmental ablation.

In 2002, tests run using 'Kontrast' on a T-84 determined that the ability of hostile weapons to lock onto a vehicle dropped a remarkable nine-fold compared to an unshrouded vehicle. It was further established that T-84 MBTs fielding 'Kontrast' dropped out of visibility range of viewing devices at distances over and including 500m. Given that ‘Warshroud’ is an improvement upon ‘Kontrast’, and given that the LY10 is 26 tons (about half the weight of a T-84), the visibility ranges for LY10s attempting to remain hidden are very short indeed.
'Warshroud', and its 'Warshroud II and -III' descendants built on this performance, with additional substantial reduction in detectability of targets in infra-red, radio-thermal and radio wave bands. Improvements in synthetic and parasynthetic textiles have also reduced the inherent radar return in the material which binds the net together, along all detection envelopes.

'Warshroud' has repeatedly demonstrated excellent resistance to various external factors while keeping its camouflaging characteristics intact – a factor very quickly determined to be a critical capability of the system. Tests had tanks equipped with a 'Warshroud' run at their tops speeds in off-road conditions, in woods and deserts, while similarly equipped IFVs conducted amphibious landings. In all cases, the signature reduction capabilities of the equipment were unreduced to any appreciable degree. All elements of 'Warshroud' are resistant to fuels, lubricants (gasoline, diesel fuel, lube oil) and detergents. Furthermore, spinning off from research conducted into the LDPCU once again, the shroud is made of self-extinguishing materials, ensuring that flames cease to burn free of subsequent glowing, once the fire source is removed.
'Warshroud' itself consists of a number of modular components that can be put together to create a masking surface of any size and shape, with colours matching any field environment in any season.
All Lyran legacy AFV stocks have been retrospectively fitted with 'Warshroud', as a means of contributing to the ongoing attempts to reduce detection footprints across all relevant bands.

The second primary means of signature reduction is focused on the engine and drive systems of the tank. While already alluded to above in the analysis of the platform's propulsion and mobility, relevant points will be reiterated here for ease of reference.
The vehicle's electric drive differs from conventional AFV drive system arrangements by utilising a hybrid powerplant. This essentially means that the engine generates electric power which in turn powers the batteries which propel the vehicle. The electric drive, has, importantly, implemented a suite of features designed to mitigate its detectability, both acoustically and thermally. The LY10 has benefitted from research conducted during the LY9 program, and it improves on the all previ-ous performance in this regard, not only by the presence of the greatly increased battery capacity compared to the LY7, but also providing acoustic insulation by the specially designed engine bay, and coupling this with the obvious utility that stems from being a scant third of the weight of the LY9.

As with a number of earlier marks of AFV, the decoupled suspension is separated from the hull, and similarly separated from the final section which turns the drive wheels, a factor which considerably lowers audibility in itself.
Acoustically, the LY10 has pushed below the LY9, which was itself a new benchmark in low observability, thanks to the utilisation of its ultra-quiet engine and new engine bay. The hyperbar's intrinsically lower acoustic signature had been a consideration in its selection, and made the 81.2 ton tank exceptionally quiet. The 26 ton LY10 follows along a similar paradigm, pushing acoustic de-tection ranges still lower, making it perhaps the least acoustically observable AFV in its class. By utilising the Cromwell system to actively monitor the engine and propulsion systems, the crew are able to remain constantly aware of the amount of noise being generated, and also the amount of heat being radiated.
When this is taken in conjunction with 'Warshroud III', the thermal and IR footprint of the LY10 is barely more than that of a well-muffled 5-ton truck.


Crew Amnesties
As with prior AFVs, the Bloodhound contains a drink point, providing hot water, cold water, and with two further compartments that can be filled with hot or cold drinks of the crew or unit's choice. As well as being morale boosting, hot water in particular can be of direct military value, with it being used to brew tea or coffee, produce other hot beverages and, most importantly, it is used for dehydrated ration packs common to many armies and armed services.
Situated immediately below the drink point is a small bar fridge, which can either carry spare rations, 'jack' rations, or approximately two cases of soft-drinks or equivalent a feature that is un-changed from the LY4A2, including the fact that the same system that cools the fridge also serves to cool the central processing units for the vehicle's computer systems. The only difference is one of size... slightly larger to accommodate some of the needs of the accompanying infantry, and still larger again should the platform be configured as a medical vehicle.

The NBC system follows Lyran standard, and features quite adequately as a climate control system, making for working temperatures easily adjustable to every national or personal need (operating temperature range -40C to 55C). The Bloodhound represents an upgrade in capability over the previous generation of vehicles, in this regard, as each crew member is now able to control the operat-ing temperatures of their own console area, individually. Automatically engaging overpressure systems are a new feature, designed to enable the vehicle to be opened in hostile environs without compromising the internal atmosphere. The NBC system can be removed and/or replaced with alternate systems, should the operating entity so desire. Drop-down oxygen masks enable the dis-mounts to keep breathing, in the advent that the internal fire-suppression system is engaged to com-bat fire within the crew compartment.
Seat warmers/coolers are also fitted, to ensure greater comfort and optimise combat endurance and deployability of both crew and personnel being transported. The seats can also be adjusted, manual-ly or electronically, to ensure optimum comfort and control access for any shape or size, in a way not dissimilar to that which is available on a number of civilian luxury cars. Each seat, as indicated previously, is also shock-isolated from the hull, mitigating the felt effects of impacts, particularly those originating from underneath the vehicle. It also, as it happens, provides for a far more comfortable ride, improving crew endurance considerably.

Each crew station is provided with a weapons rack, designed to accommodate a carbine-sized weapon, and approximately six 30-round magazines (measured to standard 6.5x45mm). In the ad-vent of the tank's being disabled, the crew are thus able to defend themselves. This feature was included in no small part due to Lyran law holding it to be illegal to be outside one's residence with-out a weapon within arm's reach... a law which many armoured personnel had breached on a regular basis, but no longer. The rack-slot can be fitted with any number of actual racks, so as to cater for any weapon the end-user requires, ranging from handguns through PDWs to rifles.
As standard the platform is fitted with integral high-speed wireless (satellite) broadband internet connections, allowing the crew to surf the internet, check their emails, or correspond with family. It is worth noting, however, that personnel surfing the net while on the move or on duty (and especial-ly in combat) is to be strongly discouraged, and some tank commanders within relevant units have taken to locking the system, such that only they can allow access, an adjustment that has met with great success.

The provision of insulated external connections allows accompanying or transported personnel to simply plug in to the side of the vehicle, and then they to can go online. Vehicles with this feature, a very high proportion of the Lyran arsenal, are invariably popular with the units that field them, or are attached to them, as they not only ensure vastly improved intimate fire support, but also mean that personnel are going to get, hot (or cold) drinks, snacks and a way to talk to home, all of which ensures dramatically higher morale and the notably higher performance that such morale generates.
A telephone system and loudspeakers on the outside of the vehicle allows any of the vehicle's crew to make themselves heard by non-networked personnel, externally. This is particularly useful when addressing attached militia forces, calling for the surrender of nearby enemy or liaising with infantry otherwise bereft of easy access to the comms-net. Note, use of the telephone headset does not have to be in conjunction with the loudspeakers, and the two can be used independently. For example, a vehicle commander could use the loudspeakers to call over the infantry section commander to whom his vehicle is attached, and then converse over the phone.


Export
The LY10, while possessed of many articles of advanced technology, is an open sale platform. The Bloodhound is therefore available to any entity recognised by the Lyran Protectorate, or its affili-ates. States belonging to the Bredubar Covenant are entitled to DPRs free of charge. States signato-ry to the Bredubar Covenant are entitled to a 50% discount on prices indicated below. Executive Command retains oversight, however, and the Lyran Governmental Trade Department reserves the right to refuse sales.
Upon purchase of an LY10, the purchaser is also entitled to the following:
DPR to the LY60 14.7mm HMG for use with that vehicle only
DPR to the LY415 140mm RAVEN weapon, for use with that vehicle only
DPR to 'Warshroud', I, II and III, for use on the LY10 only
DPR to the LY696 engine and associated components, for use on the LY10 only
DPR to stocks, spare parts, ammunition and resupply examples of the above, to maintain suitable reserves and hardware redundancy, for use with the LY10 only
Prices for export start at NS $9,000,000 per unit. Production licenses (for accepted states only)are available through negotiations with theLyran Governmental Trade Department, and are expected to go for around NS$70bn. If these prices are prohibitive, please make this fact known, so that assistive arrangements can be made.
Last edited by Holy Marsh on Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:14 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Icrum
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Founded: Oct 14, 2014
Democratic Socialists

Postby Icrum » Wed Nov 26, 2014 11:54 pm

How much for 4?
Some kind of dessert involving ice cream, hard liquor, and a blow torch
Main wrote:A petition to redesign the flag incites violent riots that eventually destroy the entire nation.

-Ebola- wrote:I don't want to kill you all. I want primates, humans included, to stay around so my descendants will have the same variety of hosts to choose from as I do.

Washington Resistance Army wrote:Not being able to buy an AR most certainly is a travesty.

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Holy Marsh
Negotiator
 
Posts: 5699
Founded: Nov 09, 2007
Inoffensive Centrist Democracy

Postby Holy Marsh » Thu Nov 27, 2014 12:14 am

OOC- The LY10 is sold at Lyran Arms. Orders are handled there.:)


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