NS Military Worldbuilding Thread No. 12

[Austria-Bohemia-Hungary]

some french nonsense im keeping on an NS account because fandom.com is being gay

[The Corparation]

Few pranks are funnier than crippling an opponents critical infrastructure with ransomware.

Me omw to dataworm all my enemies software aboard their ship, making their "modern" radar systems, and "Modern" electronic warefare systems and reactor controls stop working.
(Dataworm is a virus in my canon that basically fucking deletes all functional data and replaces it with massive, randomly generated ASCII characters, it runs even after the UI crashes, and makes basically any hardware system utilizing software, no matter how advanced, impossible to reboot because it crashes trying to load when doing so.)

There are much, much, much more funny things you can do if you have that sort of access to a warship's internal networks than crashing/corrupting data.

[Gonswanza]

Few pranks are funnier than crippling an opponents critical infrastructure with ransomware.

Me omw to dataworm all my enemies software aboard their ship, making their "modern" radar systems, and "Modern" electronic warefare systems and reactor controls stop working.
(Dataworm is a virus in my canon that basically fucking deletes all functional data and replaces it with massive, randomly generated ASCII characters, it runs even after the UI crashes, and makes basically any hardware system utilizing software, no matter how advanced, impossible to reboot because it crashes trying to load when doing so.)

Kid named (literal) airgap:

[Weltkria]

Me omw to dataworm all my enemies software aboard their ship, making their "modern" radar systems, and "Modern" electronic warefare systems and reactor controls stop working.
(Dataworm is a virus in my canon that basically fucking deletes all functional data and replaces it with massive, randomly generated ASCII characters, it runs even after the UI crashes, and makes basically any hardware system utilizing software, no matter how advanced, impossible to reboot because it crashes trying to load when doing so.)

There are much, much, much more funny things you can do if you have that sort of access to a warship's internal networks than crashing/corrupting data.

Huh, why are there 3,000 incoming missiles?

Wait, why is my RADAR console showing up as a massive cat?

What the hell is up with our VLS cells? Is that a harpoon launch? Did that just do a 180 and... RUN!

but seriously, I doubt any competent navy would connect their critical systems to the public internet
doing that is begging for a cyberattack

[Gonswanza]

There are much, much, much more funny things you can do if you have that sort of access to a warship's internal networks than crashing/corrupting data.

Huh, why are there 3,000 incoming missiles?

Wait, why is my RADAR console showing up as a massive cat?

What the hell is up with our VLS cells? Is that a harpoon launch? Did that just do a 180 and... RUN!

but seriously, I doubt any competent navy would connect their critical systems to the public internet
doing that is begging for a cyberattack

It would require several men on the inside and plenty of knowledge of internal systems security. Even then they are very likely going to be caught anyway... Its not really worth it when a torpedo is more cost effective and immediate.

[Gallia-]

There are much, much, much more funny things you can do if you have that sort of access to a warship's internal networks than crashing/corrupting data.

Huh, why are there 3,000 incoming missiles?

Wait, why is my RADAR console showing up as a massive cat?

What the hell is up with our VLS cells? Is that a harpoon launch? Did that just do a 180 and... RUN!

but seriously, I doubt any competent navy would connect their critical systems to the public internet
doing that is begging for a cyberattack

usn: <about to go crazy with the OTA starlink updates to aegis firmware>

[The Corparation]

Huh, why are there 3,000 incoming missiles?

Wait, why is my RADAR console showing up as a massive cat?

What the hell is up with our VLS cells? Is that a harpoon launch? Did that just do a 180 and... RUN!

but seriously, I doubt any competent navy would connect their critical systems to the public internet
doing that is begging for a cyberattack

usn: <about to go crazy with the OTA starlink updates to aegis firmware>

I don't think updates to the Combat System are going to happen anytime soon. Partly because it can take literal decades to fully roll new capabilities out*, partly because it makes the cyber people rage and partly because there's no way the people who currently install software updates will ever give up their all expenses paid trips to Japan / Hawaii (They will however gladly give up any trips to Norfolk). They are trialing OTA updates with other systems right now but the dream of "Compile to Combat in 24 Hours" is unlikely to hit the most critical systems anytime. I have a lot of strong opinions/thoughts about this topic that I am sadly unable to share.


*(This is not an exaggeration.)

[Janpia]

Wonder if I can post my tanks here, including the writeup and statblock and see if its good or not. Seeing SRoM

[Gallia-]

usn: <about to go crazy with the OTA starlink updates to aegis firmware>

I don't think updates to the Combat System are going to happen anytime soon. Partly because it can take literal decades to fully roll new capabilities out*, partly because it makes the cyber people rage and partly because there's no way the people who currently install software updates will ever give up their all expenses paid trips to Japan / Hawaii (They will however gladly give up any trips to Norfolk). They are trialing OTA updates with other systems right now but the dream of "Compile to Combat in 24 Hours" is unlikely to hit the most critical systems anytime. I have a lot of strong opinions/thoughts about this topic that I am sadly unable to share.


*(This is not an exaggeration.)

idc you said it once in passing and it made me reflexively flinch from like 11 motor neuron strands at once

it's canon us navy lore now o>

[Cossack Peoples]

. . . but as an actual prompt, how should 'heavy' (e.g. armored / penetration, '''shock''') divisions be constituted in today's combat environment?

Would increased dispersion (as a defense against long range strikes, like ballistics) affect the overall structure of things? Would an organization focused on this emphasize armor to the extent previous formations have, or is operational penetration dependent on other factors? Or would a heavy formation just be throwing more mass under the division echelon in order to concentrate forces at a given area better?

Bringing up this question again.

[Danternoust]

. . . but as an actual prompt, how should 'heavy' (e.g. armored / penetration, '''shock''') divisions be constituted in today's combat environment?

Would increased dispersion (as a defense against long range strikes, like ballistics) affect the overall structure of things? Would an organization focused on this emphasize armor to the extent previous formations have, or is operational penetration dependent on other factors? Or would a heavy formation just be throwing more mass under the division echelon in order to concentrate forces at a given area better?

Unfortunately political considerations predominate: border skirmishes will be bogged down in international negotiations on artillery usage and caliber. Dispersion is a good point, forget the precise term, but the depth of the front lines could approximate the combat range of the armored vehicle, making logistics terrible for peer competitors acting unrestrained.

Then there are lolwut moments of history when Green Men take over Crimea as if it was the Falkland Islands and western intelligence forgets to warn the Ukrainians of military buildups in the region.

[Kazarogkai]

Bit of a zany question: Submarine Aircraft Carriers

Assuming one decided to commit themselves to this route for whatever reason some questions on their potential applications. For now well call them Ghost Ships for short and assume a few details. Specifically in terms of the Ghost ship in questions specks.

A Were operating with a ship roughly the same, if not a little larger than a russian typhoon class sub powered via Nuclear energy made sometime in the 70-80s.

B Capacity would consist of of 12 Special designed fighter-bombers, roughly sea harriet sized plus or minus.

C The a aforementioned will be designed to be launched vertically one by one from a purpose designed catapult mounted near the top front of the sub. Landing by contrast will be performed via Water Landing with said Fighter-Bombers purpose designed to swim back to the Ghost Ship into a separate chamber from that used to launch. Aka two separate chambers, one for launching one for landing/picking-up. The former operates like a modified conveyer, the latter more like a small warehouse. Both operations of course require the Ghost Ship to surface.

Now going from there my question is such. Assuming one wanted to in addition to its regular role wanted to use the ghost ship in question as a short range troop carrier; How many men could in theory fit in the second warehouse/landing chamber? Keep in mind we're looking at something that can comfortably hold 12 full sized carrier jets and their crews, both pilot and maintenance. I figure such a feature would improve said Ghost Ships potential roles and applications for sea invasions. I figure something that can launch 12 planes while dispatching maybe a company's worth of Marines would be quite useful in specific circumstances.

[Cossack Peoples]

Bit of a zany question: Submarine Aircraft Carriers

Assuming one decided to commit themselves to this route for whatever reason some questions on their potential applications. For now well call them Ghost Ships for short and assume a few details. Specifically in terms of the Ghost ship in questions specks.

A Were operating with a ship roughly the same, if not a little larger than a russian typhoon class sub powered via Nuclear energy made sometime in the 70-80s.

B Capacity would consist of of 12 Special designed fighter-bombers, roughly sea harriet sized plus or minus.

C The a aforementioned will be designed to be launched vertically one by one from a purpose designed catapult mounted near the top front of the sub. Landing by contrast will be performed via Water Landing with said Fighter-Bombers purpose designed to swim back to the Ghost Ship into a separate chamber from that used to launch. Aka two separate chambers, one for launching one for landing/picking-up. The former operates like a modified conveyer, the latter more like a small warehouse. Both operations of course require the Ghost Ship to surface.

Now going from there my question is such. Assuming one wanted to in addition to its regular role wanted to use the ghost ship in question as a short range troop carrier; How many men could in theory fit in the second warehouse/landing chamber? Keep in mind we're looking at something that can comfortably hold 12 full sized carrier jets and their crews, both pilot and maintenance. I figure such a feature would improve said Ghost Ships potential roles and applications for sea invasions. I figure something that can launch 12 planes while dispatching maybe a company's worth of Marines would be quite useful in specific circumstances.

A submarine that has to remain surfaced for prolonged periods of time to launch and recover aircraft is not a good submarine, and operating alone, it will be killed as it's surfaced. So, you get ships to escort it to protect it from the eagle-eyed maritime patrol aircraft -- and now you've got an carrier strike group with all its fanfare and visibility but without half its needed aviation.

Deploying troops is less zany idea. As long as you're not expecting to bring heavy equipment with those marines (more likely special forces or frogmen) there's no reason your submarine cannot have a submersible attached to the hull for them to board, allowing them to make a landing without the submarine needing to surface. A company's worth of marines might be a bit of an ask, but apart from excessiveness and lack of necessity for such a large covert force it's not out of the question if those marines are going to disappear into a jungle and support insurgents.

[Gallia-]

. . . but as an actual prompt, how should 'heavy' (e.g. armored / penetration, '''shock''') divisions be constituted in today's combat environment?

Would increased dispersion (as a defense against long range strikes, like ballistics) affect the overall structure of things? Would an organization focused on this emphasize armor to the extent previous formations have, or is operational penetration dependent on other factors? Or would a heavy formation just be throwing more mass under the division echelon in order to concentrate forces at a given area better?

Bringing up this question again.

Replace all high explosive artillery with tactical nuclear weapons.

[The Corparation]

Bit of a zany question: Submarine Aircraft Carriers

Assuming one decided to commit themselves to this route for whatever reason some questions on their potential applications. For now well call them Ghost Ships for short and assume a few details. Specifically in terms of the Ghost ship in questions specks.

A Were operating with a ship roughly the same, if not a little larger than a russian typhoon class sub powered via Nuclear energy made sometime in the 70-80s.

B Capacity would consist of of 12 Special designed fighter-bombers, roughly sea harriet sized plus or minus.

C The a aforementioned will be designed to be launched vertically one by one from a purpose designed catapult mounted near the top front of the sub. Landing by contrast will be performed via Water Landing with said Fighter-Bombers purpose designed to swim back to the Ghost Ship into a separate chamber from that used to launch. Aka two separate chambers, one for launching one for landing/picking-up. The former operates like a modified conveyer, the latter more like a small warehouse. Both operations of course require the Ghost Ship to surface.

Now going from there my question is such. Assuming one wanted to in addition to its regular role wanted to use the ghost ship in question as a short range troop carrier; How many men could in theory fit in the second warehouse/landing chamber? Keep in mind we're looking at something that can comfortably hold 12 full sized carrier jets and their crews, both pilot and maintenance. I figure such a feature would improve said Ghost Ships potential roles and applications for sea invasions. I figure something that can launch 12 planes while dispatching maybe a company's worth of Marines would be quite useful in specific circumstances.

Look at the greyback, probably the closest real life thing. I'd also check out the AN-1 concept. The actual amount you can carry depends on how much space the aircraft take up, what equipment they have with them among other things. It's hard to estimate without knowing more specifics.

[Immoren]

I don't know why I've been thinking that.
But I do remember one argument (Of course there are other valid arguments against it) against power armor being that even though you could make PA "immune" to small arms fire they'd still be vulnerable to DP rifle grenades and light weight AT weapons. But isn't that like argument in favor of PA? It'd mean that enemy would have to sacrifice "specialist" weapons against grunts that are fired at lower fire densities with lower accuracy against human sized point targets, so you'd need to sacrifice many AT weapons that could've been used against more "valuable" targets
Or am I just being dumb and missing some point in this.

[Cossack Peoples]

I don't know why I've been thinking that.
But I do remember one argument (Of course there are other valid arguments against it) against power armor being that even though you could make PA "immune" to small arms fire they'd still be vulnerable to DP rifle grenades and light weight AT weapons. But isn't that like argument in favor of PA? It'd mean that enemy would have to sacrifice "specialist" weapons against grunts that are fired at lower fire densities with lower accuracy against human sized point targets, so you'd need to sacrifice many AT weapons that could've been used against more "valuable" targets
Or am I just being dumb and missing some point in this.

Well, in terms of cost effectiveness, a suitable response to power armor would be either
A. Rely on the squad vehicle (presumably with AGL or autocannon) to kill the not-so-flexible fucker, or
B. Distribute 1,000 USD grenade launchers to attach to existing rifle platforms, with or without a small fire control system attachment for accurate shots on moving targets (the power armor user saying oh shit and running to cover), probably for less cost than a full-body armored exoskeleton.

Power armor soldiers would probably suffer in urban areas the same way mounted infantry would, except the PA user would not have the firepower nor protection of a vehicle, and would not have the ability to hide like an infantryman would (reactor or power supply would increase IR signature).

[Neo-Routhengard]

Meanwhile, back in Neo-Routhengard's home world, all targeting systems needed to be 100% accurate on the dot before trying to hit a regiment of paired Edel Raids. Because if at least one is just 99%, then all fails spectacularly. Sometimes the power of prayers is the most potent when dealing with a scientifically-approved system of religion.

[Gallia-]

I don't know why I've been thinking that.
But I do remember one argument (Of course there are other valid arguments against it) against power armor being that even though you could make PA "immune" to small arms fire they'd still be vulnerable to DP rifle grenades and light weight AT weapons. But isn't that like argument in favor of PA? It'd mean that enemy would have to sacrifice "specialist" weapons against grunts that are fired at lower fire densities with lower accuracy against human sized point targets, so you'd need to sacrifice many AT weapons that could've been used against more "valuable" targets
Or am I just being dumb and missing some point in this.

No, that's broadly right. It's just a slow metamorphosis from "19th century skirmisher" to "22nd century indoor tank". It's hard to imagine if there's even a possibility of a "machine gun" existing for bulletproof infantrymen.

In Dumblaverse I had one of the main methods of killing power armor troops in close combat being suicide attacks with bundles of satchel charges or grenades if you're desperate, or booby trapping fighting positions and trying to lure them into a structure just to drop it on their heads, if you're deliberate. It gets hard to fight them inside a building, when they can stop 5.56mm and 7.62mm dead, and even 12.7mm ball in a lot of places. I guess you could sling M107s with Raufoss rounds and fire from the hip, but that's a too Robocop, although now that I think of it, it would probably happen in Dumblaverse at some point. It's basically an 80's action move + anime at this point anyway.

The eventual "optimal" solution I arrived to with the new type of weapon that powered body armor presents is basically a large bore shotgun (12 to 6 gauge) firing carbon fiber bodied hollow charge grenades at relatively low velocities and with no arming distance. It's not super great for a lot of reasons but it works okay in the canon for the size of power armor up to that point, it doesn't need to arm like a 25mm PABM or 40mm grenade, and it penetrates approximately the same depth of material.

...then someone makes an artificial muscle fiber that lets you make the power armor bigger and heavier and you end up needing to bring a 25x137mm or a 15.5x114mm anyway. So you make cat boys, using vampires that may have come into existence as a result of the massive nuclear holocaust weakening the barriers between spiritual/psychic/noospheric and physical/tangible/material elements of the world...

C'est la guerre ig. Ostranauts is a cool universe. So is The Laundry Files's explanations for Cthulhu Mythos.

[New Visayan Islands]

Meanwhile, back in Neo-Routhengard's home world, all targeting systems needed to be 100% accurate on the dot before trying to hit a regiment of paired Edel Raids. Because if at least one is just 99%, then all fails spectacularly. Sometimes the power of prayers is the most potent when dealing with a scientifically-approved system of religion.

...y'know, there is a Mechanicus joke just waiting to be made.

Bit of a zany question: Submarine Aircraft Carriers

Assuming one decided to commit themselves to this route for whatever reason some questions on their potential applications. For now well call them Ghost Ships for short and assume a few details. Specifically in terms of the Ghost ship in questions specks.

A Were operating with a ship roughly the same, if not a little larger than a russian typhoon class sub powered via Nuclear energy made sometime in the 70-80s.

B Capacity would consist of of 12 Special designed fighter-bombers, roughly sea harriet sized plus or minus.

C The a aforementioned will be designed to be launched vertically one by one from a purpose designed catapult mounted near the top front of the sub. Landing by contrast will be performed via Water Landing with said Fighter-Bombers purpose designed to swim back to the Ghost Ship into a separate chamber from that used to launch. Aka two separate chambers, one for launching one for landing/picking-up. The former operates like a modified conveyer, the latter more like a small warehouse. Both operations of course require the Ghost Ship to surface.

Now going from there my question is such. Assuming one wanted to in addition to its regular role wanted to use the ghost ship in question as a short range troop carrier; How many men could in theory fit in the second warehouse/landing chamber? Keep in mind we're looking at something that can comfortably hold 12 full sized carrier jets and their crews, both pilot and maintenance. I figure such a feature would improve said Ghost Ships potential roles and applications for sea invasions. I figure something that can launch 12 planes while dispatching maybe a company's worth of Marines would be quite useful in specific circumstances.

So basically a beefed-up I-400?

[Immoren]

[Gallia-]

crossed fork and knife with the spatula through

master chef of the gravy

that reminds me i should redraw all of dumbla's branch symbols so you can tell what job they have from their rating patch

[Socalist Republic Of Mercenaries]

Guys, say hello to the JgPz 50M "Schartenbrecher"! also known as the The poor-man's MBT-Killer! It is equipped with cheap, Gen-3 optics, and uses the hull and chassis of the Pz.Sfl. IVa "Dicker Max".

Lore and picture below (!!Adderall-fueled yap incoming!!):
In the 1940s following the defeat of Germany and the end of WW2, the Stratusian government had diplomatically wrangled thousands of hand-me-downs worth of equipment from Germany, including most notably, a Tiger II hull, and over hundereds of Panzer IV hulls, and most notably, had gotten their hands on the only surviving Pz.Sfl. IVa, from the USSR, through a lot of negotiations, primarily regarding funding for the rebuilding of the USSR. Intrigued by the performance of the PaK-44, the Sturer Emil, and with plenty of surplus Panzer IV hulls in possession, the Stratusian government went to work in developing their own Tank destroyer. Ultimately, the JgPz 50A was the brainchild of the famous tank designer, Tyoma Orlov, the director of OKB Beisinghausen. Its design mated the Sturer Emil's 128mm and the Pz.Sfl. IVa's design, allowing a relatively economic tank to be made, its main feature being its ability to get in a excellent hull-down position. It made its debut in the Korean war, fighting alongside the Chinese People's Volunteer Army during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, utilizing its stopgap M50 Sabotgeschoß, which was essentially a 76.2mm BR-350 APHE shell (The SRoM primarily relied on T-34s purchased from the USSR in 1944 at the time, hence the BR-350 shells) fitted into a sabot to be fired from a 128mm PaK-44 barrel, increasing its muzzle velocity of 1275 M/s which was a truly scary sight for American tankers. The shell, performed rather sub-par, only punching through 80mm of armor before detonating prematurely, or shattering on impact from the mechanical acceleration stress of being slung at 1275 M/s into RHA steel. As combat preformance, described by Peng Dehuai in a Joint Combat Operations Debriefing, "The Stratusian crews are very well trained and have a keen sense, they stalk enemy tanks like a tiger stalks its prey, waiting in ambush until an opening is seen." In combat, Stratusian tank crews quickly realized the exploitability of the M46 Patton and M26 Pershing's mantlet shot trap, a glaring deficiency quickly realized by American crews, many of which began to add improvized armor on their tanks by the beginning of 1951, rendering the M50 Sabotgeschoß obsolete.

In February of 1951 the Stratusian OKB Eavesdusgrad, responsible for designing airplanes at the time, had brewed up a totally radical successor to the M50 Sabotgeschoß, the M51 Sabotgeschoß, now slinging a modified(lengthened, for the most part) solid-core BR-271 APCBC projectile at a comically fast 1,470 M/s at enemy tanks, now easily able to punch through over 178mm of RHA at an angle of 60°, which spurred OKB Beisinghausen to make the Hohlladung F-7 HEAT-FS shell (purely as a funding competitor) with a muzzle velocity of 950 M/s, now punching through 340mm of RHA at almost any angle. The first round would be used throughout the entire war, but the Hohlladung F-7 HEAT-FS had a notoriously sensitive impact fuze that plagued its operational history, known to go off upon hitting branches or after being snagged by chickenwire (often of which U.S. Troops would begin putting on the sides of their tanks to fend from F-7 shells), and also once even going off after having the shell knocked from its storage rack, causing one-combat related loss. It was known as the "Schwarze Katze" by Stratusian crews for its unreliability, and was quickly phased out of combat and discontinued by the August of 1951. In the October of 1951, using the large leftover funding from the F-7's allotted funds, OKB Beisinghausen quickly built a 128mm HESH shell to deal with the growing amount of the thick-armored M103s in use by the USMC in Korea at the time. The comically heavy shell, nicknamed "Großer Robert" by tank crews weighed in at a unwieldy 32.5 kilograms and crews often complained about its weight, well, up until combat use, which they often put smiles on the faces of Stratusian crews, especially when they smashed bunkers to bits, blasted MG nests to kingdom come, and also in multiple instances, quite literally turned the turret of a M24 Chaffee inside-out, literally. Whatever was left of the tank, was pretty gnarly. As the Korean war came to a close and as both sides negotiated a ceasefire, the Stratusians, slowly backed out of the conflict, giving all its JgPz-50As to North Korea (most would end up as monuments and museums, others scrapped for materials and repurposing), and finally backing out of the area. After recieving feedback from North Korea on its design, the JgPz-50T (Tausch, for Barter/export), an export variant woud be born, and the JgPz-50P, the improved 50A, followed by the 50VD (Vozdushno-desantnye, or Airborne Descent) variant, using lighter, stronger materials, namely Titanium and aluminum-based alloys, to reduce weight down from its 20ish metric tons to 16.2 metric tons, and stronger. The most prominent redesign was the electronically-operated rotating gunners sight with night vision, using advanced photocathodes that incorporated to operate in moonless and low-lit areas, which was also paired with a thermographic camera. The redesign was radical, as it included a CRT monitor (could be switched on or off with a switch) along with the primary optic. This variant was used briefly, before being essentially completely replaced in its anti-tank roles by the more well-armored and well-designed Standardpanzer FT-23, and the T-58M Main Battle Tank (a T-55 derivative), and by BMP-1s and BMT-73s in its airborne armor role.

That was until the Gulf of Tonkin incident officially kicked off the Vietnam War.'

In the wooded terrain of Vietnam, the JgPz-50VD had new life breathed into it. A light ambush tank. When the Stratusians encountered the new Patton, namely the M48A3, they expected a simple fight like in Korea. They were wrong. The 220mm of RHA proved immediately problematic, as over a dozen JgPz-50VDs suffered losses in the hundereds in the first month, owing to the overconfident crews, whom had faced similar-looking tanks and won mere decades ago. An order for a new shell, was in place.

The K-43 shell was born, the first in its line, it was the newest shell in town, using an even longer and slimmer (now 45mm) projectile than the already long M51 Sabotgeschoß, the shell could achieve velocities of 1,600 M/s, and penetrate about 237mm of RHA at an angle of 60°, a shell finally formidable enough to stand up to the M48. Around this time period, spurred by the creation of an improved contact fuze for the 128mm "Großer Robert" HESH shell, the F-7M was created, as a superior successor to the F-7, with a far more reliable fuse, this one was nicknamed "Hardy Jurgen" by tank crews, now with a tandem charge, as a way to improve armor piercing capability without making the shell much larger, giving the shell the ability to punch through 390mm RHA.

After finishing its limited use in Vietnam, seeing relative success, it went on to get its fourth and final variant, the JgPz-50VDM (Vozdushno-desantnye, modernizirovannyy), now incorporating a further improved optics system, and a laser guidance system for 9K112 Kobra ATGMs, fitted into a plastic sabot that combusts on the ATGM exiting the barrel. This variant saw slight use in Afghanistan on both sides, supplied through black-market to the Mujahideen, some tested in Soviet use, to somewhat success, as the consistently-upgraded Panzer IV chassis was more or less for very hilly-flat terrain, not rugged mountainous terrain with outcrops, cliffs, and very steep slopes, but was used as a howitzer and indirect fire unit by both sides, and as its purpose intended, an ambush unit. It also included highly advanced optics that would classify as Gen III in US Military Nomenclature

The aging design last saw combat in 1991, during the Gulf War, this time, once again, against US armored units, in Iraq. Most notably in the First Battle of 73 Easting (yes, in our canon there was a second one, which was a Stratusian-led counteroffensive), where one one JgPz-50VDM managed to score a direct hit on a M2 Bradley from 3,700 meters out, and another managed to land a mobility kill on a M1A2 Abrams with a 128mm "Großer Robert" HESH shell at 6,219 meters out, both were promptly destroyed by a return volley of M829A1 APFSDS shells and BGM-71 TOW missiles, the other five retreated (two later destroyed at Al Busayyah, the other three destroyed at the Battle of Norfolk, not after taking a total of four Abrams, eight Chieftains and seventeen Bradleys down). The true MVP of the battle of 73 Easting was the T-78D, which suffered heavy losses, but also inflicted heavy casulties, although criticized by western media as a deathtrap, Stratusians hailed it as the paralell to the T-34, a robust, economic tank that could overcome obstacles in sheer numbers. Just like that, the JgPz-50VDM was sidelined, left to die in the dark.

Nobody mourned although, because the PzJgr 15 “Dragoon” took its place as just another driveshaft in the Stratusian war machine.

JgPz-50VD, note the optic.


Any critique of the writing? feel free!

[Weltkria]

funny manportable anti-satellite missile based on a very questionable paper by a rookie aerospace engineer, but hey, the math checks out and it's really funny
this is the least viable model designed to plink satellites, the actual "good" models we use are patriot-sized ASATs, the occasional SM-3 and suspiciously scud shaped ASAT that someone taped a SNAK and NTR on

also obligatory lighting bolt yes? schizophrenic lighting bolt diagram linking boats, SAMs, ASATs, SBIRS and other goofy things soon

The aging design last saw combat in 1991, during the Gulf War, this time, once again, against US armored units, in Iraq. Most notably in the First Battle of 73 Easting (yes, in our canon there was a second one, which was a Stratusian-led counteroffensive), where one one JgPz-50VDM managed to score a direct hit on a M2 Bradley from 3,700 meters out, and another managed to land a mobility kill on a M1A2 Abrams with a 128mm "Großer Robert" HESH shell at 6,219 meters out, both were promptly destroyed by a return volley of M829A1 APFSDS shells and BGM-71 TOW missiles, the other five retreated (two later destroyed at Al Busayyah, the other three destroyed at the Battle of Norfolk, not after taking a total of four Abrams, eight Chieftains and seventeen Bradleys down). The true MVP of the battle of 73 Easting was the T-78D, which suffered heavy losses, but also inflicted heavy casulties, although criticized by western media as a deathtrap, Stratusians hailed it as the paralell to the T-34, a robust, economic tank that could overcome obstacles in sheer numbers. Just like that, the JgPz-50VDM was sidelined, left to die in the dark.
JgPz-50VD, note the optic.
(Image)


Any critique of the writing? feel free!

wait the amis didn't use their spy satellites, JSTARs and signals intelligence to absolutely maul the SRoM with steel rain, air-support and artillery? shocker.
also there weren't M1A2s in desert storm, it was M1A1(HA) and M1A1(HC) respectively iirc

i also doubt the feasibility of ramming thermals, FCS and a 128mm on a PzIV, i wonder how the engines doing

[Socalist Republic Of Mercenaries]

i also doubt the feasibility of ramming thermals, FCS and a 128mm on a PzIV, i wonder how the engines doing

Hmmm. Wasn’t the M1a2 the first Abrams with a non-105 though? Or am I very confused, because I coulda sworn that the Abrams used in the gulf war used 120s.

On another note, the FCS used is basically an AliExpress Rangefinder jury-rigged to a computer. And thermals are essentially borrowed from infantry NVGs and strapped to a scope, but more fancy. The FCS and thermals reduce the 30-shell storage down to 22 shells in an open-top configuration. Practical? Not quite, but does it have a funny big gun that can guarantee a mobility kill in most scenarios? Yes. It’s like giving an infantry scout a M82 Barrett or PTRD-41, they get a funny big gun and basically no armor.

Anyways the reason the US did not gain air superiority in our canon was because uhhh we kinda dismantled their carrier group in a more well orchestrated Ten-Go, where one of our two SDNs were sorta supposed to maul half the carrier group(gets sunk in the process of doing so) as Airpower mauled the other half, while the other one beaches itself on the shores of Kuwait City and acts as a shell magnet for the rest of the conflict (it didn’t go well, blown up during the second week by a MM40 to the soft exposed underside, hit the ammo, left a big dent in the harbor.

“Mauled with steel rain?”
“What Steel Rain?”
*Mk14 AGL from US trench comes to life*
“GEFREITER JÜRGEN! BLOCK DAS MG-PORT WITH YOUR FAT ARSC-”
*gets turned into semi baked mush by 155mm shell*

It was a… Pyrrhic victory, let’s put it as that.
*glances at the 500,000 man casualty rate*
Worth it. 100%