Key Data
Crew: 4 (Commander, Driver, 2 Engineers).
Cost: 11 million NSD.
Dimensions
Length: 8.27m.
Height: 3.24m (Turret Roof).
Width: 3.43m.
Weight: 71t.
Performance
Maximum Speed: 50kph road speed.
Operational Range: 320 km.
Ground Clearance: 20 in.
Armament
Primary: One 165mm M18 Demolition Gun (30 rounds).
Secondary: Bubble Gunring Commander Weapon, capable of various armaments.
Additional: Multipurpose Grenade Launchers (smoke and other).
Equipment
Linear Demolition Line Charge System (2)
Protection
Passive: 4th Generation composite metal alloy (metal-composite matrix outer layer, NERA, composite tiles, DU alloy mesh, IRHA plates/hull, fibreglass/rubber/Spectra spall liner).
Crew Protection: NBC protection (main + auxiliary), pentafluoroethane crew compartment fire extinguishing, Halon 1301 + foam fuel tank extinguishing and self-sealing suite.
Multipurpose Grenade Launchers (smoke and other uses).
Electronics
Eisen-Schloss Combat Networking.
'Duckling' FCS.
'Shield' Active Protection System.
Power
Propulsion: CVW-1710-2DR V12, air-cooled Twin-turbo diesel engine, with 1,250 hp (932.12 kW).
Transmission: Automatic (8 forward, 3 reverse).
Suspension: Hydropneumatic.
Power/Weight: 28.5hp/tonne.
Background and Design
The Entlein Combat Engineering and Recovery Vehicle (CERV) is a combat engineering vehicle designed around the concept of a mobile engineering platform for armored and other ground forces. Promptly given the 'Goose' callsign as a prototype, it was quickly called by TECT Armed Forces commanders as the "Hässliches Entlein" or "Ugly Duckling". It was considered so ugly back in its first introduction in 2003 that it was thrown out, commanders saying the design was an "ugly vehicle that made its crew targets for mercy shots."
In 2008 however, commanders decided to allow tests to be conducted to satisfy the designers constant pleas to give the design a chance. They allowed tests only in their presence and were thoroughly investigative of the design during the entire process. Commanders, needless to say, were thoroughly impressed by the Goose's performance during tests. The design allowed it to keep up with armored forces, perform mine clearing and plowing roles, and various other engineering jobs. In one test, the Goose used two cranes and its four man crew to repair two vehicles at once. Commanders were impressed by its incredible support role, its speed, and engineering capabilities. Protection was also emphasized by the vehicle, providing advanced armoring and active protection systems used on TECT designed vehicles.
During its 2009 last phase of designing, the Goose's name was changed to 'Entlein' or Duckling, an inspiration from its common nickname: the Ugly Duckling. This new design also added a demolition gun and advanced electronics inside the vehicle. With its chest pumped out, and its tools ready for war -- the Entlein CERV rolled out into mass production in early 2010.
The chassis of the Entlein was based off a former armored personnel carrier and the M88 Recovery Vehicle. The design complimented its need for tools on board and its role as a mobile combat recovery vehicle. The Entlein is designed with a powerful pull capability so it can tow heavy armored vehicles across rough terrain; such as stuck infantry armored vehicles and broken down main battle tanks. Its powerful engines gives it the strength to tug almost any ground vehicle in the world across almost any terrain. Various tools and equipment can be attached to the chassis to use on the battlefield; the main crane is however located on the turret head to provide better swivel uses. A second crane system however can be attached to the rear of the vehicle and is deployed over the the turret or to its rear for secondary uses. Various plows can be used on the front to dig or plow targeted locations, such as digging for mines or plowing paths. Its powerful propulsion, which allows it to pull large vehicles, can easily demolish most obstructions it faces with its plow.
The Entlein turret is a smaller version to the Feurig 2's own turret; it shares many similarities including its gunring design, overall design, and rear turret configuration. The turret wields the primary crane system for the Entlein; this crane can lift almost ten tonnes (9.98 tonnes) of weight, allowing it to carry/deploy components in needed position, or hold up entire engine blocks. Its secondary (rear crane) crane uses a stronger pully system that can hold up 31.75 t. The turret's main use is to house the 165mm M18 Demolition Gun; this weapon is used for demolition uses only, such as destroying obstacles and demolishing structures like bunkers. This gun can also be used against infantry and smaller vehicles using shrapnel or its standard HE rounds. The Entlein can house thirty rounds of ammunition for its gun. It's commander gunring emplacement is also used to protect the crew.
Armaments
The Entlein's main weapon is the 165mm M18 Demolition Gun designed by Wolf Armaments decades ago. It's use in this platform was updated to modern standards, but remains mostly the same. It's primary role is demolition work; it was not designed to engage hostile infantry or armored forces. The Entlein, however, has the capability to engage infantry and lightly armored units in the instance of immediate danger to itself or crew; for this purpose, its HE rounds can be used or its few shrapnel rounds can be used.
The Entlein's secondary armament is its commander's gunring weapon system. It in an armored bubble and can mount multiple weapon systems, including HMG, LMG, TOW, or remote controlled weapon systems. This system, along with the 'Shield' Active Protection System, provide general defense against threats. The 'Duckling' FCS, which utilized only in the Entlein, uses identification markers when targeting demolition targets. It focuses on structural important features, such as structural pillars, bases, center of gravity, and other features that identifies these targets and locks on them for fire. This system is also briefly designed for targeting vehicles and infantry in the situation that calls for the vehicle to fire on them, using the vehicle's various sensors to spot and track targets in sight.
Armor and Protection
The Entlein is armored to defend against direct combat damage. Its base structural construction is made of high grade steel reinforced with titanium armor. The majority of the armor on the Entlein is in fact a titanium alloy 4th generation composite designed to withstand 30 mm rounds. It is similarly armored to other TECT design heavy armored vehicles in terms of armor and purpose. Crew safety is the most important aspect to the vehicle's construction; its engineers have a dangerous and important role to play, so they have to get there fast and safely. Explosive reactive armor is fitted as standard (though is often removed as superfluous) to the turret and major hull areas, as with other additional armor pieces. Fireproof armored bulkheads separate the crew compartment from the engine bay, which itself forms part of the forward passive protection suite. Fuel and ammunition are located within armored sub-compartments with integral anti-spalling layers, and those self-same anti-spalling 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 insulation, making the Entlein, like other TECT designed vehicles, extremely quiet for its operators, analogous (to the operators), to noise levels experienced while driving in a civilian vehicle.
The Entlein uses the newer 'Shield' Active Protection system to protect the vehicle from active ground, aircraft, and other threats, replacing the 'Eisenschild' Active Protection System used in the past; more notably missile, incoming AT rounds, and other various ground threats. The newer full system for tanks and other armored vehicles uses a Missile Countermeasure Device (MCD) that emits a massive, condensed infrared signal to confuse the seeker of an anti-tank guided missile. A semi-active control line-of-sight (SACLOS) system acts as countermeasures for wire and radio guided anti-tank missiles, and thermally and infrared guided missiles are also combated. The 'Shield' Active Protection system utilizes its radar sensor to quickly detect incoming threats from a 360 degree point of view. Its quick speed allows for immediate action in identifying and tracking the threat; this system uses either a munitions launcher to launch munitions to explode before hitting the vehicle or a short range missile launcher to intercept incoming threats. The system is primarily set up to protect against guided anti-tank missiles and shaped charge attacks, which are usually used by infantry or other ground units to attack vehicles; this system when successful either destroys, knocks the projectile off target, or lessens the affect of the weapon's damage. This system also works against incoming SSM and ASM missiles with both its multilaunchers and MCD launcher. The two launcher systems, along with the multilaunchers, mount a shield around the vehicle against incoming threats. An impressive suite of active ECM as a means of defeating incoming radar guided missiles, and the suite is usually activated if detection equipment determines that multiple radar signatures are illuminating the vehicle in question.
The Entlein also utilizes signature reduction technology through the use of camouflage, armor slopping design, low visibility, and advanced camo netting. The developers of similar applications took an ordinary camouflage net as the base and, utilizing 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 utilized 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 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, 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.
This system, called 'Mantel', itself consists of a number of modular components that can be put together to create a masking surface of any size and shape, with colors matching any field environment in any season. 'Mantel' has repeatedly demonstrated excellent resistance to various external factors while keeping its camouflaging characteristics intact, showing appreciable results on TECT made main battle tanks and armored fighting vehicles. Tests had tanks equipped with a 'Mantel' 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 'Mantel' are resistant to fuels, lubricants (gasoline, diesel fuel, lube oil) and detergents. Furthermore, spinning off from research conducted into the field 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.
By utilizing the Eisen-Schloss Combat 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. Furthermore, as indicated in the propulsion and mobility section, the Entlein, as with both its main battle tank ancestors and the original prototype chassis, utilizes active cooling of its own exhaust, a further means of suppressing thermal and infra-red signature. When this is taken in conjunction with 'Mantel', the thermal and IR footprint of the Entlein is a bare fraction of what its weight and power would suggest.
Networking/Electronics
As with all TECT designed vehicles, the Entlein is designed to integrate seamlessly and easily into the most sophisticated of military forces. 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 internal computational facilities so as to handle required downloads from it. While designed to slot into any existing battlespace architecture, the Eisen-Schloss Combat Networking. Eisen-Schloss is an integrated and adaptive battlespace network that maximizes combat lethality, performance, and output and enables command and control on an unprecedented scale in any vehicle, unit, and device that uses. Information is sourced not only from multiple sources on the individual platform, but from every Eisen-Schloss 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.
At the most basic level, the Eisen-Schloss Combat System aims to accelerate engagement cycles and increase operational tempo at all levels of the battlefield and warfare. This acceleration is achieved by providing a mechanism to rapidly gather and distribute targeting information, and rapidly issue directives. Eisen-Schloss' ultra-high speed networking permits error-free, high integrity transmission in a bare fraction of the time required for voice-based transmission, and permits transfer of a wide range of data formats, from a multitude of compatible sources. These systems, including the Eisen-Schloss Combat System and interaction systems are render the vehicle proof against electromagnetic interference or EMP-based attack using encryption and anti-electromagnetic technology, although these systems are a highly expensive addition. It was quickly reasoned, however, that when operating in an environment which may include anti-strategic platforms such as the nuclear arms and EMP weapons, the chances of the platform encountering high levels of electromagnetic interference goes up dramatically, and the dangers this presents far outweigh the relatively modest (though expensive in absolute terms) cost of the implementation of these countermeasure components.
Propulsion and Mobility
The Entlein is designed to be as fast as it can be so that it can keep up with armored forces and provide engineering assistance to downed vehicles on the battlefield. Its CVW-1710-2DR V12, air-cooled Twin-turbo diesel engine has 1,250 hp (932.12 kW) force, which allows it to tow almost any vehicle in existence along with its powerful automatic transmission. It's weight and balanced design allows it to hold heavy weights on its cranes but affects the vehicle's overall mobility in turning situations. Regardless; the Entlein is very reliable in getting to heavy fighting situations whether on road or of road. It's Hydropneumatic suspension ensures a smooth and bumpless ride on rough conditions. Vehicles know when they're broken down or need repairs that a Entlein can be there quick and snappy to rescue the vehicle.
Crew Amenities
The majority of the Entlein is used for tool, equipment, and other needed equipment for its job. Therefore, a lot of the same amenities are not fully present, unlike many TECT designed vehicles. But a 2012 remodeling did the trick where it could inside the vehicle for better comfort. Soft seats that are heated/cooled and can adjust to preferences are one example. A small cooler is available to store preferred drinks and a storage space is used to carry MREs or other preferred snacks. A hot/cool water dispenser, like most TECT designed vehicles, is present in the vehicle for both military and amenities uses.
Operational History
The Peregrino Uprising: The Entlein CERV saw use by the Shalumite 23rd Combat Logistics Battalion in the construction of its FOB on the island of Peregrino. It was used for security as well, protecting convoy vehicles and conducting perimeter security.
Export
The Entlein CERV is a highly rated support vehicle in the TECT Armed Forces. It boasts enough horsepower to rescue downed vehicles and provide quick fixes on the battlefield. It is a handy vehicle to have in almost every engineering operation/mission and can come in handy when you're demolishing. For export, the Entlein CERV is available for $11 Million NSD per unit. Domestic Production Rights for the Entlein CERV are available for $90 Billion NSD. Purchases can be made on the Wolf Armaments main storefront page.