Cassadian Military Hardware Depository [DO NOT POST]

[Qassadia]

A Note From The OP.

The intention of this thread is to serve both as a maintenance thread, as described in the title. That is, as a repository for current, future, and historical military hardware that I intend to articulate further in terms of their technical characteristics as well as advertise the capabilities of any future piece of military equipment that I decide to endeavor to make in the future, both as a way to build on the In-Character place, doctrine-wise that such military items may serve in the Royal Armed Forces of the Holy Kingdom of Cassadia as well as (eventually) offer them up for sale on my very own storefront in all their shiny glitter for all the nations interested into purchasing them so that they can invade other nations and slaughter their people without hurdle : )

Further note to all who may stumble upon this thread; Please refrain from posting on this thread. I'd hate to go through contacting any of the moderators and reporting your post antics for removal.

[Qassadia]

Designation: MKG-130
Type: Field Gun, Gun-Howitzer
Designed: 1954-1961
Manufacturer: Brochinosht Imperial Arsenals
Produced:1963-1981
Mass: 10,150 kilograms
Mass: (When Not Deployed): 9 800 kilograms
Mass(Without Disassembled Components): 2,865 kilograms
Caliber: 130mm
Barrel length: 52,7 caliber
Shell: Separate loading charge and projectile
Breach: Semi-automatic
Carriage: Split trail, sole plate, auxiliary power unit, and hydraulics
Elevation: -2° to +57°
Traverse: -25° to +25°
Rate of fire: 8 r/p.m (normal), 10 r/p.m (burst), 7 r/p.m (sustained) [r/p.m] - rounds per minute]
Range: 24 kilometers (unassisted), 28,7 kilometers (base bleed), 38,1 kilometers (full bore + RAP)
Muzzle velocity: 900 m/s
Length: 12,87 meters
Width: 2,6 meters
Height: 2,55 meters
Crew: 9

The MKG-130 ((mezhdino kalibarna gaubitsa) is an intermediate-caliber ranged artillery weapon system designed and developed in the 1950s by the Brochinosht Imperial Arsenals to meet the needs of the Cassadian Royal Armed Forces for a new type of system designed to provide, in practical terms; Accurate and sustained counter-battery fire, including providing of adequate and destructive artillery fire on enemy ground formations and gatherings in support of advancing friendly units. Research, testing, and development of the MKG-130 were finalized after advanced tests of the prototype models passed Ordinance Corp and Land Force trials with optimum results to the satisfaction of military planners and the top brass.

The MKG-130 features a ''Double Baffle'' muzzle brake and a semi-automatic breech block connected to a 52,7-inch caliber barrel. The artillery system incorporates a horizontal sliding wedge that uses an interrupted-thread breech plug with a lock that opens and closes the breach based on the movement of a single lever when either opening or locking the gun's breech mechanism.

Ammunition for the MKG-130 is loaded separately that is the shell and the propellant casing are shipped and stored separately. The shell is lifted into position behind the breach and then rammed into the chamber to engage the shell's rotating band into the barrel rifling. The MKG-130's can accommodate two propellant casing charges. Once the propellant casing is loaded, the breech plug is closed and locked, and a primer is placed in the breech plug's firing mechanism. Followed by recalibration of the MKG's azimuth and sights, the gun is ready for its assigned fire mission.

MKG-130 at the time was a weapon system that saw the introduction of a relatively new ''two-piece'' design gun carriage which provided a different, yet stable, yet mobile, base for the gun, compared to traditional split-carriage designs used on artillery by the contemporaries of its time and even into the modern era. The new split-trail carriage features a four-wheel integral two-axle bogie and a wheel limber that supports the trails for transport. The upper carriage incorporates side frames with trunnion bearings that support the recoil mechanism carrying the gun cradle, slide, and gun tube.

To assist with an all-around carriage traverse, there is a pivot jack mounted at the front of the cradle support. The pivot jack is not a soleplate and the gun fires with its foam-filled rubber-tired wheels supporting the gun on the ground. When the gun is brought into action, the pivot jack folds down and is adjusted to be on the ground. If the MKG requires a large traverse, small jacks on each trail leg are rotated downwards, and the trails jacked up until the main wheels are lifted clear of the ground and the bogey wheels mounted on each trail leg swung downwards and the trail jacks raised, the carriage is then traversed, and the trail jacks re-used to lift the bogey wheels and then place the piece back on its main wheels.

The pivot jack is also used to secure the barrel against vertical movement when the gun is being towed. The barrel is locked in the center for traverse with a bolt-on cradle support. The jack is folded upwards and lugs on the ring cradle engage the jack base. This includes two tensioners, which are fixed to the saddle support, hooked to the cradle, and are screwed to lock the cradle onto the jack base.

As is the standard Cassadian pattern for all cannon-based artillery within its Artillery Corps - are equipped with non-reciprocating sights for one-man laying, direct fire anti-tank telescope and a panoramic periscopic indirect-fire sight (a dial sight), an angle of sight scale, a range drum engraved with the range (distance) scale which is referenced to a mounted elevation leveling table.

With the end of the Cold War, much of Cassadia's military arsenal was found insufficient to combat conventional threats and challenges from new emerging technologies, which were proliferating on the modern battlefield (PGMs, GPS, stealth aircraft). After observing the performance of large-scale conventional armies against a qualitatively superior foe, which were found to range from underwhelming to disastrous despite near-peer adversaries in the quantity of military hardware and combat personnel potentially being fielded against a technologically superior foe. It was concluded by the General Staff of the Cassadian Armed Forces and military planners that a whole array of technologies and military equipment had to be developed with only the bare minimum technical and scientific experience in order to combat a whole slew of rising threats to national security by state actors posed by their conventional forces.

A need whose priority could no longer be disregarded to that of secondary importance by dragging innovation at a snail's pace with the shocking escalation and outbreak of the 2000-2001 Millenium War against the Kingdom of Ejorike against whose military, the Armed Forces of the Holy Kingdom put up valiant stubborn resistance despite the initial shock, surprise and size of the opposing force of the enemy in terms of manpower and (however dated) combat hardware. While its conclusion in short would see the triumph of the Cassadian side, with the preservation of the antebellum status quo, the conflict laid bare the shortcomings of Cassadia's contemporary conventional doctrine which at the time of the flare-up of hostilities.

The military of the Holy Kingdom maintained a strategic posture that envisioned maintaining a large military force, organized, equipped, and trained accordingly along lines of late Cold War-era defensive doctrine and theory at the time, to counter what in summary would have been an expected amphibious invasion of the Home Island. An unsavory reality for which the vital Overseas Dependency of New Carthage would have been decisively lost early on, had it not been for the quick mobilization of Cascadia's navy, air force, marines, airborne and a robust fleet of strategic airlift to fly much-needed supplies and reinforcements to contain and plan for a counter-attack to push the Ejorikeans back, owing to their the overwhelming numerical superiority thanks to the professional composition of the units deployed and the application of Cassadia's long-range artillery systems, airpower, cluster munitions and a small nascent arsenal of precision-guided munitions that wrought havoc on Ejorikean army positions, columns and rear line logistic facilities, equipment pools and supply columns, de-fanging the full-frontal assault of the Ejorikeans dead in its tracks after successful engagement for the contention of New Carthage's airspace with the Royal Ejorikean Air Force.

Appropriately, after the war, a list of technical and design requirements for new military hardware was being drawn up and developed in the institutes of Cassadia's extensive network of MIC enterprises to meet these newly arisen challenges learned in the Millenium War from which emerged the need for rapid deployment of a modern-fighting force to be reformed and re-equipped in the pursuit of achieving combat viability for the Holy Kingdom's conventional forces in the conditions of arising realities of modern warfare. Though, a majority of the top brass of the General Staff would prove to be a major impediment to such efforts broad efforts to fundamentally change the Armed Forces away from its strategic 1988 Posture of the Status o Strategic Organization of Forces as it concluded with high confidence in their preliminary defense papers and conclusions in strategic planning of potential conflicts, that the sheer time-scale between completing the development, field tests, introduction, and procurement of sufficient quantities of such armaments would prove to be too far out into the future until they are deployed in numbers that would be considered strategically significant.

To rectify such gaps in the conventional forces, the Cassadian Department of Defense in the early 1990s undertook a modernization initiative that would see to overhaul, refurbish and modernize a majority of all heavy combat military hardware that has been acquired since the 1960s. The MKG-130 intermediate-range artillery system was one of those pieces of hardware which had been included in the program among hundreds of different pieces of model military hardware and other such items.

Most MKG guns in Cassadian service have been upgraded to the MKG-130M1 standard, modernized with new sub-systems and components to enhance performance and streamline operation.

*Battery
*Secure satellite FF(friend or foe) positioning unit
*Satellite receiver
*Antenna unit
*Self-orientating gyroscopic angle-measuring system
*Targeting computer
*Mechanical speed gauge


Ammunition.
*Frag-HE (full charge) – range: 28,700 meters
*Frag-HE (with separate charge) – range: 24,490 meters
*Frag-HE, ERFB-BB – Extended Range Full Bore – Base Bleed, range: 38,000 meters
*APCBC-HE-T – range: 2,570 meters
*Guided Shell, Kamak-130 – range: 24,000 meters (post 00s modernization initiative)
*Guided Shell, Kamak-130ER(extended range) - range 38,000 meters (post 00s modernization initiative)
*Smoke
*Chemical (various CV agents)
*Illumination

[Qassadia]

Designation: BEZ.P-51 (bezotkatna pushka)
Designed: 1945-1953
Designer: Ksom Research Design Bureau
Role: Multi-Purpose Recoilless Rifle/Crew-Served Handheld Rocket Propelled Grenade
Introduction: 1956
Produced: 1955 - 2009
No. Built: 990 000
Manufacturer: Brochinosht Imperial Arsenals, Etropole Central Machine Plant, and various other defense-related industrial plants
Caliber: 84 mm.
Cartridge: 84 x 251 mm.
Length: 1477 mm.
Weight (unarmed/armed): 15,1 kg./18,6 kg. [19,1 kg. with 1967 optical sight]
Weight of the machine (hand-towed wheel carriage): 21,1 kg.
Projectile Length: 630 mm.
Projectile Caliber: 84 mm.

The BEZ.P-51 (bezotkatna pushka) is a Cassadian recoilless gun developed in the late 1940s as an infantry platoon-level anti-tank weapon. The weapon was based on the Panzerschreck and the 10.5 cm Leichtgeschütz 40. It was accepted into service in 1952, using the 84 mm caliber, under the designation of BP.51. The recoilless anti-tank gun was officially adopted into service by the Royal Ground Force in 1951 and has been retained in active service within the Ground Force of Her Majesty's Armed Force ever since. The BEZ.P-51 early on, quickly won popularity among servicemen, earning it the nickname ''Hornet'' because of its lethality and awesome destructive power.

A weapon well ahead of its time. The BEZ.P-51 was the result of painstaking research in cutting-edge innovative rifling, gun components, materials, and ordinance engineering and design. Among its array of base ammunition variants, one of the round types it fired is a 3.6kg, HEAT with a penetration value of up to 356 millimeters of rolled-homogenous armor (RHA). An outstanding capability at the time, making it capable of penetrating the frontal armor of any mainline medium or heavy tank and 1st generation MBT at the time. The gun's excellent accuracy, allows it to engage a variety of targets at ranges of up to 400 meters with a maximum direct effective fire range of up to 650 meters. The weapon can be effectively utilized in indirect fire roles, due to its excellent characteristics of being able to be used as an indirect fire support weapon, with its projectiles able to reach distances of around 2700 meters with other factors measures in such as line of sight and the operator's skill and training.

Muzzle velocity (in flight) is 322 m/s.

The ammunition is loaded from the rear and consists of a warhead and a propellant -- to fire the BEZ.P-53, a pistol grip with the departure mechanism is fixed approximately to the center under the barrel of the recoilless rifle. The weapon's trigger action is electric. Additionally, the design feature of a round extractor allows for an admirable rate of fire of six rounds per minute.

Since 1968, all BEZ.P-51 have come equipped with an M9 - P53 optical sight designed to enable precise laying of the weapon during direct mode fire from a covered position. The device allows the user to observe the battlefield and determine distances to targets. An illumination system of the reticle is included in the sight set, which facilitates its operation in low visibility conditions (i.e. at dusk or night) extending its base direct effective firing range to 800 meters.

BEZ.P51(M2)
Length: 1130 mm.
Projectile Lenght: 630 mm
Caliber; 84 mm
Cartridge: 84 x 251 mm
Weight (unloaded/loaded): 6,2 kg/9,6 kg

In the Overseas Territory of New Carthage. Battlefield experience and study of combat data showed that soldiers were being engaged with RPGs at 900 meters by insurgents, while their light weapons had effective ranges of 500–600 meters. It was somberly concluded that a new variant of anti-tank/personnel weapon had to be devised in order to meet the fluid and ever-changing demands of the tactical environment on the ground. With casualties mounting in the mid-to-late 1980s, as a result of inadequate specialized tools needed to deal with these combat scenarios, a team of weapon designers of the Imperial Brochinosht Arsenal company set out to rectify many of its drawbacks and limitations as well further build upon this design by further improving the rifling, materials, ammunition, and optics of the BEZ.P51 recoilless rifle.

Improvements to the design of the BEZ.P51 include:
*Replacing the forged steel tube with a thin steel liner containing the rifling, strengthened by a carbon fiber outer sleeve.
*Replacing the steel parts with a thin high-grade industrial plastics covering and aluminum alloys.
*Replacing the basic sight of the BEZ.P51 with a new telescopic sight BMG M1

The new BEZ.P51(M2) allows airburst capability of troops in defilade out to 1,250 meters, and high explosive use out to 1,300 meters. The weapon provides enhanced effectiveness against fortifications, armored vehicles, and heavily fortified strongpoints like bunkers. The previous total weight that was previously used to burden the troops was slashed to just 9,6 kilograms.

A special variant of the BEZ.P51 had been developed in the late 90s and introduced into active service in the first years of the 000s, to great success and feedback of servicemen serving in New Carthage. The new variant represents a modified configuration for the demands of special operations formations like the OSZNAZ of the General Reconnaissance Bureau as well as the Border Guard Service, which falls under its institutional jurisdiction. These forces have been equipped with a special ''M2S''(spetsialtsi) variant, which cuts down further the overall length of the weapon to 970 millimeters without affecting handling or ruggedness.

Development of this weight-reduced BEZ.P51(M2S) special variant has proven to have demonstrated no significant degeneration in performance, or increase in recoil, including persevering a nearly equivalent barrel life. Brochinosht Imperial Arsenals has further developed a new high explosive round that has a direct fire range of 1,500 meters when using a fire control system thanks to a new technologically sophisticated, laser-guided weapon sight.

Ammunition:
*HE-FRAG 3.4 kg. Warhead contains approx 780 balls – lethal radius 20 m. Muzzle velocity 322 m/s. Max range 2500 meters. (Basic variant)
*HE-FRAG 3.90 kg. Warhead contains a high-explosive 0.50 kg admixture of TNT/dinitronaphthalene. GK-2 fuze. Muzzle velocity 322 m/s. Indirect fire maximum range 2500 m. (Basic variant)
*HEAT 3.5 kg. Warhead can penetrate an equivalent of 356 millimeters of RHA. Muzzle velocity 322 m/s. Maximum effective range 1750 meters. (Basic variant)
*Illuminating star round (ISR), fired up to 2,300 m maximum range, but with an effective envelope of 300 to 2,100 meters. Suspended by the parachute, the star shell burns for 30 seconds while producing 650,000 candelas, providing a 400 to 500 meter diameter area of illumination. (basic variant)
*HEDP round with the ability to be set to detonate on either impact or one-tenth of a second afterward. The effective range is 1,000 meters against dispersed soft targets such as infantry in the open, 500 meters against stationary targets, and 300 meters against moving targets. The minimum range is 15 to 40 meters to arm the warhead. Penetration exceeds 150 mm of rolled homogeneous armor (RHA). Ammunition weight is 3.3 kg and muzzle velocity is 322 m/s. [BEZ.P51(M2) variant]
*ASM (Anti-Structure Munition), designed especially for destroying buildings and other types of urban constructions. The fuse has two modes, impact or a delayed function. [BEZ.P51(M2) variant]
*GMP(guided-missile projectile). Shell is a laser-guided projectile developed between the Ksom Research Design Bureau and Brochinosht Imperial Arsenals, featuring a multi-target warhead capable of defeating bunkers and moving light armored vehicles at a range of 2,500 m and capable of being fired from enclosed spaces.[BEZ.P51(M2S) variant]

[Qassadia]

General Overview

Designation: M-09
Country of origin: The Holy Kingdom of Cassadia
Manufacturer DrainorvVagonZavod (hull & turret), Ksom Research Design Bureau (engine, armor & sub-systems), KassStahlWorks (tank cannon)
Designed: 2001-2006 (R&D + Design phase), 2006-2008 (Protype + Field Test stage)
Entered Service: 2009 (Official Introduction), 2010 (Active Service)
Produced: 710
Crew: 3 men
Weight: 58 tonnes (standard), 60,5 tonnes (with armor package)s
Length (gun forward): 11.8 Meters
Hull length: 9.2 meters
Width: 3.5 meters
Height: 2.7 meters

Armament
Main Gun: 120mm KassStahlWorks L/70
Secondary Gun/s: 2 x 7.62 mm coaxial + TC (Turret cupola) (MG3), 1x M2B RCWS (remote-controlled weapons station)
Muzzle Velocity: 1,990 m/s (APFSDS rounds at 1,5 kilometers)
Elevation range: +20° to -8° (computerized-electrohydraulic operation mechanism)
Traverse range: 360 degrees

Ammunition load
Main Gun: 40 rounds (32 stored in the autoloader)
Machine Gun/s: 2 000 rounds (Coaxial & Turret Cupola each ), 300 rounds (for the M2B RCWS)

Mobility
Transmission: 5-speed automatic gearbox
Suspension: High-hardness-steel torsion bars with independent rotary shock absorbers
Engine: KRDB-DD1300
Fuel Type: Diesel
Engine power: 1300 HP
Operational Service Cycle: 600 hours (maintenance)
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (road), 50-40 km/h (offroad, depending on the topographical complexity of the terrain)
Range: 280 km (road), 125 km (offroad), 90 km (sand)

Protection
Armor Type: Titanium, steel, composite materials, ceramics, ERA
Protection Systems: Taralezh APS hard-kill system, automatic fire-suppression system, blow-out panels, engine-bay fire extinguishing system

Maneuverability
Gradient: 70%
Side slope: 45%
Vertical step: 1.0 m
Trench: 3.9 m
Fording: ~ 1,3 m

Overview

A visionary vehicle that was the product of the Millenium Defense Initiative. The M-09 was developed in part of these reforms as a new-generation main battle tank (MBT) designed to successfully engage the latest and near-future main-battle tanks with superior maneuverability, armor protection, optics, and sensors. The M-09 was the brainchild of joint development work between scientists of the Carthage Institute of Technology (Mechanical Engineering Department), the Ksom Research Design Bureau, and the DrainorvVagonZavod.

The M-09's existence was conceived as a vehicle designed to overcome the new operational and tactical challenges posed by recent innovations and observations of recent foreign conflict between nation-state conventional armies, including the recent experience gained by the Cassadian Armed Forces in the Millenium War against the neighboring Kingdom of Ejorike in the Battle of New Carthage where most of the conflict took place across a diverse terrain ranging from arid plain, mountain valleys, hill country, and desert, in which while the Holy Kingdom's armored formations prevailed over their Ejorikean counterparts thanks to the professional composition of the deployed units, including contributing factors such as superior training, tactics, and optics. Their tanks would fall victim in increasing number to heliborne ATGMs, near-peer Ejorikean armored units with modern MBTs (albeit rarely encountered) as well as ambushes staged by Ejorikean conscript infantry with only basic training equipped with RPGs, recoilless rifles, and TOWs.

While the performance of modernized M48/60s, the limited contingent of M1A1 Abrams, and the more numerous M-95s proved overall satisfactory unit on unit engagements, the shortcomings demonstrated in their battlefield performance were evident, leading to defense planners to ring alarm bells throughout both civilian leadership and the military top brass for the development of new hardware as a way to counter these newly posed challenges posed by ATGMs and third-generation MBTs.

From this urgent requirement, the M-09 emerged. A mobile armored platform capable of reaching speeds of up to 90 km/h on roads, with a quick-traversing turret and a high-velocity 120mm smoothbore cannon capable of piercing the armor of even the most heavily armored tanks of the third generation.

Main Armament & Secondary Systems

M-09 uses a new indigenously designed, high-velocity 120mm L/70 smoothbore gun, researched and further designed and refined upon by Cassadia's chief manufacturer and supplier of steel for civilian and military purposes - KassStahlWorks. The 120mm L/70 smoothbore gun is superior in all technical specifications to its previous analogs in exploitation, such as the L7 105mm guns and 120mm Rheinmettal cannons fitted on modernized Patton tanks and newer M-95 MBTs currently in service by the Royal Land Force.

The M-09 can hold 40 rounds of 120mm shells and can effectively penetrate the armor of almost all previous besides up-to-date main MBTs in use by various nations in Krillin or beyond the region. The M-09's gun can fire depleted armor-piercing shells. Including among them, a new type of advanced tungsten alloy armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabots (APFSDS) capable of penetrating 1200mm of RHA(rolled homogenous armor) at 3,000 meters - twice the amount if engaging targets at half the specified range.

The barrel is seventy calibers long (L70) giving the projectile a higher muzzle velocity. Additional features that improve upon the legacy of the M-95 are the M-09's gun, featuring a magnesium-coated alloy thermal sleeve and a remote-operated automated traverse mechanism that allows the gun the ability to elevate to (20°), and depress to (-8°). The bore and chamber are electro-plated with chromium giving the barrel, an operational service cycle of 1000 effective discharges.

The breech mechanism is a split sliding-block breech. One of the vertically sliding-type, placed behind a horizontal obturation ring (necessary because the propellant charges are combustible cases) which are locked in place, the second block triggering the propellant and discharging the round. When the second block falls, the first block is released causing the gun breech to open, discarding the spent shell casing back into the compartment.

Secondary armament featured in the M-09 defense profile is two MG3 general-purpose machine guns, one serving as the vehicle's co-axial armament, with the second firearm fixed on the cupola hatch on the turret, serving as a ''passive-active'' weapon defense system that can be manually operated by a member of the vehicle crew which can be accessed via the turret compartment through a hatch. The third weapon system is a 50.cal TV-operated remote-controlled weapon station operated by the commander. The M2B RWCS is attributed with several systems that aid in the amplifying of its operational capabilities, such as a passive image intensifier with basic thermal imaging capability at close ranges and a multi-magnifier telescopic optic (capable of switching between 2x, 4x, 6x range options) with 3rd generation night vision capability.

As a last addition to the M-09 defense profile. The Taralezh APS is a hard-kill active protection system. The sub-system's functional operation works through a cylindrical drum mounted on a short mast upon the roof of the turret. The cylindrical object is equipped with laser sensors that provide a 360-degree angle area cover. With its high-profile placement, the Taralezh can detect incoming fast-moving projectiles such as RPGs and ATGMs at distances of over 300 meters, in such a tactical situation the system automatically triggers a single projectile to be discharged in the direction of the oncoming munition, the HKV (hard-kill vehicle) detonates via proximity fuse, releasing hundreds of small steel balls and shard shrapnel in a 180-degree apogee in the projectile's direction. The hard-kill system of the Taralezh is stored in a canister found in the lower part of the turret's side-facing sections.

Design Features

The M-09 tank comes equipped with a full CBRN package (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear), a revolver-type carousel autoloader with ammunition located at the back section in the turret compartment, air conditioning system, a ''Blue Force'' FBCB2 system, a digital VHF radio communication system, an independent commander's panoramic sight, 2nd generation gunner's thermal imaging sight for the commander and gunner, laser rangefinder, advanced ballistic computer and digital FCS, navigation system with inertial navigation (INS) and secure satellite communications.

The turret and the hull body are made of thin titanium alloy over the outer layer covering a complex armor matrix of composite and RHA materials.

The turret features a modular protective architecture in the form of in-built bolts fixed to the turret, providing a minimal need for specialized tools required for modifications for the vehicle, such as for the installation of enhanced protection solutions incorporating a diverse array of armor modules. Twelve modules surround the turret (five per side), as well as three on the rear section of the turret, numbered from 1 to 5 and 1 to 2 (for the front and side turret as well as hull sections), which start from the front end. The modules are covered by an anti-slip coating made of fiberglass.

Power supply to the turret traverse is supplied through an electrical system wired to the tank's engine which provides for the tank's needed charge in order for the turret to traverse in any direction while on the move during active maneuvers. An emergency APU battery is, in parallel, also wired to the system of operation for the tank's turret functions. This comes in the form of a reserve power source which lends power to the electrical system responsible for powering the turret traverse in addition to the proper depression and elevation of the M-09's gun.

A unique feature of the M-09 main battle tank is its lack of a manned turret, in that the system of loading, calibration, and traverse of the turret is operated remotely from the safety of an armored capsule that house the crew. Both compartments can be accessed from within via an air-pressurized hatch, allowing for easy movement between the two compartments, allowing for the maintenance of the autoloading system or operation of the turret in case of critical malfunction in the control software, to be performed with minimal disruption to the tank's operational performance.

The turret compartment contains the bustle, autoloader, and a manually operated gunner workstation. The turret compartment is protected on both sides against older Soviet D-10T & U-5TS alongside western tank armament equivalents like the ubiquitous L7-type tank rounds. The turret compartment in that regard is also rated as sufficient to stop autocannon ammunition such as 30 mm armor-piercing rounds or lower in addition to threats posed by infantry elements armed with shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons such as base anti-tank RPG projectiles. The spaced armor in this section of the vehicle's turret also allows for: The carry of field pioneer toolset, reduction in the tank's radar as well as other items of importance to the crew (spare ammunition, rations, contraband).

Structural self-sealing fuel tanks are located in the front part of the hull, in the forward section after the armored crew capsule. Heavy ballistic applique plates protect the front of the hull sides, with each of these alloys manufactured between additional sets of two sandwiched layers of composite/ceramic panels covered by a thin titanium external plate, which serves as the tank hull's outer shell.

The M-09's armor layout offers improved ballistic protection thanks to incorporating titanium into the hull. This new generation composite armor package layout enhances the protection of the M-09 against APFSDS and shaped-charge ammunition of more common larger calibers. Covering both the sides and the rear section of the autoloader compartment are reinforced by semi-reactive layers of bolted steel plates onto which can are mounted additional protective modules such as reactive armor on top of the composite modules. This complicated armor structure allows for improved survivability of the crew by fortifying the ammo compartment from penetration and ''cookoff'' in the worst-case scenario.

[Qassadia]

Designation: MPRU - 1982
Manufacturer: DrainorvAvtoZavod
Designed: 1975-1981
Entered Service: 1982 (Official Introduction & Active Service)
Production: 1982-1997
Nu. Produced: 2061
Country of origin: The Holy Kingdom of Cassadia
Entered service: Early 1980s
Crew: 5 men

Dimensions and weight

Weight: 10 tons
Length: 9 meters
Width: 2.5 meters
Height: 3 meters

Armament

Caliber: 140 mm
Number of tubes: 40
Rocket weight: 56/76 kilograms
Warhead weight: 20 kilograms
Firing range: 6 - 18/28 kilometers
Full salvo duration: 18 - 20 second
Reloading time: 12 - 15 minutes (full reload)

Mobility

Engine: Pegaso 10.5-liter diesel
Engine power: 220 hp
Maximum road speed: 80 km/h
Range: 550 kilometers

Overview

Designed as a replacement to the LARS multiple rocket launcher system. The MPRU-1982 is a multiple rocket launcher system designed in the period between the mid-70s and the initial years of the 1980s, shortly after which the rocket artillery-based weapon system was promptly adopted by the Artillery Corp of Cassadia's Royal Armed Forces. The artillery system was a joint project between VERATEX (a military-oriented company focused on the export of surplus armaments as well as the development of computer and electronic sub-systems for artillery-based hardware) and DrainorvAvtoZavod, one of the country's leading companies in the Holy Kingdom, with several companies under its corporate umbrella that were producing civilian as well as utility and heavy-duty vehicles.

In spite of the daunting task of meeting the technologically complex requirements set by the Artillery Corp of the Land Force for a range of sophisticated fire control systems which would allow for an MLRS to cover an area roughly of around 100 square meters with accurate, saturated artillery fire. A demanding requirement given that the system had to be cheap enough and sophisticated enough for said MLRS system to be compatible along with the framework of parameters set in the doctrine of Cassadia's military for accurate mass artillery barrages on forward and intermediate enemy lines with enough firepower to degrade or confuse the enemy for long enough for Cassadian formations to organize and move on the offensive.

Work on the system was refined and finally applied to manufacture, with the first fully functional prototypes presented to officers of the General Staff and Artillery Corps in 1981 for testing purposes, assessing its viability as an effective conventional system that could be pressed into active service. Performance in field trials of the MPRU proving to be outstanding, proving its ability in effectively overcoming complicated terrain with such as light uneven terrain, low-quality unpaved road thanks to the MPRU's launch vehicle model (modified Pegasus 3055 truck) whose technical specification and quality are well known for their low-maintenance requirements and satisfactory off-road performance.

Throughout the length of the field trials, evaluation of the MPRU proved the system to be decisively superior over older systems, as assessed by artillery crews, in large part because of the MPRU's superior ability to lay down accurate fire faster in comparison with more analog systems, alongside having a higher effective range than the previous artillery system.

The MPRU proved itself at field trials by successfully meeting its advertised optimal technical parameters in the all-around functionality of its sub-systems, reliability, mobility, deployment, technological sophistication in addition to the expedited and successful execution of fire missions at different grids, each at longer ranges than the previous, in which the MLRS's guidance and fire control system proved to be of great aid to its crew in cutting down on the time to evaluate, range, altitude, and distance for the calibration of the angle of fire toward the targets.

The MPRU was approved for active service with the Land Force Artillery Corps the following year, slated to replace the older and more inaccurate LARS multiple-rocket launcher, with the MPRU gradually replacing said older rocket artillery system from active service in the following year.

Design Features

The launcher has two 20-round packs arranged in five rows of four 140 mm launcher tubes each, mounted on the rear of a Pegasus 6 × 6 truck chassis, with an option to upgrade its mobile platform to a KAT M1 of the same wheel chassis type. The vehicle is fitted with an armored, fully enclosed forward control six-man crew cab that can mount a light 7.62 mm machine gun on the roof for local defense and anti-aircraft purposes. A fire control system includes a ballistic computer, navigation system, and meteorological equipment.

A longer rocket has also been developed and is fitted with a double-grain solid-fuel motor that, when fitted with aerodynamic airbrakes, allows three distinct trajectories to be flown using the same firing elevation. The unguided 140 mm rockets also have pop-out fins for stabilization in flight. There are several options in terms of the warhead type, which can either be a 20 kg HE fragmentation or, in the case of the long rocket, a 21 kg submunition cargo warhead.

This is available in four versions carrying 42 anti-personnel grenades each, with either 950 3.2 mm diameter steel balls, 60 g of Composition B explosive and a PO model percussion fuze, or 28 High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) grenades with contact fuzes and capable of penetrating 110 mm of conventional steel armor, six pressure-activated anti-tank mines fitted with anti-disturbance features or 14 smoke grenades each providing 4 minutes of smoke. The fuzes for the rockets can either be the PD M34A2 contact type, proximity, or time. All six rockets can be mixed within the launcher and can be selected in accordance with the type of target that the MPRU has to discharge its ordinance upon.

A Pegasus 6 × 6 resupply vehicle with four blocks of 20 long-rocket reload rounds or six blocks of 20 short-rocket reload rounds is assigned to each vehicle as part of the battery. Reloading is manual and takes 5 minutes for each rocket pod to be fully reloaded with a full ammunition load, while the time taken to prime the launcher for combat application takes 2 minutes. To fire a complete salvo takes 45 seconds, and to come out of action another 2 minutes.

The short, HE rocket is 2.044 m in length, weighs 56.3 kilograms, and has a maximum range of 18,000 meters. The burn time of the motor is 1.6 seconds. The long rocket is 3.23 m in length, weighs 76 kilograms, and has a burn time of 2.7 seconds, giving a maximum range of 28,000 meters. The minimum range of both rockets is 6,000 meters.

[Qassadia]

Designation:
Designation: M-95
Country of origin: The Holy Kingdom of Cassadia
Designed: 1986-1993
Entered service: 1995
Manufacturer: Strategic Studies Group, Ksom Research Design Bureau, Pavelburg & Etropole Metalworks, KasStahlWorks
Nu. Produced: 2100


Technical Characteristics

Weight: 60.3 Tons
Length (gun forward): 10.4 Meters
Hull length: 7.88 Meters
Width: 3.62 Meters
Height: 2.58 Meters

Main gun: 120mm KasStalhWorks L/51 M1991 smoothbore
Machine guns: 1x 7.62 mm MG3 (commander cupola), 1x M2HB (coaxial)
Elevation range: +20° to -10° (manual and electrohydraulic)
Traverse range: 360 degrees

Main gun: 44 rounds
Machine guns: 1000 rounds (coaxial M2HB), 2 000 rounds (MG3)

Transmission: KDB-1100-3B
Suspension: High-hardness-steel torsion bars with independent rotary shock absorbers
Engine: DrainorvAutomotiv1500 V12 engine
Fuel Type: Diesel
Engine power: 1500 HP
Maximum road speed: 75 km/h (on road), 50 km/h (offroad)
Range: 300 km (on road), 150 km (offroad), 110 km (sand)

Protection

Armor Type: Spaced armor using titanium and tungsten materials, rolled-homogenous steel, ERA (optional add-on package)
Protection Systems: Taralezh APS, automatic fire-suppression system, blow-out panels, engine-bay fire extinguishing system

Maneuverability

Gradient: 65%
Side slope: 35%
Vertical step: 0.9 m
Trench: 3.5 m
Fording: ~ 1 m

History

The M-95 is a Third-generation battle tank, designed with a core principle as the future mainstay of the Cassadian Tank Corp, to supplant the aging, if well-maintained and exceptionally modernized, platforms of the Walker Bulldog, M48, and M60 Patton tanks. While all these tanks proved themselves as capable and reliable workhorses for the Land Forces, their shortcomings became evident in the 1979-1980 Cassado-Albarazil War, throughout whose course of the conflict - M48/M60 were outmatched in the technical department by superior, even if sparsely met T-72 tanks, which were backed up by the more numerous models of T-62 and T-55 tanks. While the Patton and Walker Bulldog tanks proved themselves more than capable against the latter two types, the main MBTs which made up most of their tank fleet fell short from a purely technical standpoint if each were pitted on equal terms had it not been for the effective application of strategy and tactics of the Cassadian tank crews in large part thanks to the specialized and thorough training of the tank men compared to their Albarazili counterparts.

While performance-wise the tank crews were proved to the world their professionalism and efficacy of applying the skills and tactics learned in training, against the steel walls of Albarazili tanks. The underwhelming technical performance of the Walker Bulldog and Patton tanks against Soviet-made armor and the T-72 tank would come to gravely worry General Staff military planners, spawning the rise of camps which were split mainly between two factions, who would come to be known as ''Reformers'' and ''Progressives'' within the top military leadership of the Cassadian Armed Forces.

With the Reformers supporting the devisement of new and more capable upgrade packages for enhancing the capability of existing systems, with the Patton and F-4 Phantoms being the most glaring examples, while the ''Progressive'' faction advocated for a significant revision to the strategic posture, methods of planning and overall military doctrine which have served as the cornerstone of the structure of a military force which shone a light, that while the Cassadian Royal Armed Forces on paper was a major deadly fighting force, the reality of proven combat exposed weaknesses in the overall doctrine of the Cassadian that revealed it to be far more fragile than the dismissals of senior General Staff figures.

The fielding of this kind of military based on numbers and fleets of tanks, armored vehicles, as well as planes based on aging designs or other later models approaching that category, was described by a ''Progressive'' military officer as a ''malaise-like bloated clay hollowness'' that would fall apart in the face of a near-peer or superior foe of a similar proportion of forces to that of the Holy Kingdom.

Yet, in spite of the well-founded and articulate suggestions of the ''Progressive'' faction in favor of the ''Reformers'' receiving the bulk of the near-to-medium term macro and micro requests for additional orders and alterations to the plan in terms of budget priorities for various defense spending programs and deployment of weapon systems, the ''Progressive'' faction was nevertheless given credence for the defense of its arguments in front of the Royal Secretary and Emperor Charles VII at the time, by filing an order for the purchase of 240 M1 Abrams tanks in addition for the establishment of a theoretical study group whose task was to ''assess the viability for initiating of a program for the development of an indigenous tank platform''.

A number of years would pass before the project would become viable enough to be seriously considered by the Royal Department of Defense. With the progress of the study on the indigenous tank platform advancing at an underwhelming rate that would have turned up unsuccessful which would have ended with the research group disbanded had it not been for the enlistment of several engineers of the Ksom Research and Design Bureau who aided the ''Progressive'' Strategic Studies Group In their quest for a viable advanced tank design. Within the span of a single year, the Progressive faction would come around and present the work which they had painstakingly worked for in front of the War Council chaired by the Emperor of Cassadia. After scrutinizing the design, the Emperor was impressed and intrigued by the concept from what the project had yielded that he would go on to give his approval for a proper tank program to be set up and provided with the needed funds to be successfully executed to its conclusion.

Within the span of a couple of years, the defense enterprise presented an advanced prototype which demonstrated excellent performance during its field trials through which the tank was subjected to a specter of grueling tests that pushed the tank's targeting system, suspension, engine, and transmission to its very limit. Suffering only a single breakdown throughout the entirety of its 400-kilometer journey through uneven hill country, marshland as well as demonstrating advanced capability in accuracy thanks to its data-bus interconnecting all sub-systems such as the automated digital fire-control system and ballistic computer, aided by the atmospheric measuring devices and sensor antennas, gunner sight, laser rangefinder, and ICTV, enhancing the tank's combat capability by using the latest technologies in tank design.

The advanced prototype would be accepted into service in the second year after its final trials and tweaks to the tank's design and sub-systems. Consequently, the vehicle was given the M-95 designation, after the year in which the MBT was officially introduced into service with the Tank Corp of the Land Force of the Royal Armed Forces of the Holy Kingdom of Cassadia.

The M-95 has proven itself as a capable platform in its relatively young service period within the Land Force. With two regiments of M-95 tanks belonging to the 12th Fusiliers Grand Regiment taking part in hostilities during the Millenium War, seeing action most famously in the Operation Wolf's Claws (the retaking of the strategic city of Radima), where a single M-95 tank (#131) was credited with destroying 17 tanks, 5 IFVs, 8 armored vehicles and around 70 soldiers in a single engagement while providing covering fire for a company-sized unit of Land Force soldiers to reach the forward areas of the Ejorikean positions and establish a dent in the defensive lines that were soon exploited to allow for the Cassadian military to officially enter the city, heralding its liberation almost a week later.

Overview

The M-95 features an all-welded steel hull and a turret manufactured out of titanium-tungsten alloys with the front section of the MBT's turret incorporating a multilayer armor scheme and is divided into three compartments: driver at the front, fighting in the center, and power pack at the rear. All M-95 have enhanced armor protection against mines and improvised explosive devices, enhancing the crew's survivability rate.

The M-95 comes equipped with a par-the-course complement element of four crewmen, consisting of the commander, gunner, loader, and driver. The fighting compartment was designed with ergonomics in mind, which would maximize efficiency and reduce crew fatigue.

The commander’s station is located on the right side of the turret and is equipped with a sunken cupola which offered a 360-degree field of vision through six periscopes. The sunken cupola is positioned at an angle so that the overall height of the vehicle is minimized in a way so that the chance that a partial hit could deflect into the crew compartment. The commander’s station consists of traditional mechanical sights.

Digital screens have also been provided which provide a direct link to a feed connecting to the gunner’s sight which the commander would be able to correct the aim at a target via an override switch. The commander has at his disposal a CS60N primary stabilized commander's sight offering a 360-degree panoramic detection, recognition, and identification view via a periscope in the cupola, which has x3 and x10 magnification options. It features a two-axis, gyro-stabilized mirror head. Additionally, a 3rd generation image intensifier night channel is incorporated into the sight, which significantly enhances situational awareness and combat ability in low-light conditions. The M-95 is additionally complemented by a thermal imaging intensifier.

Just below the commander’s station, on the right side of the turret, is the gunner’s station, equipped with day/night capabilities. Entry and exit for the commander and gunner are through the commander’s hatch. The loader’s station is on the left side of the turret and has a dedicated episcope for better situational awareness. Entry and exit for the loader were through his own dedicated hatch.

The driver’s station features an ergonomic design, with an analog instrument panel and a yoke-type steering stick which improved comfort and reduced driver fatigue. The driver’s station comes standard with a digital screen displaying the tank's speedometer as well as engine output and condition. Furthermore, the driver makes use of three episcopes, allowing better visibility, thereby increasing situational awareness. The central episcope can be switched in favor of a passive night driving periscope allowing full night capability. The driver can enter and exit his station through a single-piece hatch above their station while an emergency escape hatch is located underneath their seat through the floor.

Main Armament & Secondary Systems

The M-95 is fitted with an indigenously designed 120mm M1991 semi-automatic smoothbore main gun developed by KasStahlWorks. The 51 caliber barrel is smoothbore and is encased in a thermal shield. A total of 54 main gun rounds are carried, of which 6 are kept in the turret basket, 6 rounds are kept in a rotating carousel, and 32 in ammunition racks to the left of the driver. Available main gun rounds consist of Armor Piercing Fin Stabilised Discarding Sabot-Tracer (APFSDS/T) with an effective range of 4000 m, High Explosive Anti Tank (HEAT) and High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) with an effective range of 2000 m, and High Explosive Tracer (HE/T) with a range of 4500 m.

The gun drive makes use of a 48 V compact brushless DC motor, two pinon azimuth drive, and linear extension elevation drive. The azimuth drive can rotate the turret a full 360 degrees in less than 10 seconds with an acceleration of 0.6 rad/s. Elevation speed and acceleration are rated at 0.6 rad/s. Also included is a two-axis primary stabilized GS60 gunner sight with an x3 and x8 magnification. Additionally, a laser range finder with a 200 – 8000 m range is integrated together with a 120 element thermal imager which is projected on monitors at both the commander and gunner stations. The gunner also has at his disposal a mechanical telescopic auxiliary backup sight.

The main gun ammunition is stored in the turret and floor. The ready rounds are kept on the turret floor and turret bustle via a loading port. Ammunition is provided by a rotating carousel which supplies ammunition to the loader who can load between 6 and 8 rounds a minute.

The Fire Control System (FCS) makes use of an RS485 serial databus linking all the sub-systems to allow for effective hunter-killer mode, allowing the gunner and commander to hunt for enemy targets independently. Once a target has been identified, the main gun is slaved onto the target by the gunner or by the commander with an override facility.

The fire directing system makes use of a compact 48VDC electro-mechanical gun drive with a fully integrated digital FCS. Reaction time from target acquisition to round on target is less than 9 seconds. The FCS calculates ballistic offsets and improves first-round hit probability by incorporating the M-95's tilt angle and forward speed, the target moving speed, crosswind, barometric pressure, outside temperature, ammunition temperature, and target distance drop and flight speed. Additionally, the incorporated muzzle reference system allows for more accurate calibration purposes. The FCS computes a ballistic calculation in 0.01 mrad and has a cycle time of 5 ms.

The M-95's passive armor comprises multiple layers of spaced armor with the effective thickness of the frontal glacis being 750 mm for the hull. The turret thickness and composition are classified though it is believed that the armor protection for the front section is estimated to have an armor value of 970mm. Both the frontal hull and turret are capable of withstanding hits from 125 mm APFSDS and HEAT rounds. The crew and critical subsystems are protected against 23 mm Armour Piercing (AP) round attacks from the flanks and rear. Top armor is rated against 155 mm air-burst rounds. The bottom hull is rated against anti-tank mine blasts under a track. Additional reactive armor packages can be installed on the hull to defeat more modern HEAT rounds. The turret on the other hand can be equipped with a Taralezh hard-kill active protection system which provides 360-degree coverage against later Soviet/Russia SACLOS/Laser-guided ATGMs.

The M-95's onboard fire explosion suppression system is automatically activated by optical detectors, which are fitted in the turret and driver’s compartment. Should an explosion occur in the turret bustle magazine, blow-off panels allow the explosive energy to be directed outwards, thereby reducing the risk to the crew. The crew compartment is also isolated from the bustle, thereby maximizing survivability in case of a hit on the bustle.

The engine compartment has its own dedicated fire extinguishing system which activates automatically when a fire is detected. The system can also be activated manually. The fuel tank is filled with “Explosafe” which prevents the formation of destructive pressure after the ignition of vapors or gases.

The interior ergonomics allow for individual crew Biological-Chemical protection as well. Crew comfort in warm weather conditions is assured through an interior cooling system enhancing the crew's durability, which enhances crew durability.

The interior of the M-95 is fully lined with an anti-spalling layer to reduce the chance of ricocheting shrapnel. The integrated cooling measure significantly reduces the M-95's exterior IR signature. On either side of the turret, behind a sheet of armor, is a bank of four 81 mm smoke grenade launchers. The M-95 is fitted with an exhaust smoke generating system.

[Qassadia]

General Overview
Designation: NGRS/IAR-2014 (Next-Generation Rifle System/Infantry Assault Rifle)/ Infantry Assault Rifle - 2014
Type: Modular Rifle System/Adaptive Combat Rifle
Place of Origin: Holy Kingdom of Cassadia
Designer: Brochinosht Imperial Arsenal (Small Arms R&D Division)
Designed: 2013 - 2019
Produced: 2020
Introduction: 2021

Technical Overview
Manufacturing Materials: Fiberglass, Polymide, Aluminum Alloys, Carbon Steel (receiver, barrel & some of the other internal moving part mechanisms)
Mass: 4,4 kg (unloaded) / 4,87 kg (fully loaded)
Length: 87 cm (with suppressor & fully retracted stock) / 96,7 cm (with suppressor & fully extended stock) -- 69,9 cm (stock fully retracted & without suppressor) / 79,6 cm (stock fully extended incl. suppressor)
Height: 25,4 cm (with magazine & sight)
Width: 45mm
Barrel Length: 330mm


Cartridge: 7,62x51mm NATO
Feed system: 30-round detachable magazine
Action: Gas-operated short-stroke piston system
Locking: Rotating Bolt
Muzzle Velocity: 742 m/s
Effective Firing Range: 600 meters (point target), 800 meters (general target area)
Maximum Effective Range: 1,300 meters (with long-range optics)
Rate of Fire: 550 - 600 rounds/m

Development History

Recent advancements in assault rifle technology, projectile ballistics, and practical experience previously accrued over decades in combat field conditions have contributed enormously to the development of small arms. The accumulation of this technical experience has served well nonetheless in the development of modern and cost-effective sufficient means for equipping vast numbers of frontline personnel with up-to-date assault rifles en-masse, in particular, small arms chambered in the 5,56 - has allowed for the mainline infantryman and tactical formations to retain their combat value as effective fighting units in conventional conflicts.

Nonetheless, the performance of the mainline infantryman and tactical formations over the last dozen years or so has demonstrated sub-par performance in certain tactical situations and scenarios that have been on the rise throughout this time. The experience garnered over the last 15 - 20 years from contemporary combat zones, with examples such as the ''Eternal Insurgency'' in the Overseas Dependency of New Carthage, latter-day combat environments like the Millenium War, and others such as overseas conflicts like the periphery and heart of Krillin such as the 40-year Hesjan Civil War and the Jajal Separatist Independence Conflict; have demonstrated that the increase in the range gap in firefights between combatants and the wider proliferation of rifle optics and body armor (with Level III and up) has served to complicate the tactical situation, leading to a marked decrease in the combat effectiveness of the Cassadian serviceman, allowing for FSE non-state actors like ISEA (Islamic Emirate of Albarazil) to even their combat potential in a number of standard combat scenarios where the military previously held a decisive advantage, namely body armor, night-fighting capabilities, and rifle optics.

For a rifleman equipped with IAR-88 [IAR abbreviation stands for Infantry Assault Rifle] (CETME L domestically produced copy) or an AR-15 platform rifle, despite extensive specialized field and tactical training. Combat personnel of specialized service branches like the Marines, Airborne, and Border Troops have found it challenging to take on militant elements in one-on-one tactical engagements.

To address this pressing issue; a series of studies were launched to investigate this potential ''tactical handicap'', the end report from the studies concluded with near empirical certainty, found that standard ammunition has been observed to be insufficient from the point of view of soldiers. Most of those interviewed have attributed this sub-par combat performance to faults related to its lack of ability to physically neutralize the enemy in a fast-paced environment which a combat zone requires. Instead, the increasing long-range gap in firefights and the proliferation of body armor among the enemy has exhibited that, even with successful follow-on shots, the enemy would regularly fall to chance end incapacitated rather than physically terminated, allowing for the enemy combatant to withdraw and fight another day.

This caused some among the military leadership, driven by a motivation to reduce mounting casualty rates which have seen a slow but steady increase since 2014 to stem this creeping grizzly issue. This cause found itself an unlikely advocate in Marshal Yuri Drozdov, commander of the New Carthage Operational Command and a moderate member of the ''Reformer'' clique who authoritatively raised the issue within the General Staff, giving the ''Progressive'' faction on the General Staff of the Cassadian Armed Forces some much-needed political capital to advocate for the adoption of a more modern weapon system in light of the rising challenges that were emerging on the battlefield, an issue addressed by the Marshal of the Armed Forces Igor Sergeyev, a man who also happened to be chairman of the Equipment Procurement Commission.

This lobbying effort would see a measure of success, as the advocacy for a replacement rifle that would serve to supplant both the IAR-88 (CETME L licensed copy) and AR-15 platform assault rifles would be given the go-ahead by Marshal Sergeyev. Thus the initiation of a ''Next Generation Rifle System'' program or NGRS was set up -- on the condition that the new assault rifle is chambered in the venerable 7,62x51mm NATO cartridge.

With the ''NGRS'' program approved and operational, the commission tender for the development of this new small arms system would be given to the Brochinosht Imperial Arsenals (B.I.A) company, a defense-related enterprise, with a history in the manufacture of weaponry spanning several centuries worth of experience in the design and mass production of firearms and artillery. A specialty that, even into the present day, has leaned more on the former weapon type as far as it pertains to its product catalog.

The core design requirement proved to be technologically challenging for the company to execute as it had to design a rifle that would not tread into the territory of a battle rifle. A lofty undertaking attributed to the in the tender which for a design requirement, demanded that the future rifle be chambered in the aforementioned powerful caliber.

A quest that would be lessened in difficulty in terms of R&D efforts and manufacture process thanks to the General Reconnaissance Bureau, which would provide several physical examples of the SCAR-H rifles to the B.I.A's design team - sourced through more than sketchy methods thanks to trusted contacts in the Pakistani intelligence community who had direct ties to the Taliban. Contacts the General Reconnaissance Bureau closely aimed to maintain thanks to its involvement in the Soviet-Afghan War. In this conflict, Cassadia stooped on the side of the Mujahideen and was an ardent supporter of, supplying the Islamist cause with a diverse array of military material during the entirety of the conflict and beyond, an arrangement largely handled by on-the-ground proxy frontmen associated with the ISI, including elements of Al-Qaeda.

These ties would continue to be cultivated and kept alive over the years and decades, as the GRB would use them to gain access to source various items of functional high-end gear, such as body armor, NVGs, and firearms that would be smuggled out in exchange for monetary dividends. A more than an exemplary case is the SCAR-H rifle, a high-powered firearm carried primarily by special-purpose operatives - with physical examples Taliban cells managed to obtain on several occasions by more than bloody methods in what had likely been aborted SOCOM operations. Each rifle the GRB procured from the Taliban cost a fortune to the tune of 1-1,5 million $ per rifle.

Securing a small collection of, more or less functional SCAR-H rifles, the firearms were subjected to exhaustive crunch technical tests, producing enviable results, with the firearms testers lauding the weapon's controllability even in full auto, the relatively lightweight, and ability to sustain the flow of follow-on shots as well as low stoppage rate during the process of firing more than 60,000 thousand rounds in comparison to other rifles

Satisfied with the capabilities of the firearms exhibited during the tests, the GRB's SMRI ''Special Measures Research Institute'', the security service's special weapons manufacturing arm, was contracted to produce several dozen copies of the rifle for its special-mission OSNAZ operators, through an indigenous reverse-engineering program to extrapolate the firearm's technical and design data relating to the firearm's operation, materials, and technology and methods used in its manufacturing. A process that took a good amount of several years worth of tiresome work to be perfected, in addition to requiring the sourcing of computer-assisted precision milling machinery, 3D printers, and CNC equipment via the agency's extensive international smuggling network as well as practical trial and error in the manufacturing process concerning new types of plastics needed in the production of the firearm. With the workshop operation established by the SMRI. The program eventually reaped success, as it proved capable of fulfilling its objective to supply the GRB's OSNAZ with domestic clones of the SCAR-H which were of comparable quality to the original SCAR-H weapon systems.

As fate would have it, the success of the GRB's pet project occurred sometime almost right before the NGRS program was inked into existence, for which the agency's grand and an almost opportunistically unusual overture to the B.I.A's R&D team from the Holy Kingdom's notoriously secretive and stingy organization as far technology was concerned, served to greatly ease the development of NGRS thanks to the transfer of technical data, experience, and technology as well as physical derivatives of the weapon system. However, several elements related to the SCAR's design constrained the weapon designers from drawing a similar firearm that would have closely imitated the gun along pure technical lines, as the precision and expense of the gun required simplification in terms of manufacture industrially-intensive parts.

While the overall design architecture of the SCAR was preserved to a point. The Imperial Arsenals designers had to find a way to simplify design and develop new manufacturing methods to make the production of such a prospective finely-tuned gun sporting high-quality precision parts, viable for Cassadia's industry to be manufactured in large numbers for the outfitting and replacement for most of the Royal Armed Forces' existing stock of IAR-88 and AR-15 platform weapons systems.

Out of this need for a high-performance firearm system, the future assault rifle of the Royal Armed Forces, the IAR-2014 (PSP standing for Pekhotnaya Sturmova Pushka or Infantry Assault Rifle, translated from Cassadian into English) was born after strenuous designs, re-designs, and failed to semi-successful prototypes each failure building on the technical insight, knowledge, and experience which allowed for the Brochinosht Imperial Arsenals firearms design team to further refine the gun into a finished, functional product that would go on to be officially introduced in 2020, and be officially adopted into service in 2021 as the Land Force future standard-issue service rifle.

General Capability Overview

The IAR-2014 is a modular adaptive combat rifle intended to serve a variety of roles relative to the needs of the infantryman relative to the combat situation and mission specifications, as such the IAR-2014 can be adjusted to serve the role as a DMR (designated marksman rifle) if equipped with medium to long-range optics or as a light-machine gun if issued with 75-round drum magazines. Last but not least, the weapon system can fulfill the role of an assault rifle, the main specification for which the IAR-2014 was first originally designed to perform.

As such, the overall result that has emerged from the NGRS program has come to demonstrate unmatched technical performance in areas such as muzzle velocity, low stoppage incidence rate maintaining sustained fire, effective firing range, and surprisingly controllable recoil when fired in rapid succession in a semi-auto or short burst on fully automatic mode owing to an ingenious ''stryker system'' of a gas-operated short-stroke system and a rotating bolt, other gun parts contribute in the reduction of recoil thanks to a free-floating barrel (a feature used mostly on sniper rifles, with only one other such comparable equivalent that can be considered in the league of the IAR-2014), a compensator and new lightweight matrix of alloys like aluminum and plastics like fiberglass, polyamide, with only the barrel, the receiver and other internal parts manufactured out of steel.

To add to the advantages of the IAR-2014, the adaptive combat rifle has been designed for ambidexterity with ease of use in mind for both right and left-handed shooters thanks to the utilization of a reciprocating charging handle, safety switch, and fire selector.

Regarding the issue of weapon attachments, in consideration of today's requirement for the average infantryman's main standard-issue weaponry to be adaptable to the changing tactical situation of modern warzones. The modularity of the IAR-2014 grants for a robust platform that allows for the mounting of a varied assortment of attachments. This can range from optics, foregrips, under-barrel grenade launchers, tactical strobe lights, and laser sights, thanks to the design's utilization of in-built Picatinny rails on the dust cover and the under-and side guard rails onto the rifle's handguard. The loadout of attachments can be installed and unmounted in adjustment to the individual needs of the rifleman and mission requirements. In addition, further attachments like suppressors can also be mounted.

In 2021, the rifle was officially inducted into active service with the Cassadian Royal Armed Forces. Details pertaining to the IAR-2014's adoption with the Cassadian military have disclosed additional information, with military planners slating the IAR-2014 to become the standard issue main firearm for all combat servicemen of the Cassadian military in the next eight years alongside replacing the venerable IAR-88 by 2030. The first production batches of the rifle are planned to be issued gradually in active service with members of the Royal Marine Corps and Airborne Troops with later deliveries intended to trickle down and equip the mainline grunts of the Land Force as modernization and retooling of former production lines of the B.I.A arsenal machine plant in Brochinosht and Etropole is completed, gunsmith specialist staff are retrained and manufacturing facilities are overall returned back to their regular production parameter levels to increase the pace of production for the NGRS.

[Qassadia]

Overview
Length: 20,1 meters
Wingspan: 15,5 meters
Height: 3.9 meters
Wing Area: 76 m2
Empty Weight: 16,100 kg
Gross Weight (Combat Weight): 29,000 kg
MTOW: 33,000 kg
Fuel Capacity: 9,000 kg
Powerplant: 2 × KMBD Model 31-34 three-stream adaptive cycle engine
Dry thrust: 139 kN (dry thrust)
Afterburner: 181 kN (with afterburner)


Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 2.3
Maximum Speed: Mach 1.8 (supercruise at altitude), Mach 1.2 (supercruise at sea level)
Ferry Range: 2,500 km (with maximum internal fuel and at clean subsonic cruise speed), 2,900 km (at clean subsonic cruise speed with external fuel tanks)
Combat range: 1,080 km (internal fuel at borderline subsonic/supersonic +Mach 09/1 speed) approx. 770 km at clean supersonic speed approx.
Supersonic range: 335 km (at full clean maximum supercruise speed)
Service ceiling: 18,000 m
Rate of climb: 346 m/s
G-Limit: + 9G/-3
Thrust/weight: 1.2

Armament:
1x 30mm DEFA cannon (300 rounds)
Hardpoints: 14x
*under-fuselage internal weapon bay with 4x launch pylons capable of accommodating AIM-120 missiles for BVR combat
*2x external underwing pylons each for 1x short-range AA missile near the wingtip
*3x external underwing pylons with two on each wing
*2x external pylons located to the side of each of the plane's intakes


Avionics
* Multifunctional integrated radio-electronic system (MIRES)
* SR-08 ''All-seeing Eye'' AESA radar (includes built-in dedicated terrain-following capability)
* 3x slat L-band arrays for IFF
* Helmet-mounted cueing system
*Glass cockpit
*Datalink
*Mission computer
*Multi-function display
*Flight control system
*Communication/navigation/identification system
*Digital control surfaces
*Distributed aperture system optical early-warning system
*Electro-optical targeting system
*Passive infra-red surveillance tracking system
*Missile approach warning system
*Thermal imager for low altitude flying and night landing
*Directional infra-red countermeasures
*Optional external targeting pod
*Radio Frequency Jammer

Development History

The SMBS-02 (designated after the initials after the year when official research and design work was initiated) is advanced stealth, single-seat, twin-engine super maneuverable multirole air superiority fighter developed by Etropole Precision Machinery Industries, Ksom Research Design Bureau, United Aircraft Consortium Conglomerate, and the Carthage Institute of Technology. The plane's first prototype flew in early 2010, much to the misfortune of the design team, the sole test bed was lost in a costly accident resulting in the loss of an experienced test pilot, forcing the project's engineers to return to the drawing board. This revision in turn brought about changes that focused on rectifying flaws and software issues with the design's electrical fly-by-wire flight control system, airframe materials, and avionics. The SMBs would only be commissioned in 2020, after a marathon, the aircraft was put under strenuous flight tests and simulations that aimed to push the plane's airframe, engine, and maneuverability to its limits, to great success. The SMBS-02 features a reinforced airframe and enhanced avionics.

General Capability Overview

Designed with a large blended-wing fuselage body and incorporating trapezoidal wings, a retractable tricycle landing gear, and an unconventional tailless design with no traditional empennage, the aircraft uses a unique profile, marked reduction in weight, drag, and radar cross-section. Enhancing the aircraft's maneuverability and survivability. The split ailerons serve not only in a deflecting function but also alternatively as a roll control unit that can also be switched to split open in order to provide aerodynamic braking.

Featuring all-moving canards, the aircraft makes use of the latest in state-of-the-art software control as a way of reducing the aircraft's overall radar signature. One of the canards by positioning them at an angle at which they have the smallest radar cross-section. The aircraft is protected by a lightweight metal-ceramic nanocrystal composite airframe that can withstand stress and heat in sustained supersonic flight and act as armor. To absorb radar emissions and reduce radar cross-section, infrared signature, acoustic signature, and even visibility to the naked eye, the SMBS-02 uses electromagnetic wave-absorbing materials (which remain highly classified, only accessible to those involved directly with design and development work on the plane), giving the aircraft unprecedented capability to remain "nearly invisible" to even the latest radars on the market. To manage heat buildup from a supersonic flight, all leading edges are equipped with active cooling.

The canopy uses a coating to deflect radar waves while an in-flight refueling probe is positioned on the left forward section of the fuselage. The aircraft makes use of "boundary layer control" intakes featuring gauzing panels atop and ahead of where the fuselage meets the leading edge of the air intakes. The gauzing panels use small holes drilled all over them and would suck up the boundary layer air sticking to the fuselage before it enters the air intakes. The boundary layer air is then vented out of a pair of flush apertures on the aircraft's upper rear-side fuselage surface, while the simple nature of the air intakes ensures high-quality airflow. The boundary layer control intakes not only improve engine airflow but also improves the aircraft's very low observable characteristics.

The aircraft's glass cockpit is equipped with a sophisticated panoramic display system that uses a full-panel-width touchscreen. The digital interface allows the pilot to monitor the physical condition and weapons of the aircraft, as well as information about the flight situation of the aircraft such as altitude, airspeed, and direction. Lacking a head-up display, the SMBS-02 uses a helmet-mounted display system instead. The cockpit's pilot seat is equipped with an internal rocket motor, which would be activated, in an emergency event and would be forced to eject in the event of critical technical failure or shootdown by enemy fire.

The aircraft uses a vast array of highly sophisticated avionics. At the heart of the plane's control surface and avionic architecture is the information management system (IMS) that greatly enhances man-machine interaction. The system sports sophisticated digital computers which collect and processes data from various tactical and flight-control systems and presents the relevant information to the pilot from the glass cockpit. Constituting the essential component of the aircraft's fire-control system is the powerful, SR-08 ''All-seeing Eye'' active electronically scanned array radar, developed jointly by the Carthage Institute of Technology and the Ksom Research and Design Bureau. The full prototype of the jet's radar was first tested in late 2009. The highly advanced radar boasts an estimated range of around 820 - 940 km and is capable of tracking, classifying, and even jamming up to around 215 - 280 air and surface targets while also retaining the parallel capability of simultaneously engaging 15 - 30 of either ground-based or aerial targets at the same time. In air-to-surface mode. The SR-08 provides mapping functions while scanning the horizon in search of air and surface threats. The classified ''All-seeing Eye'' radar is complemented by three L-band arrays, with two each on the wing's leading edge extensions and one mounted inside the rear tail section. The arrays offer a number of defense applications, ranging from friend-or-foe identification to electronic warfare. The aircraft's data link reduces pilot workload and shares information between aircraft, while highly-secured communication links allow data to be shared with other friendly aircraft, as well as airborne and surface-based control points. Thanks to the highly integrated nature of the avionic suite, the SMBS-02 is capable of sensor fusion.

The aircraft is powered by a pair of new KMBD 31-34 after-burning turbofan engines. The aircraft employs low-observable flap-nozzle exhausts lined with heat-ablating tiles to dissipate heat and reduce infrared emissions. Combined with the aircraft's wing configuration, this provides the SMBS-02 with high maneuverability together with a highly reduced radar cross-section.

The SMBS-02 has two internal weapons bays, with one large bay located at the middle-bottom of the fuselage and one smaller bay at the forward-bottom of the fuselage. The larger bay located in the middle is capable of carrying a varying array of ordnance; This can range from up to four beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, two air-to-surface missiles, or two to four bombs depending on the diameter and mass. As for the smaller bay at the front, it can only carry two short-range air-to-air missiles. During weapon launches, the bay doors would open in the span of fewer than two seconds as the hydraulic doors open and push the launch rails down, activating the armed hardpoint stations after which the ordnance is launched.

An internally mounted 30mm autocannon is affixed internally in the right forward fuselage with a retractable door covering the muzzle. Each wing has three underwing pylon stations, however, the use of external stores reduces the stealth and kinematic performance of the aircraft. The SMBS-02 can either carry external attachments that can be jettisoned or stealthy ordnance pods and pylons