Commonwealth of Land Warfare Cooperatives

[Third Spanish States]

CPI-300 Network-centric combat helmet

Quick Description: The CPI-300 is a lightweight combat helmet with integrated communications suite in accordance to network-centric warfare, designed to avoid restricting the field of view of soldiers and to be comfortably wore, offering a similar level of protection to a flak vest in accordance to a view that mobility, stealth and information are always better ways of survival than relying on bulky armors, while also protecting against sonic psychological weapons like the "Banana" missile, with limited anti-thermal and flame-retardant capabilities and capable of limited shielding against alpha rays.


Specifications

Weight: 780g
Protection Class: Flak, Type I
Build: Variable thickness ArmoQuepis polyethylene fiber, Nomex, polycarbonate bullet-resistant glass, paper
Average thickness: 4.3mm
Electronics:
- MTI Ultralite Datalink and two-way radio
- Removable balanced armature monoaural earphone and stereo canalphones
- Removable carbon microphone
- 10 MB compact, high-reliability virtual storage drive
- 50 MHz i386 Quantix-Z Processor
- 1 MB RAM memory

Cost: $2,000

History

The Confederacy old-school "military", if it could be called one back then, was experienced with fighting without no protection at all besides the element of surprise, advantageous terrain, guerrilla warfare tactics and mobility, as all of the majors and experienced soldiers among its forces have been originated from guerrillas and irregular military forces. The transition to a regular military force has brought the need of body armor. However, with their habits being passed to newer members, the military forces of the Confederacy have been used for a long time to sacrifice protection for mobility, considering body armors "futile" as they couldn't offer any effective protection against many modern assault and battle rifle rounds. Soon lightweight Class II and Class I concealed Kevlar vests over uniforms became favored rather than full body armors, specially among special forces, and many simply wore no helmets, but instead caps or nothing at all. The cost of an human life is not to be understated. For the full training of a soldier capable of assuming or volunteering himself to a position of command at any time if their peers wish him for it is much beyond the costs that a full protection would offer, specially due to the elitist nature of the Confederacy infantry forces which make little more than 0.05% of the entire local population, as a fully professional military. Something had to be designed to attend to the needs of this unique military.

Then in a fateful Sunday in the year of 2027, a group of infantrymen on vacation were discussing about body armors in an EDDNet message board, and strangely, from such discussion the concept of a new, lightweight, modular infantry protection. Thus the Chaleco Antibalas and the Casco de Protección y Información from the Protección de Infantería Leve modelo 300(PIL-300), were originated, among several other modular protection components of protection which were chosen over a full body armor, still maintaining the principle that the best protection is mobility, terrain and surprise, and more than ever, something which has changed the fate of many battles: Information, a major consideration in the design of this system, thus the name of the helmet translates literally as "Protection and Information Helmet".

Description

The CPI-300 role regarding protection is not to protect against direct bullets, but for the same role of a flak vest and a personal protective equipment in situations with high decibels of sound or of high heat and flammable materials. After some tests, none of the existing synthetic fibers have been able of offering the needed protection:mass efficiency for the demands of an helmet that should not weigh more than 800 grams. Although Dyneema already offered about 40% of improved efficiency over aramids, it was considered not sufficient, or maybe some people were looking for an pretext to grab funds of the MilNet through research, as a new project started in parallel, to create a new synthetic fabric derived from ultra high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWP) fiber. Thus the ArmoQuepis was born. Literally designed to be applied in the construction of kepis, it also became standard in Third Spanish States for all body armors. It is basically a less dense fiber similar to Dyneema, at about 0.78 g/l(~50% more efficient than aramids), but which offers the same protection capabilities of it through a combination of complex kinetics calculations done to optimize its tensile strength and deflective capability, and which when applied in variable thickness, allows the possibility of projectiles being deflected more effectively from vital points in human body, giving origin to the concept of "lethality reduction".

Applied in a distributed way, the fabric used in the CPI-300 combat helmet is sloped in a manner which might seem morbid in certain ways. Although it is not thick enough to stop a bullet, following many ballistics tests to determine the exact points where to add thicker layers, variable thickness was applied to points of trajectory leading to the most vital parts of the human brain, to provoke minor alterations in estimated ballistic trajectories intended to reduce the lethality of an headshot on an wounded soldier by trailing a projectile towards the "path of least resistance" to its kinetic impact located at less critical points of the head, rather than to avoid the bullet from penetrating. It also has a layer of 1mm thick paper, which actually offers protection against alpha rays, making it independent from CBRN suits

The CPI-300 is shaped in a similar way to the SPECTRA Helmet, with the difference the covered region which would otherwise block the field of view of a soldier is covered by an unique combination of ArmoQuepis within a layer of 5mm thick laminated polycarbonate, giving its peculiar appearance of a transparent layer to the forehead just above the eyes, while it also contains support for fitting an additional similar layer to the eyes, although it is not usually recommended for although designed to not break inwards, it could actually be more noxious than no protection at all in such region. However, future plans to expand visual information to datalinks in the form of ultra-compact heads-up displays were taken into account to allow for it this specific addition, although nothing groundbreaking enough is expected to allow such degree of information awareness in the next 25 years.

It also logically includes helmet covers to allow a single helmet to be fielded with different camouflages, and comes into four different sizes for specific head diameters, while being strapped to the head in a similar manner to the MICH TC-2000. The main difference however are its retractable and removable canalphones, which were devised in a glance to the future threat of sonic weapons, and also function as additional communications receiving devices, besides the standard left earphone, automatically disable when the larger earphones are inserted, which does not block the entrance of sound to the left ear. Another mobile and also removable piece is the compact carbon microphone it can be fielded with, chosen for its resistance to electromagnetic pulses, which allows soldiers to directly communicate among themselves without need of the still used, as emergency, radios, which would force a trooper to lower his weapon to use them.

Electronics-wise, in accordance to the mentioned doctrines, it is a fact that a helmet does not offer too much space for issuing complex devices, and that sensitive equipments could be knocked out easily by mere concussion. To reduce costs, its hardware relies on the tried and tested two-way radio datalink for communications, featuring a compact transmitter/receiver unit and an accessible storage drive with little more than a cryptographic key, which are connected to both the microphone and the earphones. The entire region of the helmet where such in-bound components are installed is covered by a combination of ArmoQuepis with Nomex built to reduce the perceived impact on its electronics, at the expense of offering even more limited ballistic protection than the rest of the helmet, although its location was strategically placed to ensure, should enemy forces be aware of its vulnerability, that most possible ballistic trajectories would not hit vital regions of the brain.

It is entirely compatible with the Low Probability of Intercept datalink used by Third Spanish States armored vehicles, vessels and aircrafts, thus giving an excellent information awareness to all soldiers and the possibility of instantaneous receiving of situational updates, and it can also be made compatible with datalink technologies of other nations. The same principle of transmitting an encrypted message to an wide area rather than to an specific point can be applied as well to difficult the detection of the exact position of the receiver, although the simple transmitter of the helmet doesn't support such feature capable of difficulting SIGInt tracing, and nonetheless, whenever such systems are used a soldier will inevitably trade the stealth of all involved parts in the communication for increased awareness of the battlefield.

[Third Spanish States]

Chaleco Antibalas 300

Quick Overview:

The CA-300 is an extremely light and unrestraining Type I ballistic armor set with a significant abrasive capability for its weight, built of a highly mass efficient, lightweight fiber in accordance to the specific needs of land warfare strategies and tactics where speed is vital, like blitzkrieg, elastic defense and People's War, and thus focused to allow increased mobility and speed for foot soldiers rather than for the sheer passive physical protection of an armor, which in turns make easier and faster for them to change the direction their guns are aimed at, crouch or run behind cover, thus increasing indirectly their survivability through a not so obvious manner than a set developed on conventional and obvious assumptions that more passive protection is better than the caliber-independent protection of mobility .

Specifications

Weight: 2.22 kg
- Flak vest: 850 g
- Gloves: 30g
- Boots: 1.3 kg

Protection Class: Flak, Type I
Build: Variable thickness ArmoQuepis polyethylene fiber, Nomex
Average thickness: 4.8mm
Electronics:
- MTI LPI IFF transmitter
- Heartbeat sensor
- 35 MB compact, high-reliability flash memory
- 150 MHz i386 Quantix-Z2 Processor
- 5 MB RAM memory

Cost: $5,000

Description

In a time where advanced assault rifles and high calibers are increasingly commonplace, circumstances force the discerning strategist to choose between maximum protection at the expense of mobility and increased logistical dependence, for the weight of bulky body armors could be instead occupied by additional magazines, for example, and where even then, if defeated by further improvements in weapons technologies, the same body armor would increase the wound and kill a soldier that if unarmored would survive, like proved by the ballistic tests of the FA-65 assault rifle against unarmored and armored dummies in its high accuracy 2-round burst mode.

The Confederacy has chosen the path of increasing infantry survivability through mobility, flexibility, lethality reduction and increased awareness given by the network-centric capabilities of the CPI-300 combat helmet which increments the CA-300, while packing network-centric capabilities of its own to make the possibility of friendly fire completely null and allow commanders to be aware of the exact positioning of the soldiers, and also of casualties at the exact moment they happen, as explained further ahead.

Technically, it consists into a light underclothes flak vest, coupled with highly flexible and durable Armoquepis/Nomex gloves and boots, with the latter packing sectioned metal inserts as well for protection. As a complement for the same, it was designed with similar features to those of the CPI-300 Combat Helmet regarding the limited capability of diverting the trajectory of incoming projects away from vital organs to provoke less than lethal wounds based on extensive testing and development. Equally, as one of its most innovative aspects, it is, like the CPI-300, focused on network centric warfare and packs a compact electronic system which contains a switchable IFF system with low probability of intercept transmission features and is also fed by an optional heartbeat sensor. The same allows for a commander to have a precise knowledge of the battlefield, like mentioned before, as long as risking the element of surprise is acceptable, although other than a significant focus on ELINT, the likelihood of the datalink being intercepted is quite small and only with a risk that requires trade-offs in decision making for operations like ambushes. Whether to choose for information awareness or total stealth depends on the discretion of the tactician.

[Third Spanish States]

Placeholder. Purely Illustrative

Automata de Combate Tierrestre 3 "Miliciano"

Quick Overview

Like the US Marines have the Gladiator, all Blackguards special forces(and futurely the entire Confederacy Army) have at their disposal the new ACT-3, a compact all-terrain UGV small enough to fit into most Confederacy IFVs without reducing maximum load, fast enough to keep up with the soldiers, and built with vulcanized rubber wrap-around tracks resembling of WW1 tanks to be mobile enough, which fitted with the independent MROWS which can support weapons ranging from light to heavy machineguns. It is a semi-automated unmanned vehicle, which supports waypoint navigation instead of direct movement control, but still requires the remote operation of its weapon. It can stand against any intermediary caliber easily, and resist several shots of any infantry-served ballistic weapon besides portable autocannons, while it also packs the Bandera APS to allow it increased survivability against anti-tank weaponry and grenades.


Specifications

Manufacturer: Tienda del Coche/Milnet Tucker Institute Joint-venture
Class: Tactical Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle
Dimensions: 0.75m (width), 1.4m (length), 0.90m(height)
Ground Clearance: 0.20m
Weight: 600 kg (w/ ZM145)
Weight of ROWS: 200 kg
Weight of Transmission: 70 kg
Weight of Tracks: est. 10 kg each
Motor: M4-mod 50 4 cylinder biodiesel, 25 hp at 2,200 rpm. Displacement: 1L
Horsepower per metric ton ratio: 41.67
Velocity(on-road): 15 km/h
Velocity(off-road): 9 km/h
Transmission: MTI 102, 2 forward gears, 1 reverse
Axle Ratio: 4.4
Suspension: Torsion bar
Armament: Each of the mentioned is one of the possible choices
- ZM-145 Heavy Machinegun
- AA-70 Advanced Machinegun
- A-31 Light Machinegun
Ammunition: Each for one of the possible choices
- 160 14x115mm rounds
- 450 7.62x54mm rounds
- 600 6.5x39mm rounds
Armor:
Conventional: Grade 38 titanium armor
- upper front: 10 mm
- sides: 5 mm
- rear: none
- ROWS: 6 mm
- glacis: 13 mm
- lower front: 7 mm
- top: 4 mm
- Weight: 200kg
Stealth Features:
- Optional IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Extremely low profile
- Low Probability of Intercept Datalink
Active Protection System: Bandera integrated APS
NBC Defense: Useless
Fire Control System: MTI UGV 2.0 FCS
Electronics/Sensors:
- Milnet LPI Datalink
- Ballistic fire control system with basic trajectory and effectiveness calculator.
- 5 remote operation, sensory cameras at front, sides, rear, coaxial w/ turret.

Crew: Nobody, but requires a remote operator

Cost: $1,500,000


History

Launched in 16th of September, 2039, the first month of the developing war with Stalinist Spain, the ACT-3 is a remotely operated vehicle which concept is similar to that of the United States Gladiator, but in many ways different, result of the ambitious goal of creating a reliable, cost-effective "combat robot" to become standard issue to at least squad level after its production warms up to reduce initial costs, as justified by the relatively small military force of the Confederacy, also known for being heavily mechanized. It was built to be compact enough to be fit in the middle of an infantry fighting vehicle, being always the first "soldier" to leave during deployment in the front lines, which primary goal is to provide reconaissance in areas which are improper for miniature UAVs to operate, and secondary goal is to give direct fire support to allied troops, while having as a long-term goal to serve as a semi-autonomous defense system in military bases.

Armament

It uses the new "Miniaturized" Remotely Operated Weapon System, a compact, detachable and electronics independent "turret" which can be fitted with many different weapons developed by the MilNet, from the A-31 6.5mm light machinegun to the ZM145 14.5mm heavy machinegun, and which could also easily support foreign weapons which dimensions, recoil and weight are somewhere between the mentioned ones.

As an important need attended, the modular quick-change magazines built specifically for each of the guns it supports, with standardized dimensions, where ammunition is stored, can easily be accessed from its rear, allowing soldiers to reload its ammunition between each use of the vehicle.

Autonomous systems

The system is programmed with a pre-alpha pattern recognition software that has been successfully tested against enemies which uniforms are sufficiently different in patterns from the Confederacy ones, although its autonomous defense mode is still considered a heavily experimental and still under development system, and is usually turned off, for the most optimistic expect for it to only mature enough to be usable by the 2050s, although it already supports waypoint based navigation and can avoid certain pitfalls in its way through pattern recognition, allowing its operator to concentrate into controlling its gun rather than its movement. An experimental "follow mode" is another of its features, although for now it is disabled by default for tests demonstrated it could easily "get lost" at rough turns and troop maneuvers, while waypoints have been proved to work reliably enough. As with the automated targeting and firing, it is something that will take some time to be useful in the field, although research continues, and it is a bit more optimistic, for predictions expect results for such system by 2041.

Powertrain

It is powered by a compact 50 hp biodiesel engine, and like most Confederacy vehicles, also features a high axle ratio in its small powertrain. One of its most interesting features is the fact that it relies into vulcanized rubber wrap-around tracks, analogous those seen in Great War tanks, for it is optimized for mobility on rugged terrain over top speed, for it needed to only have enough to keep up with a squad at a temporary forced march at best. Thanks to its modularity, it can be packed with amphibious support, albeit at a very limited range which is only useful to reduce its chances of bogging down in wet landscapes, while obviously, airdropping it is a relatively simple process.

Its suspension is little more than a compact torsion bar, for anything more complex would bring little advantage for its role and the disadvantage of an additional thing for the operator of the vehicle to distract the same from assuming the role of gunner, besides increased maintenance.

Protection

Armor-wise, it packs sufficient frontal protection to stand against up to 8mm caliber rifle rounds, in the form of the mass efficient titanium, and anything asides from a portable autocannon would not be very efficient to take it down, meaning that the primary threat against it are rocket propelled grenades and overall anti-tank missiles. Adding some sort of compact active protection system to it seemed to be a logical choice, provided it could be developed, for provided its chances of stopping an incoming threat were high enough, the cost additions would be worth.

The Bandera Active Protection system was the result of major studies of the field, and consist into a both soft-kill and hard-kill package, with the first being, due to the lack feasibility of a proper laser guidance disruptor being compact enough, limited to expendable electronic countermeasures against radar and infrared guided missiles. It is not much different from the chaff/flare compact launchers of the M135, except for having only 2 cells which can hold a total of 4 expendables. Its hard-kill component is also derived from the M135, but packs only 4 cells of interceptor launchers with 8 projectiles. It similarly also relies on concussion projectiles to deviate or destroy incoming threats, with an effective range of 10 meters.

Sensors and Human Interface(s)

Finally, on optical sensors, it packs a modified version of the Intelliview system, while having the same quantity of day/night cameras of larger vehicles to allow the maximum possible awareness for the operator, coupled with a telescoped electro-optical sensor mast which gives to it further awareness, although raising its technical height to 1.1 meters. The portable and rugged computer developed to receive its communications through a MilNet LPI datalink controlled by its operator in a squad or fireteam is another subject, being a sort of "museum" as being packed by a mere i386 300 MHz processor, with only 32 MB of RAM memory and an entirely optimized firmware fully dedicated for its role. Although it is unquestionable its superior reliability compared to the average civilian personal computer or laptop, while thanks to miniaturization technologies, it is only not smaller because it would affect the view of the operator. Touchscreen is dismissed and it also comes with a control stick for optimal user interface for the conditions it is intended for. Besides it, the M135 unmanned vehicle control system can also be used to direct control an ACT-3 with minor software upgrades that already are on the way.

[Third Spanish States]

Tank Guns of the Confederacy

OVERVIEW

In the Confederacy of Third Spanish States, a number of main guns for armored fighting vehicles have been designed in tandem with their specific targets, with the Cooperativa Tierrestre de Armas(Cotarm) among many others being contracted for their development. As a choice of optimizing performance over marketability, most of these designs were sought to be optimized for each of their intended AFVs rather than as generic solutions tactically adequate for any modern AFV of a certain class, although they might provide very specific needs of foreign projects and defense needs as well.

One of the most notable shared features of these guns, other than their full compatibility with some of the most modern fire control and targeting systems, is the fact all of them are packed with specifically tailored advanced autoloaders, capable of loading them from different stowages with different ammunition types in the field, allowing for a quick swap during an operation by the gunner whenever such action becomes tactically interesting, as long as the vehicle is loaded with more than one ammunition type. Almost the entirety of these systems are electrothermal-chemical propelled, and in most cases using solid propellants due to their superior reliability, and being entirely compatible with auxiliary power units to allow them, in an AFV designed with such capability, to be manned while the engines are turned off during ambushes among other surprise tactics.

TANK GUNS

For now, the Army has preferred to develop all their tank guns on their own, through the MilNet Tucker Institute, perhaps due to the opportunity of having the entire cake for themselves instead of sharing them with other private cooperatives once their guns become known worldwide and with enough market penetration to be added in significant procurement funds. Most tank guns(and their turrets) developed by the Confederacy follow a design doctrine that emphasizes low profile, high line of sight thickness and fast firing rates over sheer individual firepower of each projectile shot.


120mm mortar gun with signature reducing shroud and reduced signature turret design

MTIS-L120 Lightweight 120mm

The MTIS-L120 is the standard gun of the Sino Stealth Tank, being designed in accordance to the specific needs of the main battle tank which uses it, providing a relatively high rate of fire and a low signature rather than absolute firepower, for it is optimized for lightweight, rapid-fire ammunitions in accordance to the principle of "blowing up some fast" rather than "blowing up everything slow". Its standard turret uses a moving mantlet to further reduce the profile of the vehicle, also lacking many of the more complex actuators and servomechanics which would permit it the same inclination and partial indirect fire capability of the larger, more powerful but less "stealthier" Confederacy tank guns, although an active hydropneumatic suspension can boost its inclination capability on its own, and of course, be the only manner for its gun to incline downwards due to the short height roof of the turret. The choice of a liquid propellant to reduce needed stowage of the same was suggested, but its inherent advantages were not considered good enough to offset its advantages for the tactical needs of the Sino.

Type: Electrothermal-chemical propelled, smoothbore.
Caliber: 44
Barrel length: 5.28 m
Standard turret length: 5.85 m
Standard turret width: 3.2 m
Standard turret height: 35 cm

Barrel weight: 1,000 kg
Power source weight: 200 kg
Weight: 3,200 kg

Shaping: trapezoidal gun shroud
Indirect fire optimized: no
Stealth optimized: yes
Maximum vertical angle: 20 degrees

Power source: ETIPPS
Power to muzzle efficiency: 85%
Standard muzzle velocity: 2,000 m/s
Propellant: Solid - Low Vulnerability RDX + GAP

Muzzle velocity: 2 km/s
Rate of fire: 30 rounds per minute
Effective range: 5 km
Max. Range: 7.5 km

Cost: $1 million

< Standard ammunitions specifications >

120AP

The armor-piercing fin stabilized projectile used by the MTIS-L120 is a compact, relatively lightweight but dense ammunition for the sole intention of reducing the necessary power output for propelling it at a high muzzle velocity, thus allowing for a simpler and more lightweight tank gun due to reduced strain, while at the same time reducing the profile to an extent, improving its rate of fire by allowing a faster autoloading process, making possible for the fully trapezoidal gun shroud to be employed without any harm to its performance and providing it with a reduced atmospheric drag ratio. Although technically its penetrator kinetic energy is below a certain given minimum(~16 MJ) for piercing through modern armors, it makes it more than up thanks to the agility of the autoloader, rate of fire and increased stowage capability, for the tank the gun which fires it was designed for was built to be deployed into extremely favorable conditions of terrain and positioning, like during flanking maneuvers or small hill tops. Its unique tip has a flat section, for it is shaped like the lower half of a cone, offering something roughly between the advantages and disadvantages of conical and flat shaped penetrators.

- Class: Tungsten-carbide, variable diameter, trapezoid cylinder tip.
- Projectile length: 700 mm
- Penetrator length: 700 mm
- Projectile diameter: 120 mm
- Penetrator diameter: 25mm average

- Average density: 17.6 g/cm³
- Projectile weight: 7.89 kg
- Penetrator weight: 6.04 kg
- Propellant weight: 15.3 kg

- Penetrator energy: 12.08 MJ

120HE

This self-propelled high explosive anti-tank projectile is heavier and launched at a slower muzzle velocity compared to the 120 AP, although more lightweight than the HEAT projectiles of higher caliber 120mm guns. Although all modern tank armors are very effective against such ammunition type, making its usage limited compared to APFSDS, it still is flexible due to its capability of building up velocity even from lower pressure guns of lightweight platforms with high caliber tank guns, and can deal some serious damage against some light armored vehicles, APCs and in most cases even IFVs, saving 120AP for better armored threats. Like most of this class, it also utilizes a tandem charge to counter some of the more lightweight reactive armors.

120CA

Imagine something like a 120mm diameter giant shotgun, now imagine a conventional buckshot done for it. This is what the 120CA basically consists in, being so effective that all 120mm tank guns use the same standardized ammunition types of this category. It is deadly against infantry, particularly entrenched infantry and can deal some serious damage on poorly fortified buildings, materiel and emplacements.

Standard ammunitions performance:
-120AP: 873mm RHAe line of sight with 60º oblique shot at 1 km distance
-120HE(Tandem Charge): ~1000mm RHAe
-120CA(Canister Shot): Unknown

Platforms: Sino and Sino 1A1 Stealth Tanks

EMTIS-L120B Bursting Lightweight Experimental 120mm

An experimental(and expensive) tank gun under development to replace the current Sino and Sino 1A1 Stealth Tanks models, and because of what it is intended to offer, it is a engineering challenge due to the inherent strains and additional construction processes involved, for it is intended to use for firing accurately a rapid succession of two or three consecutive penetrators against a single target, in a manner similar to the burst firing of certain weapons, thus requiring a more resilient gun, an unmanned turret, a more optimized zeroing process, improved fire control systems, an entirely redesigned and more complex autoloader to quick load the required number of projectiles into the barrel and a system capable of reducing or at least delaying the recoil until the last projectile leaves the breech, while being able to operate under normal semi-automatic fire control as well, all while keeping at least 90% of the low profile features of the MTIS-L120 unchanged by these new capabilities. The prototypes have so far demonstrated a peculiar disadvantage to the MTIS-L120: a somewhat decreased accuracy which has driven them to be classified with inferior effective and maximum ranges.


Type: Experimental, Electrothermal-chemical propelled, smoothbore.
Caliber: 44
Barrel length: 5.28 m
Standard turret length: 5.95 m
Standard turret width: 3.3 m
Standard turret height: 37 cm


Barrel weight: 1,700 kg
Power source weight: 200 kg
Weight: 4,500 kg

Shaping: trapezoidal gun shroud
Indirect fire optimized: no
Stealth optimized: yes
Maximum vertical angle: 20 degrees

Power source: ETIPPS
Power to muzzle efficiency: 85%
Standard muzzle velocity: 2,000 m/s
Propellant: Solid - Low Vulnerability RDX + GAP

Muzzle velocity: 2 km/s
Modes of Fire: Semi-automatic, 2-round burst mode
Rate of fire: 30 rounds per minute or 45-60 rpm cyclic
Effective range: 4 km
Max. Range: 6 km

Cost: Currently N/A

<Standard ammunitions: same of the MTIS-L120>

[Third Spanish States]

MTIS-M120 Medium 120mm, caliber 55

The MTIS-M120 was developed for the Sino 2 Main Battle Tank, created for a more conventional main battle tank role than that of the Sino Stealth Tank, but still not simply being a mere new take of the ideas brought by previous concepts on the matter regarding more conventional tank warfare tactics, or of international references like the Díenstad-originated CB.125 L/55 "Special" tank gun or the Sumerian Type-3700 140L50. It's primary highlights are similar to those of the MITS-L120, although it emphasizes less the aspect of reduced signature, although packing more powerful rounds than its smaller brother, and being more adequate for the main battle tank more traditional role where the "one-shot, one kill" capability is much more important than for the operational needs of the Sino 1, although it still is more superior regarding rate of fire rather than firepower. Due to its role, its electrothermal-chemical system is much sturdier to allow it to fire heavier projectiles with a similar muzzle velocity or even superior to that of the MTIS-L120. Like the former, it also uses a moving mantlet to reduce turret height and thus the overall profile of the tank, and depends on an active hydropneumatic suspension to incline down. On the other hand, unlike its smaller brother, it was built with a much taller configuration, and much more spacious basket, coupled with a more complex set of servomechanics and actuators connected to the breech to allow its gun to incline up to 45 degrees, giving to it, combined with proper fire control systems like the FSoft INDFire, the capability of limited indirect fire, allowing those which are not in the first line of a tank rush to serve a fire support vehicles, asides from further behind self-propelled artillery as well. Its gun shroud is built with trapezoidal shape with rounded corners, to reduce the inherent disadvantages and additional costs of the other shaping, but still maintaining a significant part of the "stealth" of the former.

Type: Electrothermal-chemical propelled, smoothbore.
Caliber: 55
Barrel length: 6.6 m
Standard turret length: 7.5 m
Standard turret width: 3.5 m
Standard turret height: 40 cm

Barrel weight: 1,255 kg
Power source weight: 200 kg
Weight: 3,869 kg

Shaping: rounded corners trapezoidal gun shroud
Indirect fire optimized: yes
Stealth optimized: yes
Maximum vertical angle: 45 degrees up

Power source: ETIPPS
Power to muzzle efficiency: 85%
Standard muzzle velocity: 2,000 m/s
Propellant: Solid - Low Vulnerability RDX + GAP

Muzzle velocity: 2.17 km/s
Rate of fire: 30 rounds per minute
Effective range: 4.5 km
Max. Range: 9 km

< Standard ammunitions specifications >

120AP2

This APFSDS round is in many ways different from the lightweight, compact 120AP used by the Sino stealth tank, although also in many ways similar, for its penetrator is still more lightweight than the usual employed by tank guns of such dimension, a choice made to allow, together with its autoloading system, the high rate of fire of the Sino 2 to not demand serious reinforcements over its tank gun and overall structure. Manufactured with two kinetic penetrations layers, an inner layer of depleted uranium and an outer layer of tungsten carbide*, the differing densities, combined with the high muzzle velocity, are used to provide a ballistic advantage against reactive and composite armors this projectile was optimized for. The intended goal of its penetrator is to offer a 20 MJ theoretical kinetic energy damage capability, which even though is a far call from reality, the high muzzle velocity ensures a very efficient system to penetrate most modern armors with a single hit, except for the heaviest ones, as RHA equivalency is not an exact measure for the same.

- Class: Depleted Uranium + Tungsten Carbide, variable diameter, trapezoid cylinder tip.
- Projectile length: 850 mm
- Penetrator length: 850 mm
- Projectile diameter: 120 mm
- Penetrator diameter: 28mm average

- Average density: 18 g/cm³
- Projectile weight: 11.06 kg
- Penetrator weight: 8.47 kg
- Propellant weight: 23.3 kg

- Penetrator energy: 20 MJ

120HE2

Another self-propelled heat round, heavier and launched at a slower muzzle velocity compared to the 120 AP2 . To justify its existence in replacement of the smaller 120HE, its has three consecutive tandem charges that detonate upon contact, using nothing more than the simple but effective application of the third law of motion as a detonation mechanism, with each detonation triggering the subsequent one in a timely sequence that happens in about 0.1 seconds as it attempts to defeat the reactive armor of an infantry fighting vehicle or LAV.

120CA: No need was found to develop an specific canister shot ammunition for the MTIS-M120 to take advantage of its longer barrel and increased power output and used propellant loads.

Standard ammunitions performance:
-120AP2: 1,125mm RHAe line of sight with 60º oblique shot at 1 km distance
-120HE2: ~1,350mm RHAe

Platforms: Sino 2 and Sino 2A1 Main Battle Tanks

Cost: $ 1.2 million

[Third Spanish States]

MTIS-M135 Heavy 135mm dual-purpose gun, caliber 52

Having the same gun as an artillery and tank gun was considered impossible years ago. Unfortunately, patching KDE2 under FreeBSD still is impossible. But nonetheless, finally it was found an utility for all those seemingly useless researches into liquid propellants done by the Confederacy.

Type: Electrothermal-chemical propelled, smoothbore.
Caliber: 52
Barrel length: 7.02 m
Standard turret length: 7.92 m
Standard turret width: 3.8 m
Standard turret height: 60 cm

Barrel weight: 2,500 kg
Power source weight: 400 kg
Weight: 6,000 kg

Shaping: conventional
Indirect fire optimized: yes
Stealth optimized: no
Maximum vertical angle: 65 degrees up, 3 degrees down

Power source: ETIPPS-H
Power to muzzle efficiency: 85%
Standard muzzle velocity: 2,000 m/s
Propellant: Variable Pressure and Muzzle Liquid Propellant System(VPMLPS)
- Hydroxylammonium Nitrate(HAN) oxidizer - Triethanol Amine Nitrate(TEAN) fuel.

Muzzle velocity: 2 to 0.5 km/s
Rate of fire: 25 rounds per minute
Effective range: 10 km
Max. Range: 20 or 50* km

Platforms: Cáscara 2A1 Heavy Tank

Cost:

- $2.5 millions (standard)
- $3.5 millions (artillery turret)


*Only if built into a fully dedicated self-propelled artillery turret

Developed for the Cáscara 2A1 Heavy Assault Tank, this "behemoth" is one of the most complex guns of the Confederacy, featured by many innovations that were designed for the new goals of the Assault Tank Directives. In many ways it diverges from the traditional manner Third Spanish States tanks are projected. First, it is basically a 140mm gun with a double-walled barrel adapted for the 135mm caliber, where the thicker barrel, although increasing weight almost twice, gives to it an excellent resistance to the high pressures inherent from any attempt of developing an electrothermal-chemical propelled tank gun at such caliber. Second, unlike all the other technologies, in this case, the disadvantages of liquid propellant were offset by certain operational capabilities of a new concept in ETC technology.

The Variable Pressure and Muzzle Liquid Propellant System(VPMLPS) is a homegrown technology, fruit of decades of research into all the finer details required to the success of an old idea, that consists basically into an adjustable propellant load device that can be tuned according to a programming process done during manufacture to allow compatibility of the same for both high pressure and low pressure guns by allowing an adjustable muzzle velocity and subsequently pressure level, although the primary intention behind such technology was to allow that both low pressure and high pressure guns shared the same ETC system, something still not true as it has yet to be applied to other models, the specific reason the MTIS-M135 was chosen to be the first to employ it was to allow it to become effectively capable of serving both as a tank and as a full-fledged frontline artillery gun, with the goal of "redefining the concept of an Assault Tank", and performs adequatedly for its secondary function in the situations it was optimized for, although as a not fully dedicated artillery gun, it is not superior to one which is, although logistics simplification might compensate for that. The adjustable muzzle velocity is also one of the features that allow it, in a properly designed vehicle, to have MRSI capability. Although it would be possible to use solid propellants as well capable of MV adjustment, with liquid ones the accuracy of such adjustments and difference between the minimum and maximum MVs is larger, compensating for increased costs, as if installed a dedicated artillery turret rather than in its own dual-purpose turret, it would provide sufficient performance for its caliber.

Another significant difference lies in its standard turret, which unlike all others, is not based on a moving mantlet to allow it increased capability of indirect fire at the expense of increased profile of the vehicle, for "stealth" is completely useless for the operational goals of the tank such gun was made for, and thus it uses a more conventional turret with an elevated basket to allow a limited downwards inclination. On the other hand the choice of the turret being unmanned was not much of a choice, but of a necessity to allow it to house the more complex actuators and servomechanics it relies on to allow its superior inclination capability to be achievable, while at the same time allowing it to have its autoloader much closer to the breech of the gun, thus making for a faster rate of fire.

It is a fact due to the manner it involves setting up its servos and actuators besides turret configuration and space for housing the gun, that to achieve the same inclination capability of a dedicated artillery turret, the turret traverse capability would have to suffer severe sacrifices, being limited at best to 20 or 30 degrees to each side rather than a full 360 degrees traverse, making it no longer a tank gun but at best something arguably sufficient for a tank destroyer. The challenge of engineering a dual-purpose turret was perhaps the biggest due to this dilemma between traverse and inclination capability, although successful as the complex system that was designed on servos and actuators and the adequate placement of the gun would allow for an inclination of up to 65 degrees, quite above the 45 degrees maximum inclination of the already partially indirect fire capable MTIS-M120. Like mentioned, if installed in a dedicated artillery turret, the MTIS-M135 would be able of inclining as far as an estimated maximum angle of 78 degrees. However, as the Cáscara is not an artillery vehicle, such capability does not apply to the standard turret.

One might find it a bit excessive the width of the standard turret, however, it was a choice given due to the very specialized nature of the tank it was designed for, because it was engineered large enough to house more stowages of different individual ammunition types used by the loading mechanisms of different guns. For otherwise it can be safely reduced to 3.6 m .

< Standard ammunitions specifications >


Standard ammunitions performance:
-135APN: ~1,340mm RHAe line of sight with 60º oblique shot at 1 km distance
-135HE4: ~1,600mm RHAe

135APN"anocrusher" APFSDS round

"It is just a series of carbon nanotubes, if our computer hackers can penetrate the series of tubes, why could not the same be applied to the first regarding our tank projectiles? It can, and we don't have to build rail or gauss guns for that" - Anonymous claiming to be an scientist involved in the 135APN

- Class: Depleted Uranium + Tungsten Carbide, variable diameter, trapezoid cylinder tip.
- Projectile length: 1,056 mm
- Penetrator length: 1,056 mm
- Projectile diameter: 1,056 mm
- Penetrator diameter: 29mm average

- Average density: 18 g/cm³
- Projectile weight: 14.62 kg
- Penetrator weight: 11.2 kg
- Propellant weight: 7.71 - 30.80 kg

- Penetrator energy: 1.4 - 22.4 MJ

Where the rounds of 120mm Confederacy guns were optimized for lighter weight over sheer individual firepower, due to the own nature of the MTIS-M135, although more lightweight than most of the same caliber, it still is quite heavy compared to the 120mm ones, and was considered as one of the primary reasons to ensure many expensive engineering takes on the MTIS-M135 regarding recoil reducing techniques and structural stability and resilience, for this was projected as the "one shot, one kill" sort of projectile for most occasions except those involving combat with heavy assault tanks.

Its nickname is directly related to, the sort of passive protection it was optimized to defeat asides from reactive armors, due to an increasing popularity of such new technology in other applications besides carbon nanotube supercapacitors despite their inherent costs and still questionable utility for military purposes, and thus the Department of Applied Physics of Tucker has researched through both previously existing knowledge and empirical tests on manners to defeat this new threat as a manner to compensate offensively for the lack of application of the same into Confederacy AFVs.

The primary manner of achieving such optimization, without reducing its effectiveness against ERA and composites, is through ballistic properties intended to provoke a localized Stone Wales effect, which can severely decrease the ultimate tensile strength, and severe plastic deformation, where the latter is achieved through high peaks of tensile strain that happen upon contact, exploiting the tensile strength drop provoked by the first, which also combined with the semi-cylindrical tip with a flat end to convey a wide enough area for the penetrator to pass through, is intended to provoke enough energy to trigger the first in both oblique indirect fire and direct fire. Also, it also is built with two different high density materials like the 120AP2, although in a completely different configuration into a high density core of depleted uranium with an exposed tip into the flat end of the projectile covered by an outer layer of tungsten heavy alloy, where the inner layer is expected to exploit the deformation provoked by the outer layer for a successful penetration, and both are encased by a layer of steel.

Claims that it could pierce the frontal glacis armor of a Nakíl 1A3 heavy* main battle tank with a single shot were already made, although they are very likely pure propaganda as no real or simulated tests were yet done to confirm such fact. Of course, the best manner to defeat tank armor is to take advantage of the indirect fire capabilities of the tank gun such projectile was designed for, and thus for a competent tactician combined with an equally competent tank crew, such details on whether x can really pierce y in one shot or not are irrelevant. Anyway, likewise mentioned, Rolling Homogeneous Armor equivalency is not a very reliable manner of measuring the capability of penetrators against modern armors.

*Under Confederacy classification, any tank heavier than 60 tons is considered a "heavy tank"

135HE4

The 135HE4 is an heavy high explosive anti-tank projectile optimized for indirect fire which maximum muzzle velocity is always inferior to that of the 135APN due to its heavier weight. It could be compared in operation to a self-propelled artillery round and is optimal, specially in indirect fire, against IFVs, LAVs and APCs among other light armored vehicles, packed with a heavy amount of four tandem charges to defeat many of the most well-armored among these classes of threats. Such quadruple tandem charge design was made possible thanks to the increased volume capability of the caliber, and is completely impossible to be applied to anything of smaller caliber.

135CA

Use of canister shots in the role of indirect fire dates back from the infamous Pickett's Charge during United States Civil War and even further back in the Napoleonic Wars, and a 135mm projectile of this class is something that can be extremely effective against both infantry, certain buildings and matériel. Although it obviously lack any armor-piercing capability, having some of these into a dedicated stowage is essential for an all-around capability against all ground combat threats, something that an assault tank must have.

Sources

The basic concept of ETC liquid propellants: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6047541/description.html

Variable muzzle liquid propellant ETC gun: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.js...arnumber=911811

Stone Wales effect: http://cms.mse.berkeley.edu/elif/Research/CNTs.html

[Third Spanish States]

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d23/RRoan/General/possibilitytankshowoff-2.png
Special thanks to RRoan for the Lineart above

ST120-A Sino Stealth Tank

Overview

The ST120-A Sino is an unique-looking, highly mobile, fast tank focused on providing excellent informational awareness to its crew and unsurpassed signature reduction through it's purportedly "stealth" design, at the expense of heavier armor plating, even though its armor is comparable to the plating of earlier Abrams M1 tanks, albeit more weight-efficient, or excessively powerful engine systems, while at the same time offering the needed firepower to perform ambushes and function to a extent as a main battle tank if necessary, being a sort of modern, more flexible embodiment of the S-Tank even though not turretless, armed with a L44 120mm, smoothbore, trapezoidal barrel tank gun which uses electrothermal-chemical technology and with a remotely operated AA-70 general purpose machinegun as a close-in weapon system. It is equipped with a permanent camouflage and infrared reducing netting, among several other features sought to reduce its profile to the most possible, making of it one of the few truly stealth tanks in the market.

Specifications

Manufacturer: Tienda del Coche/Milnet Tucker Institute Joint-venture
Class: Stealth Battle Tank
Dimensions: 3.40m (width) x 6.80m (length) x 2.17m
Weight: 44,000kg
Weight of Turret: 3,400kg
Weight of Transmission: 1,200kg
Weight of Tracks: est. 950 kg each
Motor: M12-mod 1200 12 cylinder water-cooled biodiesel. 1,200 hp at 2,500 rpm
Velocity (on-road): 75km/h
Velocity (off-road): 65km/h*
Transmission: MTI 245 automatic transmission
Suspension: Torsion bar & advanced hydropneumatic suspension
Armament:
- MTI Light 120mm ETC cannon w/ autoloader, caliber 44
- AA-70 7.62x54mm general purpose machinegun
- MTI Standard smoke discharger
120mm Ammunition (ETC):
- MTI.120AP: Armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot, 9kg penetrator.
- MTI.120HE: High explosive anti-tank, tandem charge.
- MTI.120CA: Canister shot, for use against buildings and entrenched infantry.
Ammunition:
- 25 120AP, 10 120HE and 15 120CA rounds
- 2,000 7.62x54 mm polymer cased ammo
- 20 smoke discharges
Maximum angles of fire: 20º +/- vertical(only at 35 km/h or less) , 360º horizontal
Rate of Fire: 30 rpm
Armor:
NBC layers:
- First: 1mm Internal paper cover/decoration vs. Alpha radiation
- Second: 30mm aluminum flat armor vs. Beta radiation
- Third: 10 mm steel plates vs. Gamma radiation
Weight: 900 kg
Conventional:
- Frontal arc: 70mm Multi-layered Titanium/Ceramics Matrix Composite @ 10º vs. 40mm APFSDS fired from a Hacha IFV.
- All around: 27mm ML Titanium/Ceramics Matrix Composite vs. 12.7mm API fired from a XM312 HMG.
- Weight: 13,000kg
Reactive armor:
- Frontal arc: Explosive reactive armor adding roughly 400 mm RHAe against kinetic energy and 550mm RHAe against chemical energy at 15º.
- All-around: Lightweight explosive reactive armor (ERA) adding roughly 70mm RHAe against KE and 150mm RHAe against shaped charges.
- Weight: 3,900kg
Stealth Features:
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Compact low height gun turret with moving mantlet
- Overall Hull Shape designed to reduce signature(Same angle components, re-entrant triangles)
- Stealth gun turret with angled trapezoidal shape
- Engine "buried" deep within the armor, cooling adapted to reduce thermal signature.
Active Protection System: Shtora soft-kill and Iron Fist hard kill systems.
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter, fully enclosed, plus armor.
Sensor Equipment:
- 2 independent FSoft Intelliview computerized displays collecting data from cameras.
- Milnet LPI Datalink
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator.
- Override emergencial main sight and targetting periscope.
- 5 driving cameras at front, sides, rear and coaxial w/ turret.
Crew: 1 pilot, 1 commander/gunner

Cost: 6,200,000

*Under plain dry dirt roads or trails


History:

The Armored Forces, a branch of the Revolutionary Army, needed urgently a Main Battle Tank capable of fitting with the operational needs of the Third Spanish States: with enough firepower to wreak havoc and provoke significant damage in a short period of time, enough low profile to surprise the enemy with such attack, enough speed and mobility to retreat once the advantage of surprise is lost and sturdy enough to resist most infantry, light armored vehicles and previous generation tanks fire, or briefly: a "hit and run" MBT. Results came later in comparison to other Armored projects due to its needs: five years of intensive and efficient research with the cooperation between the large automobile cooperative federation Tienda del Coche and the Milnet Tucker Institute, coupled with the purchase of Iron Fist hard-kill active protection system from Israel, Shtora soft-kill APS from the Russians and additional research over those which leaded to their further improvement with additional network-centric warfare capabilities and datalinked operation. Plus research into national electrothermal-chemical 120mm tank guns brought the light ETC 120mm tank gun.

Those efforts were vital for the creation of the ST120 Sino, which naming is derived from its caliber 44 120mm tank gun, while ST stands for "Stealth Tank". Although four hundreds of them are on the way to be divided into organic groups combined with other armored vehicles, the foreign policies of the Confederacy aren't warlike, and they have yet to prove their worth in a real battlefield rather than in computerized simulations, something which might happen soon due to a new wave of militarization in communist Party-controlled Spain.


Description:

Its turret was built based in the German moving mantlet concept, which means it can't aim down without support of the tank suspension system, and due to its compact shape, no ammunition is stored on it, but instead in 3 spreaded compartments near the turret and connected to the advanced autoloader, with a total(in standard loadout) of 10 120AP(APFDS), 3 120HE(HEAT) and 7 120CA(Canister shot) rounds ready to fire each, while extra stored 15 120AP, 12 120HE and 8 120CA can be loaded by request in about 10 seconds. The gun uses self-researched ETC technology which gives it enough stopping power to detain most tanks of its age and damage buildings seriously, while its rate of fire, not counting the 10 seconds reloading time, allows it to strike fast enough for hit and run tactics. It cannot aim down while moving faster than 35 km/h, which is already a feat of its suspension system. The choice of a trapezoidal barrel was done as one of the several features intended to reduce its signatures, leading to a lower radar cross section and at the same time reducing the heat signature of the gun to an extent.

The whole system, including its ETIPPS power source, weighs only about 3,400 kg without armor and is built mainly from reinforced steel and thermal dissipating fibers, with some components built from carbon fiber reinforced polymers to reduce weight, and can hold well even without armor against any infantry gun except modern anti-tank rockets. The shape of the turret is slightly trapezoidal, asymmetric and angled with low-angle diagonal borders, slightly resembling the silhouette of a F-117 from cockpit above viewed from afar, where the turret and the rest the tank seem to be built as a whole rather than separated components when it is standing still, and it houses fire control systems and a camera, while a AA-70 GPMG, is mounted over a depression of the turret located at its left, on what could be considered a secondary turret system, and can cover its front, all its left flank and anything not close enough at its right flank.

In the middle of its development process, it was suggested to implement some reasonable NBC protection besides air-conditioning which includes radioactivity through most internal 3 layers which would protect against most alpha, beta and gamma radiation, respectively. Whether it's a funny curiousity or something to consider, its crew compartment is entirely covered by a thick decorated paper painted upon recommendations of a chromotheraphist, and can hold alpha radiation. The other 2 components also contribute to protect the Sino against enemy infantry fire, and are respectively a layer of aluminum to block beta and a layer of steel to block gamma radiation. After them, the "actual" armor of the tank is composed by multiple layers of titanium and ceramics matrix composite(CMC) armor which is intended to protect against even some of the most powerful autocannons at the front and against heavier machineguns around. Finally it uses a developed heavy explosive reactive armor at its front, capable of detaining 105mm APFSDS round fired from a Stryker tank gun and anything lower than them, while its other sides are covered by a lighter reactive armor which can protect it against even the heaviest autocannons of its time.

Finally, a fixed camouflage and IR signature reducing netting covers the tank to improve its stealth capabilities, while its hull shape, like of its turret, shares a few features with some stealth ships, resembling a bit of the sillhouette of Sea Shadow front from its windows to top, while being apparently seamless the transition from the lower hull to the treads for those without keen eyes and having similar angled traces in comparison with its turret. Its design is also supposed to have some kind of psychological impact.

The ST120 gunner and driver also are graced with two personal resistant monitors using FSoft Intelliview technology, which display a recreation of the outside through the corrected input of five wide-angle cameras with infrared, four positioned around the tank and one coaxial and in the same height of the turret, giving them a field of view tanks of the previous century would never have achieved. An additional space was on purpose given to allow the allocation of an additional seat if necessary for a commander, although that isn't a common configuration of crew in Confederacy light tanks. Also, its internal computers can store the data about different targets and calculate trajectory of fire, opening many possibilities for the tactically wise. And in case of emergencies, a hatch can open a traditional view for the driver while a periscope, usually inactive, can replace the screen for the gunner should it fail. Finally, as a final element over its electronics, it has the basis of what makes it operational as tank designed for ambush: an electric auxiliary power unit based on a cell of 40 capacitors which allows the Sino to fire its guns even when its diesel engines are turned off to reduce even further its signature.

Although obviously not being able to stand a barrage of fire from the most powerful main battle tanks through anything but pure luck and incapable of aiming vertically at higher speeds, the Sino has its own strengths, and its different operational procedure might be another advantage when tangling with conventional military armored divisions. Also, it lacks a commander seat due to the nature of Confederacy military, which is based on spontaneous and natural charisma/talent-based elected leadership rather than formal authoritarian hierarchies, for better or worse and obviously require a pair of persons which has a quite good relationship to drive it or is very professional. Usually the gunner replace most of the commander roles, and when both weapons are needed, the driver usually assumes control of the cannon while the gunner controls the machinegun.

[Third Spanish States]

http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/535/sino2a1.png

ST120-B Sino 2A1 Main Battle Tank

Quick Overview

The Sino 2A1 Main Battle Tank is a fast, mobile armored fighting vehicle which emphasizes information, mobility, active protection systems and a low profile over armor, armed with a MTI Standard smoothbore L55 120mm high pressure electrothermal-chemical gun, with a coaxial ZM300 30mm portable autocannon capable of firing both air-burst, gyrojet and conventional ammunitions, by a pair of remotely operated AA-70 7.62x54mm machineguns and by two 50mm grenade launchers which also serve as smoke dispensers. It has limited indirect fire and anti-air capabilities and can track targets through "Eyeball MK-II" optical targeting of 5 driving/aiming IR cameras and of 4 IR cameras integrated with its protection systems, a low-range passive radar, a low-range AESA system and through third party feed from its low probability of intercept datalink. It is also an upgrade over the original Sino 2 to match new caliber standards of the Confederacy and to improve its mobility and information awareness rather than its armor.


Specifications

Manufacturer: Tienda del Coche/Milnet Tucker Institute Joint-venture
Class: Main Battle Tank
Dimensions: 3.64m (width) x 7.67m (length) x 2.47m (height)
Ground Clearance: Variable, normal is 0.45m
Weight:59,500kg
Weight of Turret: 4,500 kg
Weight of Transmission: 1,200kg
Weight of Tracks: est. 950 kg each
Motor: M12-mod 1800 12 cylinder water-cooled, twin-turbocharger biodiesel. 1,500 hp at 2,500 rpm. Displacement: 50L
Kilograms per horsepower ratio: 39.67
Velocity (on-road): 75 km/h
Velocity (off-road): 65 km/h*
Transmission: MTI 245 automatic transmission
Suspension: Active hydropneumatic suspension
Armament:
- MTI Standard 120mm ETC cannon w/ autoloader, caliber 55
- Coaxial ZM-300 30mm Portable Autocannon
- 2 AA-70 7.62x54mm polymer cased general purpose machineguns ROWS
- 2 MTI 50mm multi-purpose grenade launchers
120mm Ammunition (ETC):
- MTI.120AP2: Armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot, 9.3kg penetrator.
- MTI.120HE2: High explosive anti-tank, triple tandem charge.
- MTI.120CA: Canister shot, for use against buildings and entrenched infantry.
Ammunition:
- 25 120AP2, 10 120HE2 and 15 120CA rounds in turret
- 80 30x135mm HEDP and 60 WP Air-burst grenades, 180 APFSDS rounds, 30 HEAT gyrojet rounds.
- 4,000 7.62x54mm polymer cased WHA cored SLAP ammo
- 8 smoke grenades
- 32 50x70mm HEDP grenades
Maximum angles of fire: 360º horizontal, 45º +, 20º- vertical(only at 35 km/h or less)
Rate of Fire: 30 rpm
Armor:
NBC layers:
- First: 1mm Internal paper cover/decoration vs. Alpha radiation
- Second: 30mm aluminum flat armor vs. Beta radiation
- Third: 10 mm steel plates vs. Gamma radiation
Weight: 1,300 kg
Conventional:
- Frontal arc: 70mm Multi-layered Titanium/Ceramics Matrix Composite @ 10º vs. 40mm APFSDS fired from a Hacha IFV.
- All around: 27mm ML Titanium/Ceramics Composite vs. 12.7mm API fired from a XM312 HMG.
- Weight: 15,000kg
Reactive armor:
- Turret front: Explosive reactive armor improving the armor to roughly 1000 mm RHAe against kinetic energy and 1,650mm RHAe against chemical energy at 15º oblique shot
- Hull Glacis: Explosive reactive armor improving the armor to roughly 700mm RHAe against KE and 900mm RHAe against CE.
- Lower Frontal Hull: Explosive reactive armor improving the armor to roughly 650mm RHAe against KE and 800mm RHAe against CE
- All-around hull and turret rear: lightweight explosive reactive armor (ERA) adding roughly 70mm RHAe against KE and 150mm RHAe against CE.
- Turret sides: Explosive reactive armor adding roughly 200mm RHAe against KE and 340mm RHAe againt CE.
- Roof: ERA boxes capable of stopping a kinetic energy 60mm high velocity fin stabilized piercing shot or a chemical energy fin stabilized shaped charge bomb fired from a 60mm Brandt gun mortar.
- Weight: 13,000kg
Stealth Features:
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Compact low height gun turret with moving mantlet
- Overall Hull Shape designed to reduce signature(Same angle components, re-entrant triangles)
- Partial stealth gun turret with rounded trapezoidal shape
- Engine "buried" deep within the armor, cooling adapted to reduce thermal signature.
- Passive and LPI Active sensor systems
- Low Probability of Intercept Datalink
Active Protection System: Shtora soft-kill and Iron Fist hard kill systems with FSoft INDFire Upgrade
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter, fully enclosed, plus armor.
Fire Control System: FSoft INDFire Upgrade
Sensor Equipment:
- 3 independent FSoft Intelliview tactical computerized displays collecting and filtering data from cameras, passive radar and Datalink.
- Milnet LPI Datalink
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator.
- Override emergencial main sight and targetting periscope.
- 5 driving cameras at front, sides, rear, coaxial w/ turret.
- OJO-1A1 AFV Passive Radar. Targeting Range: 15 km
- BUHO-1D Automatic Target Classification System. Range: 12 km
- ECO-2A2 Active Phased Array Secondary Radar. Range: ~15 km
- FSoft INDFire Top-attack APS upgrade
- FSoft AirDefense AA ROWS fire control modules.
- 4 artillery early warning infrared cameras.
Crew: 1 pilot, 1 gunner, 1 commander/gunner

Cost: $9,000,000
Upgrade Cost: $2,000,000

*Only for relatively plain dirt/gravel roads or grasslands under dry weather conditions.

Operational History

Early Combined Arms Combats during the liberation of Mallorca, in the Anarcho-Stalinist War

Introduction

The original ST120-B Sino 2 Main Battle Tank, despite having several excellent features, soon became problematic due to a certain logistics problem, for it used two 7.62x51mm M240x general purpose machineguns at its two remotely operated weapon systems, part of a time where there were still significant procurement funds and reliance on foreign technologies. With the development of the homegrown, 7.62x54mm caliber, AA-70 Advanced General Purpose Machinegun and of its AA-70T variant for armored fighting vehicles, compatible with both homegrown remotely operated weapon systems and with the CROWS, meant that there was an immediate need of a minor upgrade to make it compatible with new technologies, because the 7.62x51mm ammunition and M240x were already in a phase out process and due to their specific nature of the domestic production rights purchased for such M240 variant to be developed, would probably be scrapped due to export restrictions, or maybe end in the black market because of utilitarian world views. Even before having any combat record or of even being liberated for exports, the Sino was to receive a logistics adaptation for the new standard 7.62x54mm caliber of the Confederacy, whereas its original version would probably have been useful as an export model due to the common use of the 7.62x51mm caliber in western nations, if not for the restricting rules regarding the export of the M240x.

However, as expected in the sort of "Large Skunkworks" that is the Milnet Tucker Institute, spending some millions just to replace machineguns of the tank in such almost insignificant update was not considered a good or cost-effective idea. Such necessity of standardizing calibers gave to the Milnet military engineers the opportunity of proposing what would consist not only in a mere swap of machineguns, but in an upgrade package based on the analysis of threat profiles which have arisen in the last eight years, while seeking to overcome certain perceived limitations without major sacrifices of the primary focus of the Sino 2 MBT: protection through the element of surprise first and through armor second, and a heavily computerized and network-centric warfare integrated electronics solution with Low Probability of Intercept and heavily encrypted communications systems, although limiting and making communications more efficient continues being the best solution.

Crew compartment and Protection

Compared to the original Sino 2, very little changes happened regarding its crew compartment regarding the role of protection, or even to the rest of its frame, which only suffered changes in the way of additions of armor to some new external components against infantry arms. The previous combination of spall liners in the interior, and of an 3-layer NBC armor, which allows it to operate even in glassed nuclear wastelands, composed of paper, aluminum and steel, specially due to the fact it is behind a layer of metallic matrix composite armor with titanium, which is further covered by explosive reactive armor, makes from the NBC armor also capable of detaining small caliber projectiles, and ensures an adequate chance of crew survival for all except top-attack ammunitions, which threat was taken into account as requiring too heavy protection to be stopped by the conventional approach of adding more armor, instead, the concept of protection systems is expanded to allow its proper implementation in a more lightweight package which allows the probability of multiple hits being detained. Although nonetheless, the crew compartment, and the tank as a whole, is effectively protected against many crew-served anti-tank weapons, except for a few weak spots at the rear and sides of the hull, as the Sino 2A1 is not optimized for the needs of urban warfare, where cheap, lightweight and fast vehicles with high fire coverage and mobility are preferred over tanks by the Confederacy Revolutionary Army.

The major change in the crew compartment was the addition of further crew comforts besides from its "relaxing, but alertness-inducing" decoration of the paper cover used also as protection against alpha radiation. It was a response of possible jealousness to the way the CL-32 fighter cockpit was built, and in certain ways it is excessive, however expectable due to the elitist nature of Third Spanish States Army which, unlike some nations, has an active force with a percentage of the population below 1%, even during wars, allowing things like the highly comfortable foamed seats with real leather cover of the Sino 2A1 to be accepted into plans, among a MP3 player connected to the electronics, where it is advised to insert musics which "motivate and keep the crew alert and aware", leading to an informal rule that new age songs aren't allowed. This was little more than a part of a "who is the best" competition with the Air Force regarding crew comfort.

Other more relevant and useful changes consisted into the implementation of a new layout for the three screens of the F-Soft Intelliview system, which could be in certain ways considered as the equivalent in tanks of a "glass cockpit", to reduce the space they occupy inside the crew compartment without negative ergonomic consequences. A triple-screen configuration was chosen to be placed in a lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced polymer frame, with each screen facing one of the crew members. To accompany the inclination of the screens to the left and right, the seats of the commander and of the gunner were slightly turned to left and right , perpendicularly to the screens, to ensure maximum field of view for each of them. Each screen uses digital plasma display technology and is 45 inches large, and through a touchscreen technology allows a quick access to controls, from where they can be set in an human friendly layout regarding the manner the feed of the cameras is distributed, with typical configurations consisting into the tank gun coaxial view being highlighted in the gunner display, including the display of a crosshair to aid into aiming, the front view being highlighted in the pilot display, with a frame-less "window" generated by software making a sort of virtual rear-view mirror with the rear camera feed and the left and right corners having spots with their respective feeds. At last, the command Intelliview display highlights a tactical 360 degrees filtered camera feed at the sides, while its center contains relevant information from the early warning cameras designed to capture sufficient visual data to be further processed to identify potential incoming top-attack ammunition threats, and to also calculate indirect fire arc of trajectory for the primary gunner to use the grenade launchers or the main tank gun in such such role while also contains a "top-head" display which can be updated through a datalink with the Sistema de LocalisAcion Global(SLAG) and also pinpoint the estimated location of targets detected by its beyond visual range sensors. The concept of maximum awareness is basically what was taken considering such systems, which have removed the concept of the "blind spot" of armored fighting vehicles in the Confederacy.

However it is well known that, should such systems be knocked out, unless a reduntant, more mechanical and rugged option to survey the environment would still give to the crew of the Sino 2A1 a chance of at least not being completely defenseless and blind regarding the outside. Although in these situations it will inevitably end being necessary for the commander to get outside the hatch, the Sino 2A1 also contains a targeting periscope and a "main sight", which is nothing but an additional wide-angle optical device which is located at a heavily protected position of the tank glacis to allow its driving without necessarily putting the commander in such a risky position of being outside immediately after the incident, and a reduced need of such action will increase the survival chances of the commander, and of the crew as a whole.

A more significant measure to increase not only protection, but also mobility in a more weight-efficient manner than simply adding more armor to the Sino 2A1 upgrade was an upgrade over its active hydropneumatic suspension system which was little more than a lift of the hull and modification over its tracks to increase the ground clearance by about 10 centimeters, which allows it to have a ground clearance a few centimeters above current standards, but also included a more drastic "crouched" position of the suspension to allow it to reduce temporarily its ground clearance and profile for ambushes or increased stealth in safe, plainer terrains. Although this have hindered slightly the low profile of the Sino 2A1 compared to the original Sino 2, the increased protection against land mines and improvement over its obstacle clearing capabilities were considered enough advantages to offset such sacrifice over its "stealth", and putting it a bit more closer in performance to some main battle tanks of nations which do not prioritize low profile over protection. The ruggedness of some of Third Spanish States landscape and existence of a significant amount of small, smooth terrain elevations and depressions, particularly hills and valleys, were one of the reasons for such decision to be made. On another hand, the new layout of the drive wheels following such changes have effectively allowed the Sino 2A1 to be capable of being fitted with six 30'' tires or eight smaller tires and drive without tracks, although even being relatively lightweight compared to other tanks of its time, many are skeptical whether such capability would ever be useful in the battlefield.

Engine Upgrade

Into yet another evidence that the Sino 2A1 upgrade is much more focused on agility than protection, different from the armor which remained unchanged, the Tienda del Coche's M12-mod 1400 12 cylinder water-cooled biodiesel engine, with a displacement of 40 liters, used by the original Sino 2 was deemed as not adequate for the tactical need of having an agile main battle tank capable of outrunning, or at least outmaneuvering most of its opponents, for the original platform of the M12-mod 1200, the Sino Stealth Tank, weighed only 44 metric tons due to its low profile and agility requirements, compared to the 58 tons of the Sino 2, which difference has done significant impacts over its agility. Equally, as a measure to reduce the chances of engine fouling due to the constant use of pure biofuels over regular diesel, as a political and economical choice of relying the least possible on fossil fuels, all engines work below their full potential according to a safety limit, and the 1200hp engine of the original Sino have proven to not be adequate for its main battle tank version. With this in mind the new M12-mod 1800 12 cylinder engine, with a 50 liters displacement and a forced induction system through dual turbochargers, was developed, tailored specifically for the Sino 2A1. One of its parallel features is a specially tailored transmission and drivetrain system to optimize acceleration and torque over top speed to further add to its overall mobility, at the expense of restricting it to a maximum speed of 75 kilometers per hour on-road due to its larger axle ratio.

Another feature it still brings, modified compared to the Sino Stealth Battle Tank is its auxiliary power unit, a necessary system to allow for effectively setting up ambushes, permitting the Sino 2A1 to keep its weapons and electronics operational even with its engines turned down, although a new option, with better storage capability, was chosen for such role. The UEA-515 APU is composed by a cell of 40 supercapacitors built of carbon nanotubes, in yet another small example of the "silent revolution" of first generation nanotechnology around the Confederacy, for although activated charcoal, like used in former systems, was more easily obtained, it wasn't the perfect material for the needs of such systems due to lacking enough suitable surface area for storage of energy due to some of its nanopores being smaller than the free electrons to be stored inside it. The move to a carbon nanotube supercapacitor was yet another action similar to the adoption of ceramic and metal matrix composites in what was essentially a venture into the formerly bleeding-edge. Being capable of staying in a strategically hidden position for much more time than the previous Sino 2, while also serving as an effective secondary power source for its electrothermal-chemical tank gun are considered enough advantages to offset the costs of this new system.

New Coaxial Gun: The ZM300 30mm Portable Autocannon

The ZM300 two-Man Portable AutoCannon is a variant of the ZM145 heavy machinegun used by the Cáscara "Land Fortress" heavy assault tank, designed as both a lightweight autocannon and as an effective replacement for any automatic grenade launcher, due to its capability of using High Explosive Dual Purpose and White-Phosphorous air burst ammunition, while having also an innovative concepts on its designed ammunition in the form of a High Explosive Anti-Tank gyrojet ammunition, and finally also supporting conventional armor-piercing incendiary and armor piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot ammunition. It's closely related to the United States M307 Advanced Crew Served Weapon, and like it it relies in a short recoil action optimized for recoil reduction, with a muzzle brake and a cyclic rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute. Coupled with its remotely operated system and coaxial mount to the left of the main L55 120mm electrothermal-chemical tank gun, the total weight is of roughly 140 kilograms, which was considered sufficiently light for not putting too much strain into the Sino 2A1 moving mantlet. It is effectively capable of taking down soldiers, helicopters, light armored vehicles, most troop transports and many other targets on which the Sino 2A1 main tank gun would have to otherwise waste its precious ammunition against, because there was a lack of an intermediary firepower autocannon for taking down targets enoughly armored to stand against its 7.62mm machineguns but where a 120mm APFSDS round would be wasteful.

Other changes were purely mechanical, which included the optimization of the actuators of the tank turret to increase the elevation capability of its without relying on the inclination capabilities of the tank suspension, and to also give to its L55 120mm gun effective indirect fire capabilities, thanks to its capability of now raising up to 45 degrees by combining the capabilities of both its suspension system and of the turret actuators, although, being a moving mantlet to reduce its profile, it still relies entirely on the supension for lowering the gun. Also, instead of only a single grenade launcher located at the left of the tank turret, and additional 50mm grenade launcher was installed to the other side, which fire control system is integrated with its twin, in a choice to boost its suppressive and anti-personell capabilities. As expected, additional autoloading systems had to be installed in both inside the turret and in the main hull, with the proper stowages of ammunitions in the hull for the new armaments properly located into tactically chosen positions based on both proximity to their weapons and on lower chances of being damaged. The difference between the 7.62x54 and 7.62x51mm calibers wasn't sufficiently significant to require major changes into its stowages and autoloaders, which are one of the least modified aspects in this upgrade.

Major Electronics Upgrade: Passive Radar and Cáscara's Anti-air and Anti-artillery active protection systems

The large degree of information that is offered to the crew of the Sino 2A1 and flowing through its electronics is one of the ways to indirectly improve the main alternatives to increasing its armor, and indeed, such is the most advanced feature of the Sino, compared to its other capabilities, although it is notable more by its software component than by the relatively simple but reliable hardware it relies to. A pair of units of five industrial-grade i386 Quantix Integrated Processors each, underclocked at 400 MHz, is the primary responsible for operating the FSoft Intelliview systems, the active protection systems, the radar/optical feed filtering, targeting and automatic target classification systems. Like with all electronic systems of the Confederacy, its software component was built upon existing open-source softwares and libraries to avoid waste of funds with proprietary software, or with attempts of "reinventing the wheel" regarding tools which require only adaptations rather than design from scratch, while a generous amount of backup systems do exist.

Most of the own detection systems of the Sino 2A1 are passive and simply capture information from the environment rather than sending signals for the role of detection, first, the simplest system, integrated with its fire control, is the Intelliview infrared/optical targeting module which allows it to effectively target anything at visual range, including algorithms which attempt to match the visual profile of tanks with the given database . The OJO-1A1 AFV passive covert radar consists into an array of spread out Receive modules, which also contain normally inactive Transmit functions, positioned in around rather than at the top of the tank turret, which collect raw data from the environment based in third party illuminators, sampling and digitizing the signal due to its need of capturing small signatures amidst significant interference, for passing through a complex filtering process similar to that of the passive radar used by the CL-32 Buitre, although much more limited in scope as a way to cut down costs to allow capabilities which would be unnecessary for the role of the Sino 2A1, which limits its effective bistatic range to 15 kilometers. The choice of a passive radar was also done to reduce the radar signatures which certain systems rely at for targeting and detection, while for other signature types like infrared and visual, it still contains many of the features that the original Sino design was tailored to counter.

Combined with it, the BUHO 3.01d is a suite of softwares operating as an automatic target recognition system, composed in hardware by an integrated, fully independent virtual storage unit with the data of radar cross sections patterns for virtually all aspect angles of every known armored vehicles, military installations and low altitude aircrafts and helicopters by the Confederacy, and which can also store unknown filtered estimate RCS patterns from the raw data from the environment by the passive radar for post-facto attribution to their respective sources. The ATR also includes its own target position and speed estimation softwares, which in turn are used as variables in the Bayesian probabilistic algorithm that is the core of the system. Based on a modification of the Instant Signature Solver Program(ISSP) developed at the Polytechnic University of Tucker, it can generate on-the-fly a look-up matrix of all the possible RCS of each class of target stored in its library, which is crossed with the recognized signatures given by the passive radar. In certain ways, it also is inferior in capabilities compared to the BUHO 3.0 used in the CL-32 Buitre to be less costlier, and specialized in land-based target recognition. Its range is limited to roughly 12 kilometers, and varies according to the landscape elevations. It also can identify targets detected by third party sensors.

The ECO-2A2 active phased array targeting radar, which consists into a software override to its conventional passive radar system that can be activated on demand, putting the otherwise idle transmit modules of its hardware shared with the passive radar system into activity, was implemented to give to the Sino 2A1 the effective capability of detecting threats beyond visual range and of allowing the targeting of such threats beyond the field of view, making of the Sino 2A1 capable of limited indirect fire capabilities, not much different from the capability of the larger Cáscara Heavy Assault Tank. However, when active, it also serves as a potential illumination source for radar based top-attack anti-tank ammunitions like the Javelin, despite its employment of low probability of intercept methodology. Thus, it's usually preferable to use it only when utterly necessary for the success of an operation.

The Milnet LPI Datalink, installed in the Sino 2 series in accordance to the network-centric warfare doctrine, is merely an adaptation of LPI radar technologies for communications roles. One of its components, when used alone in a very specific manner and individually, ensures a virtually null probability of intercept of the receiver of any transmission, in this case, the Sino 2A1. The receiver module is nothing but an additional algorithm linked to its passive radar which allows it to filter and identify encrypted transmissions from allied forces which are usually transmitted towards the battlefield at multiple, random directions, but not specifically towards any allied unit, allowing multiple units to receive it simultaneously without giving any hint of the actual location of them. Of course, such technique also implies that the enemy will have a facility of intercepting the transmission itself while only a very large area can be ascertained to be the location of the receiver, and that's exactly why the integrated operating systems of each component contain support for both high-priority and quantum encryption, and why keys are renewed at a per-mission basis. However, there is a secondary option, which might put in risk the low detectability of the Sino 2A1 but make the transmission more difficult to be intercepted. By using multiple randomly chosen wideband frequencies from a frequency-hopping spread spectrum, while also resorting to pulse compression and a continuous wave signal, and logically, transmitting as little as possible, it becomes possible to signal for an ally the location of the tank, and also to share sensor data with them rather than only receiving it, through the communications suite included, which relies on the transmitters of the ECO-2A2, sending thin, fast moving beams of energy.

The FSoft INDFire consist into an optical targeting system and upgrade over its Iron Fist and Shtora licensed active protection systems against incoming artillery shells and top-attack ammunitions, which then calculates on-the-fly the estimated arc of trajectory of an still flying projectile and cross it with the positioning of the tank, while guiding its active protection systems and its both coaxial machineguns towards the estimated arc of trajectory to either deflect or destroy the threat, which also is transmitted to the Intelliview tactical display system and visually informing, in usual settings, to the commander display the arc of trajectory and the impact point of the projectile. It also constitutes into an upgrade over the fire control system of the Sino 2, which, just like it can, after capturing enough optical data, estimate the arc of an hostile indirect fire and also direct its remotely operated grenade launchers to target a single area and partially automates their operation. It also contains systems which are connected to its main tank gun to allow the calculation of the closest possible estimation of the trajectory of its projectile when fired at any angle its gun can aim at, and when supported by the ECO-2A2, by the SLAG or by telemetry feed received through its datalink, effectively determine the estimated impact point of the projectile with a circular error probable of 10 meters at its maximum effective range of 4.5 kilometers, which can be particularly useful for allowing the Sino 2A1 to be capable of top-attack in tactically advantageous situations, specially ambushes, to take full advantage of the hills and mounds existing in Third Spanish States landscape for defense.

The FSoft AirDefense fully dedicated fire control module, on the other hand, inherited from the Cáscara Heavy Assault Tank, takes full advantage of its passive radar feed as well to target low-altitude aerial threats, specially with its coaxial general purpose machineguns, and can also use the optical feed of the sky facing cameras of the INDFire system for its needs and the feed received from other units through the datalink. Based on its own physics algorithms, it can calculate the exact trajectory of the rounds fired by the AA-70 machineguns independently from the processing of the primary fire control system and give to the Intelliview system the imaging of the point of impact in the sky by drawing a large line in the display as a type of virtual sight, although technically, the AA-70 machineguns of the remotely operated weapon systems can be fitted with laser sights at the expense of offering an excellent illuminator for anti-tank guided missiles. It also allows both machineguns to target a single "point" in the sky and to be fired simultaneously. Proposals for a fully automated air defense were made, but considered too inefficient compared to a trained gunner with visual aid. It allow both machineguns to be operated against a different target by the commander while the main gunner operates the primary tank gun and its coaxial gun, while being also capable of assuming control of the grenade launchers to accompany the machineguns targets rather than the main gun targets.

Other features, already existing before this upgrade, include besides the ubiquitous coaxial targeting camera which provides optical feed for its fire control system, a system which, following the proper identification of a target, can identify the effectiveness of each weapon system and of each ammunition type of the Sino 2A1 for the gunner against it with a percentage based on a probabilistic algorithm and in an update over the Lanz-Odermatt equation and on information on variables like blast radius. The crew of a Sino 2A1 should be aware that such percentage of effectiveness is not an absolute, but only a way to guide in a more ample manner the operational procedures during battle to reduce inefficient usage of its firepower. The effectiveness rating is inversely proportional to the needed quantity of shots to take down a target, while a rating below 10% will in most situations imply that the given weapon cannot penetrate the target armor.

The communications suite also includes three infantry phones on the rear side of the tank to allow immediate communications of nearby support units in close support of the Sino 2A1s located into the highly organic ultra-light brigades or more specialized companies, without the need of wireless telecommunications technologies which would be prone to interception by ELINT, a measure taken despite the common reliance on cryptography, for if not decrypted, an interception would at least break the element of surprise in an operation, something which seem as a "crippling disadvantage" considering the long traditions and experience of the Ejército Revolucionario in guerrilla warfare and other forms of unconventional warfare, from the time it still was an irregular military force, which shaped as well their fundamental values and modus operandi.

With these new upgrades, the Sino 2A1 constitutes into a tank which relies more on agility, protection and multiple sources information than on armor to ensure its survival on the battlefield, while also being optimized for the terrain features and strategic principles of Third Spanish States, and also for the terrain features of mainland Spain itself.

[Third Spanish States]

HT135-B Cáscara 2A1 Heavy Assault Tank

Quick Overview

The Cáscara 2A1 is the heaviest tank of the Confederacy, packing formidable firepower and protection at the expense of a very limited maximum speed, and is featured by a package of several different guns which justify the existence of two gunners in the same: its 135mm electrothermal-chemical propelled dual-purpose gun, which can serve both as an artillery and tank gun through the smart adjustment of muzzle, which is coaxial to an unusual choice of a ZM300 MPAC 30mm, portable autocannon, a remotely operated ZM300 MPAC autocannon low profile secondary "turret", or dual-gun remotely operated weapon system, above the main turret which, to add to the mass of firepower, packs a coaxial 7.62x54mm AA-70T machinegun, four 50mm dual-purpose grenade launchers at the corners of the turret and finally, a pair of barrel-based launchers for the GEIFM-2 Guided Explosive Indirect Fire Missile with full Non line-of-sight support.

Coupled it such firepower, the vehicle packs almost 40 metric tons of armor, from the explosive reactive armor to the NBC protection inner layers of steel and aluminum protecting its crew, further augmented by the same upgrades that were done in the APS of the Sino 2A1 and of the M135 Librecielo. And finally, as expected, the same focus on network-centric warfare and information awareness of its lightweight brothers.


Specifications

Manufacturer: Tienda del Coche/Milnet Tucker Institute Joint-venture
Class: Heavy Assault Tank

Dimensions: 4.5m (width) x 9.5m (length) x 3.1m (height)
Ground Clearance: Variable, normal is 0.50m

Weight: 85,000 kg
Weight of Turret: 7,000 kg
Weight of Transmission: 1,600kg
Weight of Tracks: est. 1,400 kg each

Motor: M14-mod 2200 14 cylinder twin turbocharger water-cooled biodiesel. 2,200 hp at 3,200 rpm. Displacement: 55L
Kilograms per horsepower ratio: 38.36
Velocity (on-road): 65 km/h
Velocity (off-road): 50km/h*
Transmission: MTI 275 automatic transmission, 4 forward and 3 rear gears
Suspension: Active hydropneumatic suspension

Armament:
- MTIS-M135 135mm ETC cannon w/ autoloader, caliber 52
- ZM-300 30mm Portable Autocannon coaxial w/ main gun
- ZM-300 30mm Portable Autocannon in secondary "turret" / dual-gun ROWS
- 1 AA-70 7.62x54mm polymer cased general purpose machinegun coaxial ROWS gun
- 4 MTI multipurpose 50mm grenade launchers
- 2 MTI GEIFM-2 launchers
135mm Ammunition (ETC):
- MTI.135APN: Armor piercing fin stabilized discarding sabot, 11.2kg penetrator.
- MTI.135HE4: High explosive anti-tank, indirect fire optimized, quad tandem charge.
- MTI.135CA: Canister shot, for use against buildings and entrenched infantry

Ammunition(Standard load):
- 25 135APN, 10 135HE4 and 5 135CA
- 250 30x135mm HEDP and 100 WP Air-burst grenades, 600 APFSDS rounds, 50 HEAT gyrojet rounds.
- 2,000 7.62x54mm polymer cased WHA cored SLAP ammo
- 30 smoke grenades
- 60 50x70mm HEDP grenades
- 10 50x70mm WP grenades
- 8 Durruti 2 Portable ADATS missile

Maximum angles of fire(135mm): 360 degrees traverse, 65 degrees up, 3 degrees down. While moving, only 40 degrees up
Max. angle of fire(30mm ROWS): full turret-independent traverse, up to 80 degrees up
Rate of Fire(135mm): 25 rpm

Armor:

NBC layers:
- First: 1mm Internal paper cover/decoration vs. Alpha radiation
- Second: 30mm aluminum flat armor vs. Beta radiation
- Third: 10 mm steel plates vs. Gamma radiation
Weight: 1,300 kg

Conventional:
- Frontal arc: 75mm Multi-layered Steel/Ceramics Matrix Composite vs. MTI 40mm/L80 ETI autocannon w/ APFSDS ammo.
- All around: 39mm ML Titanium/Ceramics Composite vs. Oerlikon 25mm tungsten APFSDS
- Weight: 20,000kg

Reactive armor:
- Turret front: Explosive reactive armor improving the armor to roughly 2,000 mm RHAe against kinetic energy and 2,280mm RHAe against chemical energy at 15º oblique shot.
- Hull Glacis: Explosive reactive armor improving the armor to roughly 2,240mm RHAe LoS against KE and 2,550mm RHAe against CE.
- Lower Frontal Hull: Explosive reactive armor improving the armor to roughly 1,600mm RHAe against KE and 1,820mm RHAe against CE
- All-around hull and turret rear: Explosive reactive armor (ERA) improving armor to roughly 800mm RHAe against KE and 1,400mm against CE.
- Turret sides: Explosive reactive armor improving the armor to roughly 1,200mm RHAe against KE and 1,500mm RHAe againt CE.
- Roof: ERA boxes capable of stopping a kinetic energy 60mm high velocity fin stabilized piercing shot or a chemical energy fin stabilized shaped charge bomb fired from a 60mm Brandt gun mortar. Est. 600mm RHAe against KE and 750mm RHAe against CE
- Weight: 19,000kg

Stealth Features:
- Low Probability of Intercept Datalink

Active Protection System: Shtora soft-kill and Iron Fist hard kill systems w/ FSoft INDFire Upgrade
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter, fully enclosed, plus armor.
Fire Control System: MTI Standard FCS w/ FSoft INDFire Upgrade

Sensor Equipment:
- 5 independent FSoft Intelliview tactical computerized displays collecting and filtering data from cameras, passive radar and Datalink.
- Milnet LPI Datalink
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator.
- Override emergencial main sight and targetting periscope.
- 6 driving cameras at front, sides, rear, coaxial w/ turret and ROWS
- OJO-1A1 AFV Passive Radar. Targeting Range: 15 km
- BUHO-1D Automatic Target Classification System. Range: 12 km
- ECO-2A2 Active Phased Array Secondary Radar. Range: ~15 km
- FSoft INDFire Top-attack APS upgrade
- FSoft AirDefense AA ROWS fire control modules.
- 4 artillery early warning infrared cameras.

Crew: 1 pilot, 2 gunners, 1 system operator, 1 commander

Cost: $20,000,000


*Only for relatively plain dirt/gravel roads or grasslands under dry weather conditions.

Basic Description

Designed as an upgrade over the HT120-C Cáscara "Land Fortress" Main Battle Tank which was developed to complement the capabilities of the highly mobile Sino series of tanks with the objective of being the vehicle that would be responsible for the frontal assault while the Sino would hit the flanks, or the vehicle to secure conquered land in a large front and push it forward slowly while the Sino would quickly make formations to encircle enemy forces in both tactical and strategic levels by exploiting less defended areas and breaking supply chains, in a sort of strategic and tactical doctrine that combines the German tactics attributed to blitzkrieg, the Soviet deep operations doctrine and guerrilla warfare.

Unfortunately, the same presented accuracy issues due to its too long 120mm gun, while its coaxial weapon, designed in a time where the doctrine of firepower was different, was inferior to the coaxial weapon of the new Sino 2A1 Main Battle Tank, while at the same time, while all its frontal arc, from mantlet to lower hull, was formidably armored, any heavy machinegun could easily pierce through the meek side and rear armor of the same, a trade-off that was eventually considered to not be worthy, specially as it created the additional need of much of its weight be made of its own suspension as a counterweight to the manner that such concentrated frontal arc armor mass disrupted its center of gravity.

As expected for such needs, it is a vehicle that sacrifices speed, and to an extent mobility, in exchange of a focus on both firepower and high protection, of both passive(its armor) and active types, with the goal of being the necessary vehicle to storm enemy strongholds, when an encirclement to force them to surrender due to lack of supplies is impractical or unachievable besides aforementioned capabilities. And thus, it is no wonder it packs the highest caliber gun of all Confederacy tanks, the MTIS-M135, which also allows it to have a formidable capability of serving as both a heavy assault tank and self-propelled artillery, coupled with an almost insane quantity of secondary weapons, without the same leading to something of the same caliber of uselessness of ideas like the Ratte or of many napkin stage heavy tank concepts that emerged in World War Two. To reduce ground pressure, it is a quite long vehicle compared to the Sino series, which in turns help to distribute its weight over a wider area.

The primary disadvantage of the Cáscara, other than the expected inferior mobility and speed compared to more lightweight vehicles, is the fact that it is maintenance intensive and costly, and is a vehicle that requires in its crew a "system operator", which is actually nothing more than a dedicated technician and mechanic, just in case, for such firepower and protection come at a cost, and in many ways, and the Sino 2A1 MBT is a more flexible vehicle than the Cáscara 2A1, which on the other hand, excels at its very specialized role and can survive conditions where a main battle tank would be turned into rubble.

[Third Spanish States]

HIFV40-B Hacha Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Quick Overview

The Hacha is fast, low-profile, large infantry fighting vehicle intended as part of a program of heavy mechanization of armed forces, which also was built to complement to combat capabilities of the Sino and Sino 2 series of battle tanks. It can carry up to 10 soldiers and is armored against many autocannon calibers. Currently it is being replaced by the HIFV-50 Sucuri IFV in the Confederacy Army.

Specifications

Manufacturer: TdC/MTI joint-venture
Class: Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Dimensions: 3.80m (width), 7.60m (length) 2.40m (height)
Weight: 39,000kg
Weight of turret: 750kg
Weight of transmission: 1,400kg
Weight of tracks: est 1,200kg each
Motor: M12-mod 1400 12 cylinder water-cooled biodiesel. 1,400 hp at 2,500 rpm
Velocity(on-road): 80 km/h
Velocity(off-road): 70 km/h
Transmission: MTI 245 automatic
Suspension: Torsion bar
Armament:
- MTI Standard 40mm ETI autocannon w/ autoloader, caliber 80
- M240x 7.62mm polymer cased general purpose machinegun
- MTI multipurpose 50mm grenade launcher
Ammunition:
- 800 40mm APFDS rounds
- 2,000 7.62mmPC rounds
- 15 smoke grenades
- 25 HEDP grenades
Maximum angles of fire: 70º+ 15º- vertical, 360º horizontal
Rate of fire: 150 rpm
Armor:
Conventional:
- Frontal arc: 70mm Multi-layered Titanium/Ceramics matrix Composite @ 10º vs. 40mm APFDS
- All around: 27mm ML Titanum/Ceramics composite vs. 15mm API
Weight: 8,000kg
Reactive:
- Frontal arc: Lightweight Explosive reactive armor (ERA) adding roughly 185 mm RHAe vs kinetic energy and 250mm RHAe vs. chemical energy.
Weight: 500kg
Stealth Features:
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Shape designed to reduce signature(Same angle components)
- Cooling system adapted to reduce thermal signature.
Active Protection System: Shtora soft-kill and Iron Fist hard-kill systems.
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter, fully enclosed.
Sensor Equipment(Note: it's actually going to be a standard for most AFVs):
- 2 independent FSoft Intelliview computerized displays collecting data from cameras.
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator and FSoft AirDefense module.
- Override emergencial main sight and targetting periscope.
- 5 driving cameras at front, sides, rear and coaxial w/ turret.
Cost: 6,200,000

History:

The Armored, a branch of the Army, always had a peculiar doctrine on how important protection should be to the soldiers, how those operate much more efficiently coupled with AFVs and a focus on being fast, sneaky and decisive. From these aspects and from the ST120-A project came the idea of developing a large, relatively low-profile and consistently armored infantry fighting vehicle to transport troops and accompany the Confederacy main battle tanks and give them fire support against light armored vehicles and infantry. After four years of research and development done with the cooperation of TdC and MTI, coupled with the development of the Standard 40mm ETI autocannon, the HIFV40-B Hacha was born. HIFV stands for Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle while 40-B represents its main armament. Although 1,500 of them are on the way to be divided into 30 vehicles groups combined with other armored vehicles, the foreign policies of the Confederacy aren't warlike, and they have yet to prove their worth in a real battlefield rather than in computerized simulations. Although they never participated of battle before a newer model was found to replace them, the current dark storms of war coming from Spain might finally put it to test together with its successor.

Description:

Its turret is mounted closer to the front than to the rear and is compartmentalized, being shared by 3 different weapons: 1 caliber 80 MTI Standard 40mm ETI autocannon, 1 coaxial 7.62mmPC(polymer cased) M240x with independent vertical movement of minus 20 degrees range and 1 independent 50mm grenade launcher located at a depression at the right of the turret and having its own mechanic-hydraulic system which allows it to turn around 360 degrees and change its inclination down to 30º below its standard 60º inclination and 10º above. Ammunition is stowed below it, close to each of its three weapons and the HE grenades give it an edge against most infantry, while its autocannon is effective against many IFVs of its age and against ordnances and smaller buildings, while being theoretically able to take down an helicopter as well.

The whole system, including it power source, weighs about 750 kg without armor and is built primarily of reinforced steel and thermal dissipating fibers, and can hold very well against most general purpose machineguns even without armor. The shape of the turret is hexagonal and angled with low-angle diagonal borders, where the turret and the rest the tank seem to be built as a whole rather than separated components when it is standing still, and it houses fire control systems and a camera.

Developed at the front to stand most autocannons fire, its thick 70mm armor uses the same composite ceramics matrix/titanium multi-layered technology of the ST102-A Sino, while its other regions are covered to stand against heavy machineguns. To improve frontal protection and allow it to stand against some of the more modern autocannons, a lightweight explosive reactive armor was added which, under certain circumstances, could also stand the fire of older 105mm tank guns.

Finally, a fixed camouflage and IR signature reducing netting covers the tank to give it a relatively good low profile, while its hull shape shares a few features with some stealth ships, having similar angled traces in comparison with its turret and a large hatch at its back which opens to load or unload troops. Internally it has 10 seats for soldiers which fill its whole capacity: 2 at the back and 4 at each side. NBC protection includes a internal enclosure system and air condition and filter system for both driver/gunner and transported troops.

The HIFV40-B gunner and driver also are graced with two personal resistant monitors using FSoft Intelliview technology, which display a recreation of the outside through the corrected input of five wide-angle cameras with infrared, four positioned around the tank and one coaxial and in the same height of the turret, giving them a field of view tanks of the previous century would never have achieved. Also its internal computers can store the data about different targets and calculate trajectory of fire, opening many possibilities for the tactically wise, plus they are complemented by the FSoft AirDefense module, a system developed to aid at aiming against low altitude aircrafts like helicopters. And in case of emergencies, a hatch can open a traditional view for the driver while a periscope, usually inactive, can replace the screen for the gunner should it fail.

It lacks a commander seat due to the nature of Confederacy military, which is based on spontaneous and natural charisma/talent-based elected leadership rather than formal authoritarian hierarchies, for better or worse and obviously require a pair of persons which has a quite good relationship to drive it or is very professional. Usually the gunner replace most of the commander roles, and when all weapons are needed, the driver usually assumes control of the autocannon while the gunner controls the machinegun and grenade launcher.

[Third Spanish States]

HIFV-50 Sucuri Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Overview

The Sucuri is a polemic replacement and concept because of some of the weapons it employs, this time over the former Hacha heavy infantry fighting vehicle, designed to support the Sino series battle tanks, which instead of using its own chassis was built over the Sino 2A1 chassis, consisting into a fast, but significantly armored vehicle offering a relatively low profile, which supports both wheels and tracks, and consists into the staple of mechanized warfare in the Confederacy, being adapted for the demands of its hilly landscape. As the heaviest vehicle other than tanks in the Confederacy, it is armed with an heavy L60 60mm Cotarm ACC-17 electrothermal-chemical smoothbore autocannon, the heaviest autocannon in the Confederacy arsenal, with a coaxial and a remotely operated 7.62x54mm AA-70 machineguns, with a pair of MTI 50mm multipurpose grenade launchers and with a single remotely operated 135mm MilNet GEIFM-2 indirect fire missile launcher, based on the Durruti MANPADATS, for anti-tank, limited anti-air capability, and additional anti-personell power through WP missiles, specially on ambushes, which also have non line of sight support capability but limited range compared to the dedicated, larger ADATS of the M135 MacGavin. Instead of a targeting periscope, it usually relies into 6 driving/targeting switchable IR cameras integrated with its protection systems. It can carry a total of 10 fully armed soldiers and is protected against all infantry ballistic arms, and was designed to support modular amphibious add-ons. A LIDAR is used for target acquisition.

Specifications

Manufacturer: Tienda del Coche, MilNet, Cotarm, Engesa
Class: Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Length: 7.67m
Width: 3.64m
Height: 2.57m
Ground clearance: 0.55m
Weight: 43,000kg
Weight of turret: 1,200kg
Weight of transmission: 1,200kg
Weight of tracks: est 950kg each
Motor: M12-mod 1600 12 cylinder water-cooled biodiesel. 1,600 hp at 3,000 rpm. Displacement: 45L
Kilograms per horsepower ratio: 26.87
Velocity (on-road): 83 km/h
Velocity (off-road): 72 km/h
Transmission: MTI 245 automatic, 4 forward gears, 2 reversal
Axle ratio: 5.3
Suspension: Torsion bar
Armament:
Main Gun
- L60 60mm Cotarm ACC-17 ETC autocannon

• Cotarm ACC-17 specifications
• Gun weight: 700kg
• Barrel length: 3.6m
• Caliber: 60x375mm
• Action: electric operated, electrothermal ignited
• Power source: ETIPPS
• Power to Muzzle efficiency: 85%
• Muzzle velocity: ~1,750 m/s
• Rate of fire: 120 rpm
• Maximum angles of fire: -20º to 45º vertical, 360º horizontal
• Effective range: 4,000m
• Maximum range: 7,500m

Coaxial
- AA-70 7.62x54mm general purpose machinegun
ROWS
- 1 AA-70 7.62x54mm general purpose machinegun
- 2 MTI 50mm multi-purpose grenade launchers
- 1 MilNet GEIFM-2 indirect fire missile launcher

• GEIFM Specifications:
• Length: 1.40m
• Diameter: 135mm
• Launch weight: 18kg
• Warhead: 6.57kg High explosive fragmentation/shaped charge
• Detonation mechanism: Impact and laser optical sensing proximity fuze
• Penetration: ~800 RHAe at 15º
• Guidance: Digital laser-guidance, optical, inertial
• Counter-countermeasures: Dual single-point painting laser beams
• Rate of fire: 20 rpm(cyclic), 4 rpm(effective)
• Maximum angles of fire: 360º horizontal, vertical through tracking
• Maximum fire range: 5.5km
• Ceiling: 4,000m

Ammunition:
- 450 60x375mm APFSDS rounds
- 4,000 7.62x54mm polymer cased WHA cored SLAP ammo
- 4 135x1,400mm GEIF missiles
- 6 smoke grenades
- 20 50x70mm HEDP grenades
- 14 50x70mm WP grenades
Armor:
NBC Layers:
- First: 1mm Internal paper cover/decoration vs. Alpha radiation
- Second: 30mm aluminum flat armor vs. Beta radiation
- Third: 10 mm steel plates vs. Gamma radiation
Weight: 2,500 kg
Conventional: Multi-layered Titanium/Ceramics Matrix Composite
- Threat profile: frontal, crew, transport and engine compartments protection against 40mm autocannons, lateral protection against all infantry machineguns, rear protection against GPMGs, roof protection against HEDP grenades
- Turret front: 75mm
- Turret sides: 50mm
- Turret rear: 30mm
- Mantlet: 90mm
- Hull glacis: 115mm LoS
- Lower frontal hull: 60mm
- Hull sides: 40mm
- Hull rear: 20mm
- Roof: 15mm
- Weight: 12,000 kg
Reactive: Explosive Reactive Armor
- Threat profile: Incremental frontal, crew, transport and engine compartments protection against 105mm cannons, lateral protection against 20mm autocannons, rear protection against machineguns, roof protection against light 60mm artillery
- Turret front: 250mm
- Turret sides: 150mm
- Turret rear: 90mm
- Mantlet: 280mm
- Hull glacis: 320mm LoS
- Lower frontal hull: 200mm
- Hull sides: 130mm
- Hull rear: 80mm
- Roof: 65mm
- Weight: 8,000kg
Total RHAe:
- Turret front: 500mm vs. KE, 700mm vs. CE
- Turret sides: 315mm vs. KE, 430mm vs. CE
- Turret rear: 190mm vs. KE, 245mm vs. CE
- Mantlet: 585mm vs. KE, 850mm vs. CE
- Hull glacis: 685mm vs. KE, 950mm vs. CE
- Lower frontal hull: 410mm vs. KE, 575mm vs. CE
- Hull sides: 270mm vs. KE, 465mm vs. CE
- Hull rear: 160mm vs. KE, 200mm vs. CE
- Roof: 125mm vs. KE, 165mm vs. CE
Stealth Features:
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Cooling system adapted to reduce thermal signature
- Low probability of intercept datalink
Active Protection System: Shtora soft-kill and Iron Fist hard kill systems
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter, fully enclosed, plus armor.
Fire Control System: MTI Standard FCS
Electronics/Sensors:
- 3 independent FSoft Intelliview tactical computerized displays collecting and filtering data from cameras, LIDAR and Datalink.
- Milnet LPI Datalink
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator.
- Override emergencial main sight and targeting periscope.
- 6 driving cameras at front, sides, rear, coaxial w/ turret, top.
- ECO-0A2 LIDAR. Range: ~15 km
- BUHO-1C Automatic Target Classification System. Range: 10 km

Crew: 1 pilot, 1 gunner, 1 commander
Transport Capacity: 10 infantrymen

Cost: $6,500,000

Operational History

Early Combined Arms Combats during the liberation of Mallorca, in the Anarcho-Stalinist War

[Third Spanish States]

Canadian ADATS, similar but superseded by the Librecielo

Video on the Canadian Multimission Effects Vehicle, also superseded by the Librecielo

MEV-135 "Librecielo" Multimission Effects Vehicle

Overview

The Librecielo Multimission Effects Vehicle, also dubbed the "MacGavin" by English-speaking people in a pun with the M113 "Gavin" and the fictional character known as MacGyver, is the "Swiss Army Knife" of the Confederacy armors, an either wheeled or tracked lightly armored but very agile and mobile airborne armored support vehicle which serves both as an Air Defense Anti-Tank System to protect infantry forces, paratroopers and armored vehicles, as rocket artillery and as a communications suite for integrating all the allied forces and air defense systems nearby, both airborne and terrestrial, including feed from unmanned aerial vehicles in target acquisition, and serving as the primary anti-tank support for paratroopers as well. It's equipped with 135mm missile launchers, which missiles, either as ADATS or as White-Phosphorous for anti-personell roles, have full beyond line of sight capabilities and can hit targets as far as 12 kilometers away in both ground and air, coupled with it an electrothermal ignited, twin-barreled L70 40mm autocannon operating under the Gast gun principle, also capable of targeting both terrestrial and aerial targets. It also has a total of 9 IR cameras, one of them coaxial with its guns for aiming, and the same Intelliview and TVR targeting technology of the Sino series of tanks. Finally it also can be used to control a single unmanned ground vehicle, usually the unmanned version of the resupply vehicle that accompanies it.

It's primary variant is the larger Librecielo CCM, which is also an effective tactical command center for combined arms, allowing a commander to coordinate the actions of military forces in an entire local battlefield through speech recognition and touchscreen and also more tried and tested approaches like the access console, allowing instantaneous coordination and communications. Its received recon data is translated into an interactive 3D rendered view in the Tactical Theater display, while it also has support for controlling unmanned aerial vehicles.

Another variant, using the same chassis of the CCM, is the Librecielo IFV, which is the favorite armored personal carrier for airborne forces, specially for the fact it maintains the same weaponry of all its other versions, allowing it to be an effective tank destroyer, while also offering a higher flexibility than the heavier infantry fighting vehicles due to its lighter weight. It can carry a total of 4 soldiers.


Specifications

Manufacturer: Tienda del Coche/Milnet Tucker Institute Joint-venture
Class: Multimission Effects Vehicle
Dimensions: 2.85m (width), 5.05m (length), 3.2m(height)
Ground Clearance: 0.50m
Weight: 18,000kg
Weight of Turret: 2,500kg
Weight of Transmission: 1,000kg
Weight of Tracks: est. 800 kg each
Motor: M12-mod 700 12 cylinder twin turbocharger water-cooled biodiesel, 700 hp at 1,500 rpm. Displacement: 40L
Kilograms per horsepower ratio: 25.71
Velocity(on-road): 90 km/h
Velocity(off-road): 75 km/h*
Transmission: MTI 225 automatic, 4 forward gears, 3 reversal
Axle Ratio: 5.9
Suspension: Christie MK-II hydropneumatic suspension
Armament:
- 8 MTI Standard ADATS 135mm laser-guidance missile launchers

• Third Spanish States ADATS Specifications:
• Length: 2.2m
• Diameter: 135mm
• Launch weight: 55kg
• Warhead: 16kg High explosive fragmentation/shaped charge
• Detonation mechanism: Impact and laser optical sensing proximity fuze
• Penetration: 1,150 RHAe
• Guidance: Digital laser-guidance, optical, inertial
• Counter-countermeasures: Dual single-point painting laser beams
• Rate of fire: 8 rpm, 16 rpm with resupply vehicle's support
• Maximum angles of fire: 360º horizontal, vertical through tracking
• Maximum fire range: 12km
• Ceiling: 8,000m

- 1 twin-barreled MTI Light 40mm ETI Gast gun w/ autoloader, caliber 70

• Specifications:
• Gun weight: 450kg
• Barrel length: 2.8m
• Caliber: 40mm
• Action: Dual-breech Gast recoil operated, electrothermal ignited
• Power source: ETIPPS
• Power to Muzzle efficiency: 85%
• Muzzle velocity: ~2,000 m/s
• Rate of fire: 300 rpm
• Maximum angles of fire: -20º to 70º vertical, 360º horizontal
• Effective range: 4,000m
• Maximum range: 8,350m (AA)
  

Ammunition:
- 8 135mm ADATS or White-phosphorous missiles

• WP Missiles Specifications:
• Guidance and detonation mechanism are the same of ADATS
• Role: Anti-personell, psychological warfare, smoke screening and defensive
• Launch Weight: 49kg
• Warhead: 10kg white-phosphorous
• Bursting radius: 60m
• Burning Temp: 5,000ºC
• Duration: 180 seconds

- 1,500 40mm telescoped rounds
Armor:
NBC Layers:
- First: 1mm Internal paper cover/decoration vs. Alpha radiation
- Second: 30mm aluminum flat armor vs. Beta radiation
- Third: 10 mm steel plates vs. Gamma radiation
Weight: 1,100 kg
Conventional: Grade 38 titanium armor
- Threat profile: frontal, crew and engine compartments protection against 14.5mm HMGs, lateral protection against all infantry battle rifles, rear protection against intermediary 5-6mm calibers, roof protection against HEDP grenades
- Turret front: 45mm
- Turret sides: 26mm
- Turret rear: 18mm
- Missile tubes: 34mm
- Hull Glacis: 60mm LoS
- Lower Frontal Hull: 38mm
- Hull sides: 16mm
- Hull rear: 12mm
- Roof: 10mm
- Weight: 4,000 kg
RHAe of Titanium Armor:
- Turret front: 42mm
- Turret sides: 25mm
- Turret rear: 17mm
- Missile tubes: 32mm
- Hull Glacis: 57mm
- Lower Frontal Hull: 36mm
- Hull sides: 15mm
- Hull rear: 11mm
- Roof: 10mm
Stealth Features:
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Cooling system adapted to reduce thermal signature
- Low Probability of Intercept Datalink
Active Protection System: Shtora soft-kill and Iron Fist hard kill systems
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter, fully enclosed, plus armor.
Fire Control System: MTI Standard FCS, FSoft INDFire and AirDefense subsystems
Electronics/Sensors:
- 4 independent FSoft Intelliview tactical computerized displays collecting and filtering data from cameras, radar and Datalink.
- Milnet LPI Datalink
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator.
- Override emergencial main sight and targeting periscope.
- 5 driving cameras at front, sides, rear, coaxial w/ turret.
- 4 artillery early warning infrared cameras.
- ECO-2A3 Active 3D Radar. Range: ~30 km
- BUHO-1C Automatic Target Classification System. Range: 15 km
- FSoft AirDefense AA fire control module.
- FSoft INDFire Top-attack APS upgrade.
- 1 FSoft Portable UGV control unit

Crew: 1 pilot, 1 gunner, 1 system operator, 1 commander
Troop transport: 2 soldiers.

Cost: $7,500,000

Variants:

Librecielo CCM Mobile Command Center
Differences:
- Vehicle length: 5.6m
- Vehicle weight: 19,000 kg
- Kg:Hp Ratio: 27.14
- Velocity(on-road): 85 km/h
- Velocity(off-road): 71 km/h*
- Additional Electronics:
-- 1 FSoft Tactical command and control display with full telemetry support, speech-to-text and touchscreen technology.
-- 1 FSoft Portable UAV control unit
- Additional Crew: 1 battlefield commander
Cost: $13,000,000


Librecielo IFV
Differences:
- Vehicle length: 5.6m
- Vehicle weight: 19,000 kg
- Kg:Hp Ratio: 27.14
- Velocity(on-road): 85 km/h
- Velocity(off-road): 71 km/h*
- Troop transport: 6
Cost: $8,000,000

*Only for relatively plain dirt/gravel roads or grasslands under dry weather conditions.

Crew compartment

The Librecielo was, like all armored fighting vehicles of the Confederacy, designed to comply with the needs of the "Fallout Doctrine" or "Post-nuclear Power Projection", which is basically the capability of operating safely even in nuclear wastelands and an attempt to remove the concept of "mutually" assured destruction in the case of an exchange of nuclear weapons. It is thus expected that like the Sino, it also contains an inner armor plating for anti-radioactive purposes composed by three different layers to protect against three different types of radiation. The first layer is not exactly an armor, but a thick 1mm paper cover which also was built as a comfortable decoration to psychologically create a better climate among its crew, although at the same time being indicative of alertness rather than of relaxing, if chromotherapy is correct rather than pseudo-science. Finally 30mm of aluminum and 10mm of steel also offer a barrier against the dangerous beta and gamma radiations. For weight savings, this entire protection is only surrounding the crew compartment and the engine compartment, as a form to increase its survivability beyond the protection offered by its lightweight titanium armor, effectively allowing its crew to survive fire from most infantry arms.

As it is usual with all Third Spanish States military armored vehicles, the Librecielo, although effectively offering the needed survivability in accordance to its profile as a support vehicle to be operated behind the front lines(or behind enemy lines in a covert manner), is more featured by the quantity of electronic input and output devices the crew has direct access to than by its armor. Nonetheless, its design has features to increase to the maximum possible the chances of survival without a steep sacrifice in more weight. First, its engine placement ensures that in the case of severe damage, it will not collide with the crew compartment, but instead away of it. Second, the air conditioning system of the Librecielo also serves as an wide fire extinguishing system through reserves of CO2 which have the same concentrated capability of a sprinkler, and of course, there are always oxygen masks in the crew compartment readily available if necessary to employ such measure, and also a Class D portable fire extinguisher for use on possibly burning metals. Finally it offers a different access through the crew compartment compared to most vehicles of its class, for it possess a rear access "bridge" like those of infantry fighting vehicles, to facilitate evacuation of a damaged vehicle, although it does not offer enough space to make of the Librecielo an effective troop transport, having only enough to fit two soldiers at best internally, although that still makes of it adequate as a vehicle for giving fire support to paratroopers and transporting them behind enemy lines. Furthermore, it also has a hatch like all vehicles of its class as a secondary way of leaving it, should the rear access be damaged, while at the same time allowing the carbon used to erase any possible initial flame in it to be expelled through the atmosphere. And at last, the inner is sufficiently spacious to allow the crew to always carry either carbines or submachineguns with them. A longer variant called Librecielo IFV makes of the Librecielo an effective Infantry Fighting Vehicle, allowing the light load of 6 soldiers per vehicle, and effectively mechanizing airborne troops. It uses a pair of long foamed benches, sought to provide some moments of comfort during their travels, believed to help soldiers to regain their stamina faster than uncomfortable conditions, and equally, like the rest of the crew compartment, air conditioned and entirely NBC shielded.

On the impending threat of anti-tank weaponry, the choice was simple. Although the design of the Librecielo was optimized to avoid implosion through a placement of armor which leads most of its fragments to be pulled outwards rather than inwards when penetrated, and with its roof surrounding its hatch built with kinetic energy absorbing tiles of lightweight ceramics composites and shaped to increase structural stiffness and reduce the chances of the roof "falling" over the crew, with these features thus ensuring that even should the vehicle become completely totaled, its crew would still have a significant chance of surviving, there is no passive protection applied to ensure its resistance against such weapons, and instead, for the integrity of the vehicle itself, which is much cheaper to replace than its crew trained for many years and which requires military college degree theoretical or practical education to operate effectively some of its systems, the effective line of defense against such threats lie into its highly computerized, "total awareness" and network-centric emphasized active protection systems and on its reduced infrared and radar signatures to difficult tracking, while the element of surprise also contributes for the situations when it will not be behind the front lines, and finally, this also allows it a chance in the unwanted possibility of an ambush from rear against a front.

Regarding the much greater focus given to the needs of operating effectively a multiple air defense, artillery and communications suite, it is no surprise that the Librecielo crew is issued with the latest version of the FSoft Intelliview system, with included support for expansion into a full tactical command system. In fact, the entire layout of the crew chamber was done around the FSoft Intelliview needs, being developed to save as much space as possible. Taking advantage of the fact there is no determined direction of view thanks to the capability of such system of filtering the image from the nine optical and infrared devices spread through some of the less vulnerable regions of its armor, coupled with the feed received through its datalink and 3D Radar, it was decided to create an "around table" pattern of its four ergonomic and adjustable power seats, which usually face the opposite direction of the direction the vehicle is heading to and facing each other as well, like if the crew was sitting around a table, as the Intelliview does not make it for a pilot necessary to be facing the same direction of the vehicle, nor for the gunner or for operator of its missiles and communications, neither for the commander to keep an eye through a conventional line of sight with their targets. The controls of the vehicle are located in the middle of the four seats, where four 42'' digital plasma computer screens lined to each of them are kept stable through a lightweight carbon-fiber reinforced polymer frame, all of which also can be used to interface directly with the redundant modular operating system through touchscreen technology, while at the same time a conventional, highly compact and specialized keyboard is also available for allowing quick inputs from the crew to change the configurations of how the Intelliview filters the feed from its cameras, or target locking commands from the gunner or system operator among a myriad of different functions, all designed to, in usual circumstances, dismiss the need of the commander getting into a vulnerable position to offer visual data for the crew. It was once suggested to employ a new, 3D graphical user interface to create the impression of perspective for the driver where "windows" could be panned and turned around 360 degrees in the desktop where the multiple camera feeds of the Intelliview were positioned according to the specific needs and specializations of each crew member, including for example the communications interface software and a primitive bi-dimensional tactical-operational view with radar and datalink recon signals indicators for the commander. However such sort of interface would be prohibitively resource consuming and inefficient, and there was a limit to how much of comforts a crew was to be provided with, despite the bias of the contributors to the design who would in many circumstances be the users of them.

The quality and softness of the materials used to build the seats coupled with the air conditioning system and "chromotherapic decoration" where more than enough of comfortable conditions to allow the crew to operate at maximum efficiency and with the slowest possible progression of natual tiredness, although cut offs were done compared to the previous takes of TdC and MilNet on such features. No longer MP3 players were issued with alertness-enticing martial tunes, although that would obviously only mean a major increase in the sales of i-Pods and similar products to the military. The reason for a cut off into the usually applied superfluous was very simple, the infantry people "who get into the real fray and really risk their skin for everyone" were slowly resenting the crews of armored vehicles and aircrafts as "pampered pussies", and as such emotions have severe negative influences on performance, not only vehicles would have only practical comforts to boost the endurance of its crew, but also crews would all receive and participate of infantry activities at least once a week to demonstrate the simple fact such preemptive views were wrong about the stamina and willingness of those who weren't right into the front lines.

However it is well known that, should such systems be knocked out, unless a redundant, more mechanical and rugged option to survey the environment would still give to the crew of the Librecielo a chance of at least not being completely defenseless and blind regarding the outside. Although in these situations it will inevitably end being necessary for the commander to get outside the hatch, the MacGavin also contains a targeting periscope and a "main sight", which is nothing but an additional wide-angle optical device which is located at a heavily protected position of the tank glacis to allow its driving without necessarily putting the commander in such a risky position of being outside immediately after the incident, and a reduced need of such action will increase the survival chances of the commander, and of the crew as a whole, and as the seats can be turned 360 degrees through entirely mechanical ways, facing also four tertiary input devices, it is thus possible to turn them around to properly face the direction of the vehicle should such emergency situation come to make of these override systems effectively useful. Although the damage of its electronic display and input systems would severely hamper its anti-air capabilities, being thus recommendable to head as soon as possible to somewhere where maintenance and repairs can be applied.

Drivetrain, Engine, Suspension

The Librecielo drivetrain is composed by technologies which have been otherwise an exclusivity for off-road dedicated vehicles, adapted for military uses, to improve its off-road performance significantly on maneuverability and stability, including an active differential system. By taking as input the feed from sensors regarding yaw rate, the angle of steering, the inclination of the vehicle on different axises and the lateral acceleration, coupled with ground clearance, which are in turn used to make adjustments on the way torque is distributed between the eight axises with drive wheels to balance it, increasing both stability and steering capability. Other highlights include a fully programmable modular electronic injection system, which allows its specialized engine to work properly and more efficiently coupled with its heavily modified transmission system which allows it to be almost as agile on reverse speed as it is on normal forward speed, featuring 4 forward gears and 3 reversals. Finally, it has a quite high axle ratio, which coupled with its active differential, allows it to have an excellent torque and acceleration, at the expense of top speed, which is considered irrelevant, due to its intended additional role as an all-terrain vehicle. Asides from some improvised fighting vehicles, the Librecielo is by far the fastest vehicle of the Confederacy armored forces, and can even outperform some civilian sports cars in acceleration. Another very important feature, for strategic rather than tactical reasons, is how the entire drivetrain of the Librecielo, although supporting conventional diesel, was optimized for both biodiesel and for the about to come, much more efficient biomass to liquid fuel combustion system the Librecielo was already designed for being easily upgraded with a new biomass-to-liquid engine once the first models become available, as such combustion system, which relies on the entire transformation of biomass into liquid, and is also being researched for supporting even fuel derivatives from trash processing, shall provide a truly renewable and sustainable source of energy for vehicles in the next three years of its final stages of development, serve as an important step into the transformation of Third Spanish States economy into a fully fossil fuels independent one, while at the same time serving as a potentially definitive solution to the trash issue in environment, for even Third Spanish States fractional orbital MaIRVs use fuels which don't contribute to global warming, regardless of the irony of such specific case.

It packs a particularly powerful engine for its weight, which was not only a consideration for its need of compensating its lightly armored hull with mobility and agility, but also a potential choice to allow its chassis to serve as a basis for future armored vehicles as well beyond its original role, making of it a potential design for multiple applications, including even perhaps an effectively "stealth" infantry fighting vehicle in replacement of the large Hacha IFV which features a too low ground clearance, and had its production discontinued a while ago in the wake of a new project to replace it. The M12-mod 700 engine, developed by Tienda del Coche, is an 12-cylinder biodiesel engine with actually a total shaft power of 800 hp, although only 700hp are effectively used of its full power to avoid problems with gunk from biodiesel, leading it to be technically classified as a 700 hp engine. Its displacement is of 40 liters to give the Librecielo an increased operational range, and to further boost its overall power focused on acceleration and torque, it also features a twin turbocharger system, and is stabilized by an air-to-air and by an air-to-water intercoolers, which are spread through the vehicle in a pattern intended to dissipate the heat in an widely distributed form through its frame, with the goal of reducing the heat signature from its engine to a level which can be significantly suppressed by an infrared reducing camouflage net like the one it is covered with as an standard issue.

Besides its engine, to allow it to fire when having its engines turned down to contribute with the low profile of ambushes performed by the Sino 1 and Sino 2 battle tanks among other armored vehicles in combined arms with infantry and low pass flight close air support aircrafts further behind, the Librecielo is also equipped with an auxiliary power unit, the UEA-315 APU, developed in tandem with the UEA-514 and its 515 upgrade from the Sino 2 main battle tank, composed by a cell of 20 supercapacitors built of carbon nanotubes, due to their large nano-scale surface area for storage of free electrons, which also serves as a secondary source of power for its electrothermal-chemical ignited gast gun.

The suspension used by the MacGavin consists into basically what could be considered an active hydropneumatic version of the Christie suspension, and is perhaps one of its most interesting features of the Librecielo regarding flexibility, while also at the same time having, as standard, one of the highest ground clearances of all Confederacy armored vehicles. It have been for a long time discussed, both seriously, and less seriously, the merits of tracked armored vehicles compared to wheeled ones and vice-versa, to the point the Stryker MGS, built for a time when all the significant threats faced were terrorists, tinpot dictators and insurgencies, was considered inferior to the M113 "airborne" vehicle. On certain ways, although lacking a tank gun replaced by its top-attack guided ammunitions on the role of tank busting, the Librecielo, or MacGavin, combines some of the best basic real and deluded premises of both the M113 "Gavin" and of the Canadian LAV-III which served as basis for the Stryker and was also used for their Multimission Effects Vehicle project which was filed due to hippie-liberal politics, and also provides airborne capability which neither of these were actually designed for, regardless of what some have claimed. Putting an end to discussions among the Milnet, like the ground-touching drive wheels of the active hydropneumatic suspension of the Sino 1, and even of the Sino 2, the suspension and drive wheels of the Librecielo can be fitted with tracks, or with eight tires from 32 to 60 centimeters of diameter depending on the profile of its mission terrain, for larger tire offer better ground clearance at the expense of theoretically reduced acceleration, which is untrue for rough and bumpy terrains where a larger tire will provide better adherence to the ground than an smaller one. Finally, in a glance to increasing safety in airborne deployments, its hydropneumatic suspension is also stiffened with some highly tensile, heavy duty springs to stand and absorb a greater fall impact than most, should for some unfortunate reason a parachute fail while it was a few meters from ground.

Armor and Protection

Like previously mentioned, the Librecielo was designed as a lightweight platform first, and thus the first and foremost need was to provide it with an armor which wouldn't make from it something anyone with an AK-47 could take down, but at the same time it couldn't simply be fitted with five-digit heavy reactive armors. The established limit was given as somewhere around five tons of armor at most, which was roughly the mass of armor the Librecielo ended with in its final test model, for its designers considered it very important that the already mentioned NBC armor system covering crew and engine was maintained at all costs, regardless of whether its weight could be replaced by more mass-efficient armor. Although more mass-efficient ceramic and composite solutions did exist, an highly sloped armor plating of variable line of sight thickness built of grade 38 titanium was preferred over them for its maintenance-friendly nature in comparison and for its cheaper costs, plus it was more than enough to offer the needed frontal protection, and coupled with the NBC armor, making the crew and engine compartment fully protected against, according to theoretical calculations, up to a theoretical 19x170mm heavy machinegun with a muzzle velocity of 1,200 meters per second, while tests have proved its crew is entirely safe against 14.5mm heavy machineguns, and its combination of titanium, steel and aluminum at different slope angles to absorb kinetic energy even managed to hold some rounds from a Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh 202 20mm autocannon from penetrating through the crew compartment.

However, the most important element of protection for the Librecielo, which offers a significant survival chance for what otherwise this vehicle would have little against certain threats, is its active protection systems, which consist into a combination of soft-kill counter-measures of the Shtora, designed to disrupt with laser(LADAR or LIDAR) targeting of incoming threats, although rather than simply taking advantage of the full production rights purchased from Russia and using it as it is, the engineers of the Confederacy MilNet have decided to make major improvements over it, to the point it perhaps would be better called with a different name as a derivative of the original Shtora, although it is simply called Shtora for simplicity, and to make its additional capabilities unexpected, and thus counter-countermeasures would not be preemptively deployed against it. Its primary complement are disposable countermeasures to make from it a countermeasure package for multiple different guidance systems, through the presence of four 4-cell short range chaff/flare launchers specifically designed for armored fighting vehicles against radar-guided or infrared warheads to complement the capabilities of its laser guidance disruptor.

Should the passive countermeasures be somehow bypassed, then the responsibility of protecting the vehicle falls under its "Iron Fist" active protection system and active countermeasures with the INDFire and Air Defense upgrades. Taking information from several different sources, which also are used by the "Shtora", including its radar, its switchable infrared cameras and the datalink which allows its softwares to integrate operations with the active protection systems of other nearby AFVs, this heavily modified version of the original Iron Fist APS, specially software-wise, offers full coverage against incoming threats from any directions, except for land mines, and is built upon six 6-cell interceptor launchers, which rely on fully concussion projectiles to deflect close by incoming threats with least possible risk of detonating them or fragmentation, and also, with the support of its systems, allow for the simultaneous tracking and interception of up to 3 multiple incoming targets, with a relatively small interval between firings ensured by its efficient recoil action, and the projectiles have up to 12 meters of range to engage a multitude of targets from artillery shells and HEAT projectiles to anti-tank grenades, RPGs and guided missiles. Considering the strategic importance of the Librecielo as the primary communications suite for nearby forces, thus it was found a good compromise between protection and light weight, although it should not be fully entrusted to ensure interception, for all active protection systems are far from perfect, and designed to offer a chance of stopping a projectile and not the certainty such projectile will be stopped, for mobility and low profile still stand as the most effective manners of ensuring survival.

Armament

As expected, its primary armament consists into the natively developed Air Defense Anti-Tank System, which mirrored at the Canadian ADATS, still packs considerable differences compared to the original idea. Consisting into four launchers per side organized into 4-cell, breech loaded, modular missile launch pods to increase their structural stability while at the same time offering independence from each launch cell, the Librecielo launchers also employ a larger, 135mm missile which packs a larger mass of either white-phosphorous or ADATS warhead, designed to be effectively capable of defeating the new armor technologies for roof protection being applied to modern tanks, as it was built to be an all-around top attack ammunition. The presence of two different missiles makes from the Librecielo an effective multi-role platform, considering its launchers alone, for anti-personell, anti-tank and anti-air roles. Another difference is that besides a digitally encoded laser guidance system which is reinforced through the use of two different green laser designators aligned to paint the same target, it also packs an inertial guidance system and an optical sensing targeting system with infrared support, giving it full non line of sight targeting capability, something which is extremely important for its artillery role. All loaded missiles can be launched in a volley if needed, although it is tactically more advisable to avoid such maneuver, as the reloading, with the support of its resupply vehicle, takes at least 30 seconds, ensuring an effective rate of fire of 16 rounds per minute, and without it, it could effectively take a couple of precious minutes, and about a minute with a highly trained and well equipped support group. The missiles are loaded through breeches in the rear of the launch pods, designed to allow them to telescoped open by the mere action of pushing the missile on their direction, something which allows the robotic arms of its resupply vehicle to load the rockets at such relatively fast manner.

Another recent development is also the countermeasure cluster decoy missile that can be fitted into the ADATS to serve as a countermeasure, both as an additional component of the active protection system and as a way to defeat guided anti-ballistic interceptors and keep unguided protection systems busy. Its warhead is a cluster of 3 chaffs and 3 flares which is dropped close to the incoming target, or kept inside until it is about to reach the range of the hard kill active protection systems of a target as a manner to deceive them while the real threat is incoming behind. As the ADATS support multiple guidances, through a vote logic component the optical and inertial guidance contradicting the effect of flares on its IR guidance allows it to dismiss them altogether, also meaning that an effective passive countermeasure requires an integrated solution like the LADAR, IR and Radar countering system of the ADATS itself.

Coupled with its launcher, in a configuration similar to that of the Tunguska, a twin-barreled autocannon operating under the Gast principle, which action located on its dual breeches also are ignited through an electrothermal chemical process with an ETIPPS power source, is placed between the lateral launch pods. The MTI Light L70, 40mm Gast autocannon provides an effective anti-air and anti-personell solution thanks to its complex actuators and pneumatics, which give to it an excellent capability of changing their angle from an anti-air 70 degrees inclination to a 0 degrees one, making of them guns for use both against light armored vehicles and personell, and for targeting low altitude flight aircrafts like helicopters in combination with its missiles. Its rate of fire is relatively low due to its heavy caliber and due to governors established to increase the duration of sustainable bursts, each autocannon individually would have a 150 rounds per minute rate of fire, although coupled they offer a decent 300 rpm which suffices for its roles, specially considering the muzzle velocity its ETI system allows to be achieved, which coupled with precision algorithms of the AirDefense module, give it an effective range of four kilometers and a maximum range exceeding eight kilometers for suppressive fire. Following recent developments taken from the ZM300 MPAC, a new air-bursting 40x345mm ammunition, with its 216mm long actual projectile which supports both HEDP and white-phosphorous, is currently being developed for both the Librecielo and the next Hacha IFV to be used together with WP missiles as a powerful anti-personell and suppression tool.

The MacGavin doesn't pack any general purpose remotely operated weapon system, its resupply vehicle actually offers it a single AA-70 7.62x54mm machinegun for cover, which can be directly linked to be operated remotely by the commander of the Librecielo through his interface, while also allowing the same unmanned resupply vehicle, known as the Libertad to have space savings and not require a crew compartment.

Electronics

For its role as a mobile communications center on the battlefield, the Librecielo provides to its crew an wide array of top-grade electronics beyond the mentioned Intelliview system. For the sake of inter-operation capability and shared maintenance and software components, it also uses a pair of units of five industrial-grade i386 Quantix Integrated Processors similar to those of the Sino 2A1 main battle tank, although with their clock rate slightly increased in accordance to additional processing needs of its missile guidance system software. With each instead having an effective speed of 500 MHz, and being in usual circumstance responsible for processing all functions of the multimission effects vehicle. On the other hand, several open-source physics and academic softwares were adapted and used to create its targeting, detection and communications software suite.

The simplest system, integrated with its fire control, is the Intelliview infrared/optical targeting module which allows it to effectively target anything at visual range, including algorithms which attempt to match the visual profile of tanks with the given database.

It would not be truly a multimission effects vehicle without the capability of illuminating targets by itself, thus instead of a passive radar system, it is packed with a full-fledged 3D radar, also capable of transmitting telemetric data to the Intelliview systems for the commander's tactical "bird eye" 2D rendered view which offers basic information from known enemy locations, terrain elevations, nearby friends and also provides with indicators for detected incoming projectiles in the form of small dots. It can use the entire shared feed of all nearby vehicles through their LPI datalinks to create such tactical image, coupled with a complex software piece.

The ECO-2A3 Active 3D Radar operates through both a conventional, rotating active electronically scanned array for defining range and azimuth only, and with a set of phased pencil beams which shift their inclination for covering an wide altitude coupled in functioning with its AESA component. Like all radars, it consist into several different transmit/receive modules which are also used for other roles. With a bistatic detection range of 30 kilometers, and a targeting range of 12 kilometers, it is one of the most effective mobile radar systems of the Confederacy bar the integrated vehicles of long-range surface-to-air anti-ballistic missiles.

Combined with it, the BUHO-1C system is composed by two elements: a suite of softwares operating as an automatic target recognition system, composed in hardware by an integrated, fully independent virtual storage unit with the data of radar cross sections patterns for virtually all aspect angles of every known armored vehicles , military installations and low altitude aircrafts and helicopters, with the influence of its illuminator over the signature also considered, by the Confederacy, and which can also store unknown filtered estimate RCS patterns from the raw data from the environment illuminated by the active radar for post-facto attribution to their respective sources. The ATR also includes its own target position and speed estimation softwares, which in turn are used as variables in the Bayesian probabilistic algorithm that is the core of the system. Based on a modification of the Instant Signature Solver Program(ISSP) developed at the Polytechnic University of Tucker, it can generate on-the-fly a look-up matrix of all the possible RCS of each class of target stored in its library, which is crossed with the recognized signatures given by the passive radar. In certain ways, it also is inferior in capabilities compared to the BUHO 3.0 used in the CL-32 Buitre to be less costlier, and specialized in land-based target recognition optimized for operating with active radar systems. Its range is limited to roughly 15 kilometers, and varies according to the landscape elevations. It also can identify targets detected by third party sensors. Its other component is a LADAR illuminator module used for guiding its missiles towards their destination, coupled with their inertial, optical and infrared guidance, which also contributes as an additional source of raw data for target identification.


The Milnet LPI Datalink, not much different at all from all other datalinks used by armored vehicles in the Confederacy, is merely an adaptation of LPI radar technologies for communications roles. One of its components, when used alone in a very specific manner and individually, ensures a virtually null probability of intercept of the receiver of any transmission, in this case, the Librecielo. The receiver module is nothing but an additional algorithm linked to its radar which allows it to filter and identify encrypted transmissions from allied forces which are usually transmitted towards the battlefield at multiple, random directions, but not specifically towards any allied unit, allowing multiple units to receive it simultaneously without giving any hint of the actual location of them. Of course, such technique also implies that the enemy will have a facility of intercepting the transmission itself while only a very large area can be ascertained to be the location of the receiver, and that's exactly why the integrated operating systems of each component contain support for both high-priority and quantum encryption, and why keys are renewed at a per-mission basis. However, there is a secondary option, which might put in risk the low detectability aspect but make the transmission more difficult to be intercepted. By using multiple randomly chosen wideband frequencies from a frequency-hopping spread spectrum, while also resorting to pulse compression and a continuous wave signal, and logically, transmitting as little as possible, it becomes possible to signal for an ally the location of the tank, and also to share sensor data with them rather than only receiving it, through the communications suite included, which relies on the transmitters of the ECO-2A3, sending thin, fast moving beams of energy.

Coupled with it, a comprehensive communications suite is offered which allows the commander of the Sino to address an entire platoon of armored vehicles, or an squadron of close air support aircrafts nearby, and also several automated information transmission procedures are integrated to allow other vehicles to receive the comprehensive sensor feed from the Librecielo to boost their own range. Serving as an intermediary to transmit reconaissance data from unmanned aerial vehicles and AEW&C and AWACS aircrafts, and to communicate with them to a certain extent, the presence of a single MacGavin ensures and excellent awareness of the environment by those forces nearby, which in turns contributes to provide more precise and in depth input for their fire control systems, making of it in certain ways the Librecielo as a ground equivalent of an AWACS in one of its many roles.

The FSoft INDFire consist into an optical targeting system and upgrade over its Iron Fist and Shtora licensed active protection systems against incoming artillery shells and top-attack ammunitions, which then calculates on-the-fly the estimated arc of trajectory of an still flying projectile and cross it with the positioning of the tank, while guiding its active protection systems and its decoy missiles towards the estimated arc of trajectory to either deflect or destroy the threat, which also is transmitted to the Intelliview tactical display system and visually informing, in usual settings, to the commander display the arc of trajectory and the impact point of the projectile in a bird's eye view, while allowing the estimated location of the artillery vehicle which fired it to be located. It also constitutes into an upgrade over the standard fire control system, which, just like it can, after capturing enough optical data, estimate the arc of an hostile indirect fire and also program the inertial guidance of its missiles. Supported by the ECO-2A3 or by the SLAG global positioning system, it can effectively determine the estimated impact point of an unguided missile with a circular error probable of 6 meters at its maximum effective range of 8 kilometers, which can be particularly useful for allowing the Librecielo to fire missiles with inertial guidance only against countermeasures-ridden static defenses and targets.

The FSoft AirDefense fully dedicated fire control module, on the other hand, improved drastically from the Cáscara Heavy Assault Tank version, takes full advantage of its radar feed as well to target low-altitude aerial threats and guide the BUHO into illuminating them with laser designators, for both locking ADATS missiles and for aiding the gunner of the 40mm Gast autocannon, and can also use the optical feed of the sky facing cameras of the INDFire system for its needs and the feed received from other units through the datalink. Based on its own physics algorithms, it can calculate the exact trajectory of the rounds fired by the Gast autocannon
independently from the processing of the primary fire control system and give to the Intelliview system the imaging of the point of impact in the sky by drawing a large line in the display as a type of virtual sight which is then compared with the point of the laser designators. As usual proposals for a fully automated air defense gun dismissed. Where the gunner is usually employing only his attention on aiming the guns with visual aid, unless when the systems operator is too busy with communications or controlling an UGV, for most of the targeting process of the ADATS is automated requiring only the input for the launch command, the system operator takes control in normal situation of the ADATS system, allowing it to target a different target from that tracked by the dual purpose guns as both are independent, but have integrated fire control systems.

Other features include besides the ubiquitous coaxial targeting camera with its gun which provides optical feed for its fire control system, an equally commonly used system which, following the proper identification of a target, can identify the effectiveness of each weapon system and of each ammunition type of the MacGavin for both the gunner and system operator against it with a percentage based on a probabilistic algorithm and in an update over the Lanz-Odermatt equation and on information on variables like blast radius. The crew of a Librecielo should be aware that such percentage of effectiveness is not an absolute, but only a way to guide in a more ample manner the operational procedures during battle to reduce inefficient usage of its firepower. The effectiveness rating is inversely proportional to the needed quantity of shots to take down a target, while a rating below 10% will in most situations imply that the given weapon cannot penetrate the target armor. Of course, such system relies on intelligence or public domain knowledge over a given technology, and thus won't work at all on unknown threats.

The communications suite also includes three infantry phones on the rear side of the tank, next to its thick exit ramp, to allow immediate communications of nearby support units in close support of the Librecielo located into the highly organic ultra-light brigades or more specialized companies, without the need of wireless telecommunications technologies which would be prone to interception by ELINT.

However, the real groundwork of electronics lie with its longer Centro de Comando Móvil variant which consist into a crew of five rather than four men. An upgrade over the usual FSoft systems, the vertically inclined MilNet tactical command and control display is a much larger additional interface installed for the new crew member it was designed for. For it is a vehicle built as a mobile command center for companies' Majors to operate into large-scale theaters of war, offering an unequaled level of information awareness made possible by both the capability of receiving information and of filtering and shaping it into a readable and understandable form. The image given by the large 80x60 inches widescreen display, which also supports touchscreen technology, from where an abstract, fully three-dimensional abstraction of the battlefield coupled with tactical and strategic maps which also indicate the status and ETA of supply convoys compete for space into a full fledged strategic suite, which also contains a text-to-speech engine and can be used to set or change waypoints and objectives for nearby platoons to converge through on-the-fly, in a manner of conveying visual information only possible before between "armchair generals" having fun with virtual military simulations, although it is an entirely professional display system. There is no fluff on its hardware renderer, and vehicles and detected objects, including terrain and static buildings, are displayed into a 3D wireframe mode with no textures to avoid unnecessary consumption of processing power. Through touchscreen, coordinates informed verbally or an user interface, the commander can thus set missions, waypoints and objectives for several platoons, fireteams and squads with little delay, while receiving equally several informational updates on the situation of the battlefield as a whole, allowing thus critical decisions to be made with more screen of time before the "it's too late" situation comes due to the rapidness information can be conveyed, relayed and transmitted through this manner.

At last, the CCM also contains an interface for operating an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a group of them through shared standardized flight formation systems, which in turns means that the M135 MacGavin CCM can be used also to coordinate and operate directly close air support, hunter-killer and aerial reconaissance missions to further increase its operational reach, including even the capability of controlling Airborne Early Warning drones, and of communicating directly with satellites through relay uplinks and downlinks.

WARNING: "Fancy" tactical theater displays like or fancier than those of the CCM cannot solve the problem of sheer incompetence.

[Third Spanish States]

Veículo Blindado Modular 47 Capivara

Quick Overview:

The Capivara is a low profile, very mobile, extremely lightweight modular armored car based on the Brazilian EE-T4 Ogum and by extension also related to the German Wiesel, which can run on both tracks or in four 35'' wheels according to mission needs, has its crew compartment, engine and troop transport areas protected against heavy machineguns of up to 16.5mm and can be fitted with several different platforms and roles, giving the necessary capabilities to military forces which focus on mobility over sheer firepower, while offering the needed off-road performance to be useful in some of the terrains which are otherwise exclusive domain of infantry. It can be used as an airborne vehicle and also can be relatively easy converted into an amphibious vehicle with proper modifications.

Specifications

Manufacturer: Engesa, Tienda del Coche, MilNet, Cotarm
Class: Modular Armored Car
Length: 4m
Width: 2.35m
Height: 2.15m
Ground clearance: 0.45m

Weight: 6,500kg - 7,500kg, depending on configuration
Weight of turret: Varies
Weight of transmission: 400kg
Weight of tracks: est 500kg each

Motor: M12-mod 500 12 cylinder water-cooled biodiesel. 500 hp at 3,200 rpm. Displacement: 25L
Kilograms per horsepower ratio: 13 - 15
Velocity (on-road): 120 km/h
Velocity (off-road): 90 km/h*

Transmission: MTI 135 automatic, 4 forward gears, 4 reversal
Axle ratio: 5.7
Suspension: Christie MK-2 Hydropneumatic

Armament:
Main Gun options:
- Infantry Support: 7.62x54mm AG-70 Gast machinegun
- APC: AA-70E general purpose machinegun
- ADATS: 2 135mm MilNet GEIFM-2 indirect fire missile launchers
- Recon: 14.5mm ZM145 Heavy Machinegun
- Anti-personell: 30mm ZM300 Portable Autocannon/Automatic Grenade Launcher
Support: 5 smoke grenades

Armor:
NBC Layers:
- First: 1mm Internal paper cover/decoration vs. Alpha radiation
- Second: 30mm aluminum flat armor vs. Beta radiation
- Third: 10 mm steel plates vs. Gamma radiation
Weight: 750 kg
Conventional: Grade 38 titanium armor
- Threat profile: frontal, crew and engine compartments protection against 12.7mm HMGs, lateral protection against all infantry battle rifles, rear protection against intermediary 5-6mm calibers, roof protection against HEDP grenades
- Turret front: 20mm
- Turret sides: 18mm
- Turret rear: 14mm
- Missile tubes(when applicable): 26mm
- Hull Glacis: 35mm LoS
- Lower Frontal Hull: 28mm
- Hull sides: 15mm
- Hull rear: 12mm
- Roof: 10mm
- Weight: 1,000 - 1,500 kg
RHAe of Titanium Armor:
- Turret front: 19mm
- Turret sides: 17mm
- Turret rear: 13mm
- Missile tubes: 25mm
- Hull Glacis: 33mm
- Lower Frontal Hull: 27mm
- Hull sides: 14mm
- Hull rear: 11mm
- Roof: 10mm

Stealth Features:
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Cooling system adapted to reduce thermal signature
- Low Probability of Intercept Datalink

Active Protection System: Iron Finger hard kill system, chaff/flare launcher.
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter, fully enclosed, plus armor.

Fire Control System: MTI Standard FCS, FSoft INDFire(on ADATS) and AirDefense subsystems
Electronics/Sensors:
- 3 independent FSoft Intelliview tactical computerized displays collecting and filtering data from cameras, radar and Datalink.
- Milnet LPI Datalink
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator.
- Override emergencial main sight and targeting periscope.
- 5 driving cameras at front, sides, rear, coaxial w/ turret.
- 4 artillery early warning infrared cameras.
- ECO-2A3 Active 3D Radar(Only Deployed in ADATS). Range: ~20 km
- BUHO-1C Automatic Target Classification System. Range: 5 km
- FSoft AirDefense AA fire control module.
- FSoft INDFire Top-attack APS upgrade.

Crew: 1 pilot, 1 gunner, 1 commander
Troop transport: None, 2 soldiers(Recon) or 4 soldiers(APC).

Cost: $700,000 - 1,500,000, depending on configuration

*Only on relatively plain landscapes.

History

The project began in 2034 in the recently expanded Alcântara Base in the federation of Maranhão and the first final version vehicle was built in December of 2035. Third Spanish States organizations have supported the project since its beginning with their armor and information technologies, while local groups gave their expertise in automobile manufacturing and strategic knowledge of the requirements for vehicles to operate in cities, forests and jungles.

In October of 2036 the vehicle was officially approved for use in the Confederacy military as in replacement of poorly armored and less reliable technicals formerly used by some of the reserves in forest patrols

There were those who once said that it would be easier for a snake to smoke than for a military armored design from the isolationist and pacifist Anarkilópolis(English: Anarchilopolis) in South America to be successfully integrated into the ranks of the Confederación. They were completely wrong. First, the mostly Engesa designed the Veículo Pesado de Combate de Infantaria HIFV-50 Sucuri came as an effective replacement over the poorly expansible HIFV-40 Hacha designed by the Confederacy, and second, coupled with the electronics expertise of the Confederacy of Third Spanish States and their expertise of rough terrains like the Amazon rainforest, the Projeto de Veículo Blindado Modular de Alta Mobilidade(PVBMAM - High Mobility Modular Armored Car Project), intended for the development of a lightweight multimission vehicle capable of operating even in the roughest of terrains, while being fully optimized for the needs of urban warfare, and particularly as a last, decisive effort to ensure a high degree of mobility and mechanization at a reasonable cost. The end result was a new vehicle based on the reported experiences on the development of the EE-T4 Ogum vehicle, and on the information technology and modern capabilities of Third Spanish States.

Engesa was once the name of a former Brazilian military company which had some ill-fated strokes of bad luck which led it to a fate of bankrupcy, after its Osório Main Battle Tank has lacked successful procurements as their main market was blocked by the Gulf War of 1991. Other than the same acronym and area of activity, the new Engesa formed a few years after the establishment of the anarchist community of Anarkilópolis was first an portmanteau of Engenheiros Especializados em Sistemas de Ataque (Engineers Specialized in Attack Systems), and was a cooperative rather than a corporation, only using the name as a nostalgic reference to the former company. It has for much time developed ground vehicles exclusively for Anarchilopolis, something which made some fear it could end like the former Engesa, until the joint-development of the successful HIFV-50 Sucuri Infantry Fighting Vehicle.

The design goals on performance were to offer a highly mobile, fast accelerating vehicle capable of being fitted with either wheels or tracks, with enough torque and power-to-weight ratio to overcome rough terrains which would be particularly unforgiving for larger and heavier platforms. Desired maximum speed was of 140 kilometers per hour in-road, although driver guidelines were to suggest to avoid reaching such point in most circumstances. Desired steering capability was to be at least comparable, when wheeled, to that of off-road vehicles like the Jeep. Most of the goals were accomplished, except for maximum speed.

The design goals on modularity were for it to have space and compatibility to be fitted with autocannons, a portable Air Defense Anti-Tank System, twin-machinegun turrets, fast attack command and control centers, armored personell carriers modules among a myriad of different useful purposes and configurations with a much easier and less timely process compared to the needed measures of zeroing to fit new calibers into larger tanks and AFVs. To a certain extent, it was also accomplished, allowing it to be re-fitted with not much of dedicated facilities.

The design goals on protection were to have at least enough crew protection against up to 16.5mm heavy machineguns and to provide sufficient protection against NBC threats for its crew and possible passengers, and if not deterrent to its capabilities, add a self-developed, compact hard-kill active protection system to it as well. It was made possible, at the expense of it being somewhat heavier compared to an Wiesel, or to the Ogum.

The capability of deploying them extremely fast compared to heavier vehicles is essential for a dynamic defense or offense, and even more important for mobile warfare, making of it usually the first mobile line of defense of the Confederacy. Prepared as an APC, it can effectively be used to increase the speed of troop deployment, something which is essential for modern warfare, while their support for amphibious and airborne modifications make of them also favored among special forces when the heavier armor, armament, active protection systems, weight and higher profile of the M135 MacGavin are not necessary.

[Third Spanish States]

DR-135 Libertad Unmanned Resupply Vehicle

Overview

The Libertad is the pinnacle of automation in Confederacy military technology, as one of the first large scale unmanned ground vehicles to be developed across the world, being mostly credited by the efforts of the FSoft cooperative Computer Engineering division regarding its systems. It is an agile take on the original chassis of the MEV-135 Librecielo, which crew compartment was entirely removed and converted into an ammunition stowage to increase its volumetric storage capability and thus its capability of prolonging the combat capability of the M135 as support vehicle. It also possess a remotely operated 14.5mm ZM145 heavy machinegun for self-defense against infantry, and can be towed by the Librecielo, creating a sort of twin-engine two-segmented vehicle when terrain conditions are favorable. The Libertad uses a a pair of programmed robotic arms to load extra 135mm missiles from behind its barrels to the Librecielo and the change magazines behind the Librecielo turret for the 40mm ammunition simultaneously. It was designed to achieve the fastest feasible reloading rate for the missiles using the best available technology, and is usually remotely operated by the system operator or commander of the Librecielo it is attached to, allowing either to also assume control of its heavy machinegun, although having limited capability of moving in formations with other Libertads by command. Through cameras and telemetry information besides their own sensors, its arms can adjust to different distances between the resupply vehicle and the Librecielo as long as they are at their reach. As expected, such system does come with a price to pay. And a steep one.

Specifications

Manufacturer: TdC/MTI joint-venture
Class: Dedicated Resupplier UGV
Dimensions: 2.85m (width), 5.05m (length), 2.3m(height), 2.70(height with robotic arm at maximum elevation)
Weight: 13,000kg
Weight of turret: 350kg
Weight of transmission: 1,000 kg
Weight of tracks: Est. 800 kg each
Motor: M12-mod 600 12 cylinder twin turbocharger water-cooled biodiesel, 600 hp at 1,500 rpm
Velocity(on-road): 90 km/h
Velocity(off-road): 80 km/h*
Transmission: MTI 225 automatic
Suspension: Christie MK-II hydropneumatic suspension
Armament/Equipment:
- 1 ZM145 14.5mm heavy machinegun remotely operated weapon system
- 2 Reloading robotic arms
Ammunition/Stored ammunition:
- 1,500 14.5mm rounds
- 80 135mm ADATS missiles
- 6,400 40mm telescoped rounds
Maximum angles of fire(14.5mm): 360º horizontal, 65º to -10º vertical
Rate of reloading(135mm): 16 rpm
Rate of fire(14.5mm): 200 rpm
Armor:
Conventional:
Note: Frontal, Top, Sides and Rear also include the armor applied to glacis and turret's front, top, sides and rear respectively.
- Frontal arc: 38mm titanium vs. ZM145 HMG 14.5mm FMJ
- Top: 12mm titanium vs. M4 AR 5.56mm FMJ and M203 GL 40mm HEG
- Sides: 16mm titanium vs. M240x GPMG 7.62mm FMJ
- Rear: 12mm titanium vs. M4 AR 5.56mm FMJ
Weight: 3,300 kg
Stealth Features
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Shape designed to reduce signature(Same angle components)
- Cooling system adapted to reduce thermal signature.
NBC Defense: Unnecessary
Electronics:
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory calculator
- 1 link to remaining ammo data input of supported Librecielo.
- MilNet LPI datalink
- Override emergencial main sight and targetting periscope coaxial to turret.
- 5 optical acquisition cameras at front, sides, rear and coaxial to turret
- Multiple sensors in robotic arms.
- FSoft EngComp CM-689 missile autoloading programming
- FSoft EngComp CP-717 autocannon ammo autoloading programming
- Advanced servomechanics and actuators control unit.
Crew: None

Cost: 9,000,000

[Third Spanish States]

CA-155A Oso Self Propelled MRSI Gun Artillery

Quick Overview

The CA-155A Oso was the standard gun artillery vehicle of the Confederacy prior to the development of the new MTIS-M135 dual-purpose gun which has superseded its capabilities. Nonetheless it remains as an economically viable self-propelled artillery, and as the bearer of the most powerful artillery gun of the Confederacy at 155mm, capable of multiple rounds simultaneous impact capability and which potential can even be further improved by the presence of its dedicated resupply vehicle, the Pescado. Tactically, its primary technical capabilities lie with it being able to quickly move after firing a rapid succession of three rounds thanks to its autoloading system to prevent counter-battery fire that its active protection system might fail at stopping, a hull design inspired by the Sino Stealth which reduces its signature emissions, thus improving its survivability and chance of surprising enemy forces and by the commonplace focus on awareness and computerization coupled with its datalink which gives it an unparalleled accuracy and feed from recon vehicles, infantry voice-overs, UAVs and many other possible sources that is filtered and processed by its internal computers.

Specifications

Manufacturer: TdC/MTI joint-venture
Class: Self-propelled Artillery
Dimensions(Including ground tracks to gun elevation heights): 3.10m (width), 7.30m (length), 1.90m(track to top of hull height), 2.75m(standard 45º elevation), 3.10m (total height with gun at maximum elevation angle),
Weight: 37,000kg
Weight of turret: 6,500kg
Weight of transmission: 1,300 kg
Weight of tracks: Est. 1,000 kg each
Motor: M12-mod 1500 12 cylinder twin turbocharger water-cooled biodiesel, 1500 hp at 2,500 rpm. Displacement: 30L
Velocity(on-road): 70 km/h
Velocity(off-road): 55 km/h
Transmission: MTI 245 automatic
Suspension: Torsion bar
Armament:
- 1 MTI Light cooled 155mm/L44 ETC MRSI artillery gun
Ammunition:
- 19 155mm self-propelled shells
- 19 155mm air-burst shells
Maximum angles of fire(155mm): 20º horizontal traverse, 70º to 30º vertical
Rate of fire/resupply(155mm): 15 rpm through 5 volleys of 3 rounds, each fired in 3 seconds intervals, per minute*
Maximum fire range: 35km.
Armor:
Conventional:
Note: Frontal, Top, Sides and Rear also include the armor applied to glacis and turret's front, top, sides and rear respectively.
- Frontal arc: 38mm titanium vs. ZM145 HMG 14.5mm
- Top: 12mm titanium vs. M4 AR 5.56mm FMJ and M203 GL 40mm HEG
- Sides: 16mm titanium vs. M240x GPMG 7.62mm FMJ
- Rear: 12mm titanium vs. M4 AR 5.56mm FMJ
Weight: 5,200 kg
Stealth Features
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Shape designed to reduce signature(Same angle components)
- Cooling system adapted to reduce thermal signature.
- Low probability of intercept Datalink
Active Protection System: Iron Fist ASK(Artillery Shell Killer) with INDFire module
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter.
Sensor Equipment:
- 2 independent FSoft Intelliview computerized displays collecting data from cameras
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory and effectiveness calculator and FSoft INDFire module.
- MilNet Standard LPI Datalink with telemetry Uplink support.
- Override emergencial main sight and periscope.
- 4 driving cameras at front, sides, rear
- 4 artillery early warning infrared cameras.
Crew: Commander, driver, gunner, system operator

Cost: $ 8.5 million

[Third Spanish States]

DR155-A Pescado Resupply Vehicle

Quick Overview:

Built from the same chassis of the Oso, the Pescado is an automated resupply vehicle intended to increase the operational capabilities of the Oso self-propelled artillery and its effective rate of fire by providing through a much simpler resupply ports rather than through robotic arms like the Libertad of the Librecielo. With the resupplying process being fully automated, all it requires is a system operator to maintain its smooth operation. However instead of wasting the space that would be fitted with the loader, the Pescado packs a gunner and its own ZM145 heavy machinegun for defensive purposes against infantry, making of the artillery it resupplies less vulnerable than it would otherwise be.

Specifications

Manufacturer: TdC/MTI joint-venture
Class: Dedicated Resupplier
Dimensions: 3.10m (width), 7.30m (length), 2.65m (height)
Weight: 32,000kg
Weight of turret: 350kg
Weight of transmission: 1,300 kg
Weight of tracks: Est. 1,000 kg each
Motor: M12-mod 1500 12 cylinder twin turbocharger water-cooled biodiesel, 1500 hp at 2,500 rpm. Displacement: 30L
Velocity(on-road): 80 km/h
Velocity(off-road): 65 km/h
Transmission: MTI 245 automatic
Suspension: Torsion bar
Armament/Equipment:
- 1 ZM145 14.5mm heavy machinegun remotely operated weapon system
Ammunition/Stored ammunition:
- 3,000 14.5mm rounds
- 60 155mm self-propelled shells
- 60 155mm air-burst shells
Maximum angles of fire(14.5mm): 360º horizontal, 65º to -10º vertical
Rate of fire/resupply(155mm): 6 rpm
Rate of fire(14.5mm): 200 rpm
Armor:
Conventional:
Note: Frontal, Top, Sides and Rear also include the armor applied to glacis and turret's front, top, sides and rear respectively.
- Frontal arc: 38mm titanium vs. ZM145 HMG 14.5mm
- Top: 12mm titanium vs. M4 AR 5.56mm FMJ and M203 GL 40mm HEG
- Sides: 16mm titanium vs. M240x GPMG 7.62mm FMJ
- Rear: 12mm titanium vs. M4 AR 5.56mm FMJ
Weight: 1205 kg front + 1870 kg sides + 961 kg top + 388 kg rear ~ 4,800 kg
Stealth Features
- Fixed IR signature reducing camouflage netting
- Shape designed to reduce signature(Same angle components)
- Cooling system adapted to reduce thermal signature.
- Low Probability of Intercept Datalink
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter.
Sensor Equipment:
- 2 independent FSoft Intelliview computerized displays collecting data from cameras
- Ballistic fire control system with trajectory calculator
- 1 link to remaining ammo data input of supported Oso.
- MilNet LPI Datalink
- Override emergencial main sight and targetting periscope coaxial to turret.
- 5 driving cameras at front, sides, rear and coaxial to turret
Crew: 1 system operator, 1 driver and 1 gunner

Cost: $ 5.5 million

[Third Spanish States]

AMT-4 Hidalgo Airborne SPG

Quick Overview

A native technology from the allied Community of Anarchilopolis, as part of the ambitious program to form a fully mechanized airborne force, the AMT-4 is a relatively lightweight, minimalist self-propelled 120mm howitzer based on a tracked, lightly armored vehicle which hull is built from a space frame instead of more conventional structures as part of the radical measures taken to ensure its airborne capability. Using a simpler low recoil howitzer, and as a highly specialized vehicle, it lacks the capabilities of dedicated self-propelled howitzers, which are also unsuitable for airdropping, making of it, unlike in the case of the Modular Armored Car, a nearly completely dedicated vehicle for the specific needs of paratroopers, able to complement the rocket artillery capabilities of the MEV-135 Librecielo.


Specifications

Manufacturer: Engesa and Cotarm
Class: Airborne Self-propelled Artillery
Dimensions: 2.60m (width), 6.50m (length), 1.80m(track to top of hull height), 2.60m (total height)
Weight: 15,000 kg
Weight of turret: 3,000 kg
Weight of transmission: 700 kg
Weight of tracks: Est. 600 kg each
Motor: M8-mod 500 8 cylinder water-cooled biodiesel, 500 hp at 3,000 rpm. Displacement: 15L
Velocity(on-road): 50 km/h
Velocity(off-road): 35 km/h
Transmission: MTI 137 automatic
Suspension: Torsion bar
Armament:
- 1 Cotarm L120A Lightweight 120mm howitzer
Ammunition:
- 10 120mm HEDP shells
- 10 120mm air-burst shells
Traverse: 10º horizontal, 60º to 45º vertical
Rate of fire: 6 rpm
Maximum fire range: 15km.
Armor:
Conventional:
Note: Frontal, Top, Sides and Rear also include the armor applied to glacis and turret's front, top, sides and rear respectively.
- Frontal arc: 25mm titanium
- Top: 12mm titanium
- Sides: 16mm titanium vs. M240x GPMG 7.62mm FMJ
- Rear: None
Weight: 2,000 kg
Stealth Features
- Relatively low profile
- Low probability of intercept Datalink
Active Protection System: Iron Fist ASK(Artillery Shell Killer) with INDFire module
NBC Defense: Air conditioning system with air filter.
Sensor Equipment:
- 1 FSoft Intelliview computerized display
- FSoft INDFire Lite Fire Control System
- MilNet LPI Datalink
Crew: Commander, driver, gunner

Cost: $ 5 million

[Third Spanish States]

NO TAil Rotor system

HA-1 Qijote (Helicóptero de Ataque)

Quick Overview

The HA-1 Qijote was a risky but now successful bid on a tandem seat attack helicopter specialized as a gunship to complement the anti-tank close air support capabilities of the CB-1 Miaja fighter-bomber as a more anti-personell and anti-materiel focused CAS aircraft, while having air-to-air capabilities against other helicopters. It uses an intermeshing configuration of four blades in two contra-rotating rotors in a flexible rotor system using flextures and elastomeric bearings which was, together with its airframe, designed to be able to continue working even without its NOTAR primary anti-torque system, while packing explosive charges capable of ejecting rotor blades individually to increase its and crew survivability together with ejection seats. It's driven by a pair of TSH-133 turboshafts, optimized for biofuels and offering an excellent power:mass ratio due to their dual flight capability for working either with contra-rotating intermeshed rotors and with NOTAR for anti-torque according to its condition during battle, and even with both used simultaneously to provide excellent yawing capabilities. It can carry up to 3,000kg of armament into its seven external hardpoints. Its primary gun system is the 30x135mm ZMA300 chaingun, an airborne chaingun mounted in a semi-rigid manner based on the recoil-operated ZM300 Portable Autocannon, sought specially because of its capability of using air-bursting grenade rounds. It features a short range LIDAR for detection, glass cockpit avionics based on a more economically attractive version of the Intelliview technology which lacks the more extra features the systems of fixed wing aircrafts have, and it uses disruptive painting to difficult laser tracking.

Specifications

Type: Heavy Air Support Gunship
Length: 18m
Wingspan: 8m
Rotor diameter: 15m
Height: 5m
Rotor configuration: 4 Intermeshing rotor blades, secondary NOTAR
Rotor system: Flexible modular hub with flextures and elastomeric bearings
Stealth: Not applicable
Propulsion:
- 2 TSH-133 turboshafts, 2000 kW(2,680 shp) each
Empty weight: 8,000kg
Normal load weight: 10,750kg
Maximum weight: 12,750kg
Minimum fuel weight: 1,250kg
Maximum fuel weight: 3,000kg
Power/mass ratio: 0.37 - 0.31 kW/kg
Armament(Standard):
ZMA-300 30mm chaingun
1 underbelly gun-pod tailored hardpoint with:
- MA-65 6.5x55mm self powered minigun semi-rigid pod
2 wingtip hardpoints with:
- 2 SDA-08 countermeasures deployment pods
4 wet underwing hardpoints with:
- 2 BLA-19 APKWS rocket pods w/ 11 guided rockets each
- 2 SMI-14 PARS 3 LR anti-tank missile pods with 4 missiles each
Combat radius: 450km
Ferry range: 1,750km
Detection range: 50km
Limit per pylon: 750kg on underwing, 500kg on wingtips and 1,000kg underbelly
Normal payload: 1,500kg
Maximum payload: 3,000kg
Hover ceiling: 3,000m
Service ceiling: 3,500m
Maximum altitude: 6,000m
Cruising speed: 300 km/h
Maximum speed: 420 km/h in dive
Rate of climb: 11 m/s
Crew:
- Pilot
- Co-pilot/Gunner
Avionics:
- ECO-0A1 LIDAR
- 1 FSoft Quantix Integrated Processor(QIP) units w/ 3 processors.
- FSoft HelicopterView computerized displays
- 6 infrared complementary electro-optical targeting cameras
- AirLinux 3.0ch Integrated Operating System
- MTI/FSoft Airforce Standard Low Probability of Intercept Datalink

Price: US$ 25,000,000

Examples of Operational History

Anarcho-Stalinist War: Liberation of Mallorca(Part 1)

[Vandaheim]

Dear Sirs

Due to extensive delays in the fielding of a lightweight indigenous body armor, the Government of Vandaheim is pleased to announce the selection of Commonwealth of Land Warfare Cooperatives CA-300 Ballistic Armor Set and CPI-300 Netrocentric Combat Helmet as the Interim Lightweight Armor System. We wish to place an initial order for 2 million units of each for a price of 14 Billion USD. We are in addition interested in your LGA50 Advanced Grenade Launcher to implement as a platoon support weapon. We would like to order an initial order of 20,000 LGA50's for 25 million USD. I am told the MOI-19 60mm mortar system is a class leader in lightweight artillery, and we wish to order 4,000 units for 100 million USD. We also wish to order 2 million MOG-19 rounds to compliment the new mortars for 1.4 billion.
If possible, we would like to manufacture the units on Vandaheimian Soil using indigenous labor where feasible. Total sum of 15.525 billion will be wired upon confirmation.

Thank you,

Cal Pederson

Director
Vandaheimian Defense Material Command

[Third Spanish States]

From: Commonwealth of Land Warfare Cooperatives
To: Cal Pederson, Director of the Vandaheimian Defense Material Command

Your request for 2 million CA-300 Ballistic Armor and CPI-300 Network-Centric Combat Helmets, 20,000 (twenty thousand) LGA50 grenade launchers, 4,000 MOI-19 60mm mortar system and 2 million MOG-19 Smart Mortar-launched rockets has been approved. As for the production rights, due to the scale of the ammunitions purchase, you have been granted, exclusive-use only domestic production rights for the MOG-19 ammunitions and for the MOI-19 conventional, non-guided ammunitions as well. As for the other products, we are willing to sell you the unlimited domestic production rights of all the mentioned technologies and their ammunitions for $ 50 billion. Thank you for your choice!

Cecily Lockhelm

Sales Representative of the Commonwealth

[Vandaheim]

Dear Sirs,

We accept your offer of unlimited domestic production rights for all of the above technologies at 50 billion USD, money wired.

Thank you,

Cal Pederson

Director
Vandaheim Military Defense Material Command

[Kreigan]

Hello,
The Dictatorship of Kreigan would like to purchase 1million CA-300 Ballistic Armor and CPI-300 Network-Centric Combat Helmets, and we would like to purchase 200,000 HIFV-50 Sucuri Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Next we would like to purchase 1000 HT135-B Cáscara 2A1 Heavy Assault Tanks. Let us know of the amount you require and we will wire the funds into your acount, also let us know about any sales on Fire Arms we need good durable and not to expensive ones for our Army.

Sincerely,
Ken Franchino
The Dictator of Kreigan

[Third Spanish States]

From: Commonwealth of Land Warfare Cooperatives
To: Ken Franchino, Kreigan

After reviewing your nation's economic information, we regret to inform that your request seems to be incompatible with any prediction of realistic defense budget we have charted, and thus have to deny it.

[Kreigan]

From: Commonwealth of Land Warfare Cooperatives
To: Ken Franchino, Kreigan

After reviewing your nation's economic information, we regret to inform that your request seems to be incompatible with any prediction of realistic defense budget we have charted, and thus have to deny it.

After over looking this we see your point, well then we will take just the Helmets and body armor

Sincerely,
Ken Franchino
Dictator of Kreigan

[Third Spanish States]

From: Commonwealth of Land Warfare Cooperatives
To: Ken Franchino, Kreigan

It is unwise to spend more than your entire military budget in helmets and body armor. Likewise, the Milnet advises your forces to focus on quality rather than sheer quantity, and that fielding an active military with one million soldiers would be unadvisable as of the moment, unless you wish to form an army out of poorly trained and fed militias with bare chests and ragged pants and boots armed with rusty rifles and molotov cocktails. We recommend you review your military maintenance costs and to take a moment to analyze things properly before making further purchase requests.

Take this not as an offense, but as a friendly advise. Other business would be willing to prey on your initial lack of judgment for their profits, but the MilNet has a very ethical compromise to advise customers that make orders that are unwise and beyond what their budget would allow without making them become severely indebted to think otherwise.