Key Data
Cost: $9 Million NSD per unit.
DPR: $350 Billion NSD.
Crew
3 crew members (driver, commander, gunner).
Compartment contains storage for 3 small arms and low ammo hold.
Dimensions
Length (with gun forward): 9.71 m.
Height: 2.39 m.
Width: 3.73 m.
Weight: 61.01 tons.
Ground Clearance: 0.45 m.
Performance
Maximum Speed: 79 kph.
Range 600 km.
Torsion bar suspension.
Propulsion: CVE Type 975 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V-12 Twin-turbo diesel engine.
1,500 PS (1,479 hp, 1,103 kW) at 2,600 rpm.
Transmission: Renk Auto HSWL 354.
Gas Capacity: 1,200 litres (264 imperial gallons; 317 US gallons).
Electronics
Eisen-Schloss Combat Networking.
Frauns FCS.
Armament
Main Armament: WA Type 5 105 mm 52 caliber smoothbore cannon (60 rounds) (auto-reloading system).
Secondary Weapons (coaxial): Optional slot for various machine guns (Commoner use of 7.58×54mm WA CTA LSW MareV2 is standard). Such options include machine guns and grenade launchers (13,500 rounds or 3,200 grenades).
Commander Weapon Station: Armored bubble for HMG use (14.5 mm pictured, 4,500 rounds). Optional slot for other machine guns and grenade launchers.
Armour and Protection
Non-active: 'Eisen Wand' 3rd Generation Composite 'DT' Armor: 1st lvl: ERA blocks or other slat attachments; 2nd lvl: Metal-composite matrix outer layer, composite two layer thick titanium alloy tiles (Ti-6A1-4V); 3rd lvl: WA-51A DU Mesh; 4th lvl: fibreglass/rubber internal liner.
Active: 'Eisenschild' Active Protection System
NBC protection (main + auxiliary).
Pentafluoroethane crew compartment fire extinguishing, Self sealed fuel tank + foam extinguishing.
Background
The Feurig 1A1 Main Battle Tank was conceived on April 3rd, 1983 as A combined project between vehicle manufacturing companies and Wolf Armaments. Urgently seeking a domestic tank design for various reasons - the TECT Armed Forces put a bid into the market to produce the beginning of a new series of domestic designed and built main battle tanks. Chief among the reasons was to replace an aging fleet of foreign bought main battle tanks which both lacked capability and the Empire's many requirements. An economic boom from the mass production of said main battle tank, as well as it's export profitability, was a major deciding factor as well. Designers, new to the designing of such armored vehicles, decided to take inspiration from Western and Eastern tank designs; such inspirations include the turret's overall design and the body's overall design. Although not the fastest or smallest tank on the field, the Feurig 1A1 was among the most accurate and powerful tanks that eventually made it to final testing. After years of production from 1975 to 83 - the Feurig 1A1 was approved for mass production and the first batch arrived on April 3rd, 1983.
Named after the Commoner god of war's primary spear weapon, the 'Feurig' or Fiery in german was used by the Commoner god of war to set entire cities ablaze and pierce any defenses it encountered. Accuracy and firepower are the main selling points of the Feurig 1A1; its 105 mm cannon is super-accurate and a selection of heavy machine gun placements made the tanks fearsome to most enemies. Armor, although not the most inventive, is highly affective against projectile penetration. Starting from the body on up - the Feurig 1A1 had western inspirations in build, its interior and exterior resembled the German Leopard series. No space wasted while taking full advantage of the sloping and body design - the interior comfortable for crew that did not present a danger for them. An efficient track and propulsion system gives the tank a strong propulsion through rough terrain at home and abroad; light pads on the ends and heavy material tracks give the vehicle a safer track system - the suspension, a torsion bar suspension, ensure free operation. The turret, inspired from Eastern Soviet designs, ensures maximum thickness with angle performance while also setting up the tank's auto-reloading system. Built around it, the auto-reloading system makes up the largest portion of the turret; it is designed to automatically load a cartridge, eject spent shells out a ground-facing hatch bellow the gun, and prepare the next round for firing. The gunner essentially has to keep loaded the fifteen round belt, operate the gun, and maintain and operate all weapons; in the situation the auto-reloading system fails or breaks down, the gunner can manually load and eject the spent cartridges. In case of a NBC attack, spent rounds can be stored in the storage area instead of ejecting. The commander station is an armored bubble mounting an extra weapon system, such as a heavy machine gun or grenade launcher; the viewing ports allow the commander to see outside the vehicle without the need for electronics. Not without electronics - the Feurig 1A1 features interfaces, computers, and various operational electronic systems for many roles. These include, but are not limited to, fire control system, battlespace networking, automatic protection systems, and visual tools (camera mounted on the front of the vehicle).
Propulsion/Mobility
The Feurig 1A1 is powered by a CVE Type 975 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V-12 Twin-turbo diesel engine. It was designed by Commoner Volkswagen Engineering originally for heavy duty trucks and machinery. With some modifications and tuning, it was used to power the Feurig 1A1. The Type 975 is known for its high compression and very high power to displacement ratio; allowing it to pour out vast amounts of power even for its smaller size. It was placed in the rear half of the vehicle where it is protected with a lining of armor that is especially thick facing the crew and has in place protection systems to protect the crew from engine failures; in case of a direct hit or engine failure, the explosion and/or fire is projected upward away from crew through reactive hatches. The Feurig 1A1 also boasts high mobility and agility in rougher terrain, utilizing its engine power and agile propulsion design to maneuver better in rougher terrain. Traveling at top speed, the Feurig 1A1 can reach 79 kph, especially on roads while traversing through rough terrain at a marginally slower speed. The gas capacity is 1,200 litres (264 imperial gallons; 317 US gallons).
In an attempt to counter inferred signature; exhaust pipes are water cooled and angled off to the sides of the vehicle to create more surface area and disbursement of heat. The Feurig 1A1 can traverse through 1.2 meter (3 ft 11 in) water crossings without a snorkel or 4 meters (13 ft) deep with a snorkel, and it can handle most irregular terrain.
Armaments
The primary armament of the Feurig 1 is the WA Type 12 120mm 55 caliber ETC smoothbore gun, which is capable of firing many ordinances at long distances accurately. The Feurig 1 is also armed with an HMG and LMG as top mounted guns, and comes with two guided ATGM mounted on the turret's side's (two missile canisters, dual mounted).
The turret is built around the auto loader and is also a reinforced sloped design for added protection. The recoil system was designed to absorb the majority of recoil from the main gun firing. The type 12 120mm gun is made of a special mesh of metals to strengthen the gun's overall design; allowing for durability and longer firing sessions.
Utilizing the 'Eisen-Schloss' Combat Networking system, the Feurig 1 keeps up-to-date on information outside of its hard shell. Seeing important data real time on internal devices gives mapping, direct contact tools, and other various systems that allows a Feurig 1 to keep in tight communication with allied forces inside its unit, allied units on the battlefield, and connection to command base. The networking is highly encrypted to ensure countermeasures to any hacking or sabotage efforts made by enemy forces.
The Frauns Fire Control System uses user and system-supplied data from a variety of sources, to compute, display, and incorporate the three components of a ballistic solution -- lead angle, ammunition type, and range to the target -- to accurately fire the tank and defeat hostile forces. The Frauns FCS determines these three components by using a laser rangefinder, crosswind sensor, a pendulum static cant sensor, data concerning performance and flight characteristics of each specific type of round, tank-specific boresight alignment data, ammunition temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, a muzzle reference system that determines and compensates for barrel drop at the muzzle due to gravitational pull and barrel heating due to firing or sunlight, and target speed determined by tracking rate tachometers in the gunner's or commander's controls handles. All this information is computed in the ballistic solution and displayed to crew members inside, updating over 29 times a second. The gunner then manipulates the turret with the guidance and assistance of the ballistic computer; essentially making the job a point and shoot fire system, greatly simplifying the job of the gunner.
The Feurig 1 utilizes both thermal, night, and reflective mirror viewpoints to spot targets; targets are usually spotted immediately and targets are arranged from the most imminent threat to the lowest by the ballistic computer. In the event that systems fail or are damaged, the turret and gun can be manually moved by crew inside; aiming is then conducted using a boresight telescoping sight and quick calculations. Its other systems, the machine gun mounts, either aim using its iron sights, scopes, or when the primary machine gun is controlled by a Remote Control System, it uses varying optics (night, thermal, and HD vision cameras) to spot targets.
Armor and Protection
The Feurig 1A1 utilizes a unique sloped armor design intended to improve the tank's survivability through increased depth thickness; this design increases armor thickness while not actually requiring more heavy armor. The choice of armor for the Feurig 1A1 is the 'Eisen Wand' 3rd Generation Composite 'Dual Tile' Armor. 'DT' armor is unique in that it utilizes thick two layer plates rather then a single plate or complex series of plates. This armor is named after the weapon used by the Commoner god of war as a shield for protection and for his brutal assaults.
The complex armor design is created using layers of protection meant to counter potential hostile fire. The first layer is made up of 'hard defenses'. This includes the right and left panel insert section along the tank's sides; these tiles in question are inserts that, in Commoner use, are made from similar titanium or steel plates. ERA and/or NERA (or even NxRA) plates can also be placed above the aforementioned tiles to combat shaped charge attacks that the tank may encounter, or as additional armoring against various threats. The turret also features a vast array of sloped attachment slots that increase survivability along the body and turret. The turret's bubble design is designed to lower the overall profile while also increasing angle depth from all sides - thereby increasing its already tough turret armor. The next layer is the tank's metal mesh outer layer that makes the surface grainy and hard; under that matrix are thick two tile deep 'DT' titanium alloy armor. This armor is made of a powerful and durable titanium alloy (Ti-6A1-4V) in a thick tile like plate; two plates are connected to each other with a small gap pocket to combat spall like weaponry. The two thick tile system adds a unique thickness and hard-face approach to counter enemy anti-tank weaponry. The thick armoring plates are all connected and act as the vehicle's primary armor and protection against hostile action; Its monocoque hull is then constructed with the same material for additional support.
The next layer in the process is a layer of thick depleted uranium plates that reinforce the tank's armor and act as the last stand against full penetration. The final layers is a mix of rubber and fiberglass lining in order to protect from certain threats (shaped charges and spall spreading like weapons) and add additional comfort to the crew inside. An anti-shaped charge cage around the turret and body can also be fitted if requested. An NBC system protects the crew from nuclear and biological threats outside the comfort of the thick armor; axillary systems and countermeasures are also in place in the instance the main NBC system malfunctions or fails. Fire protection is also important for crews inside; that is why the Feurig 1A1 uses a Pentafluoroethane crew compartment to combat fire threats and have present fire extinguishing capabilities on board to counteract fires. The tank's engine and gas compartment are located to the rear of the tank behind additional armoring; there is also a thick shield between the crew and the self sealed fuel tank/engine. In the case of a direct hit that damages or destroys the fuel tank/engine, the flames and explosion are directed up and away from the crew through reactive escape points.
The primary means of signature reduction is focused on the engine and drive systems of the vehicle. While already alluded to above in the analysis of the platform's propulsion and mobility, relevant points will be reiterated here for ease of reference. As with a number of earlier marks of AFV, the Feurig 1A1's decoupled suspension is separated from the hull, and similarly separated from the final section which turns the drive wheels, a factor which considerably lowers audibility in itself. By utilizing the Eisen-Schloss Combat System to actively monitor the engine and propulsion systems, the crew are able to remain constantly aware of the amount of noise being generated, and also the amount of heat being radiated. Furthermore, as indicated in the propulsion and mobility section, the Feurig 1A1 utilizes active cooling of its own exhaust - a further means of suppressing thermal and infrared signature to enemy forces.
The 'Eisenschild' Active Protection System works to protect the tank from active ground, aircraft, and other threats; more notably missile, incoming AT rounds, and ground forces. The system uses a Missile Countermeasure Device (MCD) that emits a massive, condensed infrared signal to confuse the seeker of an anti-tank guided missile. A semi-active control line-of-sight (SACLOS) system acts as countermeasures for wire and radio guided anti-tank missiles, and thermally and infrared guided missiles are also combated. Canister launchers on the outside of the tank can be armed with shrapnel or smoke rounds to conceal and protect itself from swarming hostiles. 'Eisenschild' also uses on-board radar to detect hostiles and incoming threats in a 360 degree angle; infused with protective countermeasures that deploy munitions and other passive/active countermeasures to combat incoming missiles, rockets, and RPGs. An impressive suite of active ECM as a means of defeating incoming radar guided missiles, and the suite is usually activated if detection equipment determines that multiple radar signatures are illuminating the vehicle in question
Export
The Feurig 1A1 is available for purchase on the Wolf Armaments storefront page for $8 million NSD per unit; DPR costs $350 Billion NSD.
