- By Animarnia
MFSV-13 Hammerhead
Length: 7.2 m
Height: 1.9 m-3.3m
Width: 3.8 m
Weight: 52 tonnes
Crew: 5
Maximum Governed Speed: 100 kph
Cross Country Speed: 75 kph
Speed 10% Slope: 47 kph
Speed 60% Slope: 35 kph
Acceleration: 0kph to 32 kph in 6 seconds
Range: 750 km (650 km at cruise)
Vertical Obstacle Crossing: 129 cm
Trench: 400 cm
Suspension: Hydropneumatic
Armament
4 x Havik II ATGMs
2 x 50mm LAMA AC2A2 Compact Autocannon Badalā (firing special thermobaric rounds)
2 x MA-300 Berdun Light Machine Guns
2 x MAGL mod 70
2 x MA-340 Reil Heavy Machine Guns
Propulsion: LY700, generating 1,100 HP at 2000RPM.
Transmission: Hydropneumatic automatic transmission (5 fwd gears, 2 rvse)
APU: 1 (under armour)
Batteries: 8 x high density Li+ polymer
Armour and Protection
Armour: Titanium, ‘Hauberk' ERA, ‘Acerbitas’ NERA, slat attachments, North Point applique armour.
Anti-spalling: Dyneema/Resilin
NBC Protection: SCFM, clean cooled air, LYMkII CBRN overpressure system.
Missile Countermeasures: SACHERI Active Protection System, LA-16 FFR
Abstract
The Hammerhead is an all-purpose infantry fire support vehicle, providing absurdly lethal fire on an infantry and armor based level. Well armored and speedy, it is designed to race from one hotspot to another and allow it's incredibly potent barrage of weapons to swiftly crush enemy forces and allow embattled infantry to move on. Designed initially to be in limited service, it's devastating anti-infantry, anti-structure, anti-armor, and anti-air weaponry has seen it deployed widely in mechanized infantry formations and beyond.
The Hammerhead is designed to fulfill the roles of both a heavy IFV, sans infantry carrying capacity, and a Mobile Gun system.
The Mobile Gun System has been a black sheep for years. Firing a weapon that has difficulty penetrating the main battle tanks most commonly fielded in the world while not having the armor to survive or the support weaponry to be entirely effective against infantry. Not only that, but the increasing effectiveness of APS systems meant that the marginal effectiveness of the L74 andother MGS guns was reduced even more. The introduction of the LY10 made the Mobile Gun an even more precarious development. In terms of role, the LY10 did everything a Mobile Gun could do but better.
Instead of abandoning the Mobile Gun, it was decided to reimagine it in line with the MFSV-13-30's shunning of a heavy IFV concept to develop a new concept: The Fire Support Vehicle. A Fire Support Vehicle is designed to support infantry forces with heavy firepower on tap. The advent of increasingly effective APS demanded a response and with the requirement for engaging heavy armor not on the table as a standard role, designers went about creating ways to defeat APS systems. The answer was obvious- every APS, even SACHERI-aided ones, buckled under sheer numbers. Rather than trust on a single shot to do the job, the Hammerhead relies on volume of fire to break through defenses, at which point their high powered rounds can find home. To this end, a new autocannon was needed. This was a stark difference from the more traditional mobile gun being envisioned for the wheeled version, and led to a great deal of difference between the vehicles.
The Badalā 50mm compact rapid-fire autocannon was the result. The Badalā fires 50 x 300mm caseless telescoping rounds. The Badalā is chain-operated, externally powered by a 12 HP motor which, as with the AC1, uses a system of sprockets, grooves and clutches to not only feed, load and fire rounds, but also allows the operator to change ammunition types.
Much of the weapon system is titanium, which, while expensive, is considerably lighter than its steel volume/strength equivalent, thus allowing for the weapon's mounting to be considerably lighter. The now-lighter elements of the receiver assembly do not adversely affect the weapon's recoil characteristics, firmly entrenched in the turret. A high-efficiency muzzle brake and long recoil mechanism (30mm) also lower the felt recoil signature, and provide for more efficient firing characteristics. As with all weapons on the platform, the Badalā is linked to native Fire Control and Battlespace Networks, and can prosper from attendant fire data and ballistic calculation.
The barrel is 50 calibres long, putting it 2.5m from the end of the receiver, and is chrome-lined to improve durability, and allow for the provision of higher-pressure propellant charges, with tungsten-carbide facing along the steel-forged barrel to increase heat tolerance and felt recoil.
Four rates of fire are able to be selected: semi-automatic, low-rate automatic, high-rate automatic, and ten-round burst which allow single-shot, 120rpm (approx.) and 240 rpm (approx.) and burst fire capability.
Two Badalā's are attached side by side.
The Badalā is designed to provide the Hammerhead owith effective, reliable, and lightweight firepower for engagement and defeat of light and medium threats including helicopters, opposing IFVs, APCs, entrenched enemy positions, and other infantry support targets. While not as effective against the heaviest of armor- though it can reliably penetrate the rear and side of many MBTs- it has a much greater utility in other roles. It can be called in to effectively remove tree lines, cause large structures to collapse, engage and erase enemy mobile columns, and support infantry in an immediate and violent sense. Most commonly firing thermobaric rounds, the high rate of fire of the system allows it to obliterate large areas of enemy deployment in a matter of moments, rendering even heavily armored infantry forces as a non-factor to the continued advance of Marshite forces.
The Hammerhead has other concerns, however. While it's powerful autocannons give it the ability to engage and eliminate vast swathes of infantry and terrain, destroy lightly armored vehicles, medium armored, and even some heavily armored vehicles as well as low flying helicopters, it still needs a superior anti-armor capability to truly shine. As such, several ATGMs were considered.
When it came time to select a new ATGM for use in the MFSV-13 line three separate competitors were chosen for analysis. The powerful Mercury from Allanea and the Lamonian Havik II were set against the standard Hellios II from Lyras. All had some noted advantages, with the Mercury getting exceptionally high marks for its all-purpose capability and its range. The Hellios was a powerful tool of war, but the Havik II was superior in every noted way. Against the Mercury its lighter and smaller nature were great advantages, and when penetration was noted to be slightly higher, the winner was chosen. The Mercury would go on to find a great deal of use in other vehicles, and some versions of the Hammerhead would use the Mercury due to it's ability to be used for a wider variety of roles.
Guidance for the Havik II is provided by a tri-seeker warhead, combining MMW, IIR, and SALH homing. This is combined with an INS/GPS system, allowing the missile to attain a hit ratio of 95%. In areas where enemy ECM is encountered, the system can also use a fiber-optic connection to the launching mechanism (available in both air and box launched versions). This connection to the launching mechanism is impossible to jam, and will allow the missile to strike the target, with enemy ECM becoming effectively useless.
The Havik II is a top-attack missile, allowing it to strike the weakest part of enemy armor formations. The Havik II is meant to attack AFVs, MBTs, and low flying helicopters. However, the missile will simply fly directly toward enemy helicopters when fired in anti-helicopter mode. This helps to increase accuracy against helicopter targets. With a penetration rating of 1,400 mm IRHAe, it will severely damage enemy armor, likely resulting in a kill.
With a maximum range of 18 km the Havik II can be fired without revealing the location of the firing unit to the enemy. All that the missile needs is the location of the enemy (provided that the enemy units are within range), and it's good to go. The Havik II can also re-attack a target, in case it were to miss, provided that there is enough range left in the missile to allow this. The top speed of Mach 2 was designed to give the enemy little to no time to react, as well as increasing the probability of a kill.
The Havik II retains an active radar jammer, allowing it to bypass the MMW and radar frequencies commonly used in Active Protection Systems. While the Havik used a jammer from Krupp Industries in The Peoples Freedom, the Havik II uses a domestic model, which is smaller, while giving the same performance as the model from Krupp Industries. In addition, the electronics in the Havik II use Gallium Arsenide in place of Silicone, allowing the missiles to survive EMP in good working order. The use of Gallium Arsenide makes the missile more expensive, but the resistance to EMP was judged to be worth the extra cost.
The Havik II is considered to be too heavy for man-portable use, owing to it's total weight of 65 kg. However, the Havik II can still replace multiple missiles with one proven missile system, saving time and money.
The first stage of the tandem warhead creates an Explosively Formed Penetrator. This EFP moves at high speed, and is able to trigger any Explosive Reactive Armor that the target might have. The secondary shaped charge is where the bulk of the armor penetration occurs, and gives the Havik II it's penetration rating of 1,400 mm of IRHAe. A laser fuse tells the weapon when to detonate.
The Havik II is powered by a ramjet, allowing the missile a maximum speed of Mach 2. The ramjet's fuel contains 78% Ammonium Perchlorate, 20% Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, and 2% Aluminum. This is a "low-smoke" mixture, making it harder for the enemy to trace the firing location of the Havik II via the smoke trail, and does not degrade ramjet performance. At launch, the Havik II is propelled by a low smoke APCP-fueled launch booster, bringing the missile to speed, thus allowing the ramjet to take over for the rest of the flight. Two are on either side of the turret.
Length: 2 m
Diameter: 178 mm
Weight: 65 kg
Warhead: Tandem, EFP/Shaped Charge
Warhead Weight/composition: 20 kg, PBXN 103
Range: 18 km
Speed: Mach 2
Detonation Mechanism: Laser Fuze
Engine: Solid Fuel, "Low Smoke" Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant ramjet; with launch booster
Wingspan: 325 mm
Guidance: 94 GHz Millimeter wave active radar homing, imaging infrared, and semi-active laser seeker, with INS/GPS. Can also use fiber-optics to defeat enemy ECM.
Targets: AFVs, MBTs, low flying Helicopters
Launch systems: Box Launch
Penetration: ~1,400 mm IRHAe
The Hammerhead still requires more anti-infantry capability on the flanks and rear of the vehicle. As such, the Hammerhead uses two MA-340 Reil Heavy Machine Guns, capable of firing 15.5x115mm Marshite Caseless Armor Piercing rounds. Lighter than any comparable heavy machine gun while still having a task oriented design, the MA-340 is capable of blowing through any body armor design on the market or on the drawing board of any world power. It can reliably penetrate light armor and can damage medium armor, while working effectively as an anti-air mount. It can be mounted as the main armament, coaxial, on a RWS, commander's weapon, hatch weapon, and can even be removed for use by infantry. For the Hammerhead, two weapons are carried, one on each flank, and controlled from internal weapons stations by two operators. The mount can traverse 240 degrees with unmatched stability, giving the operator firing arcs that can cover almost the entire arc of the vehicle with few blind spots, all of which are covered by other weaponry.
Weigth: 17 kg standard, 18.2 kg with bipod, 24 kg with tripod mount
Length: 1700 mm
Length of barrel: 1310 mm
Ammunition: 15.5x115 mm MCAP
Action: Recoil operated
Muzzle Velocity: 1000 m/s
Range: 2400 effective range, 7000m maximum.
Feed: Single or Dual belt
Rate of fire: 450 rounds/min
Sights: Iron, BALCOTH, alternates accepted on rail.
The rear was still unarmed, but due to the incredible firepower up front, it was considered likely that an axis of attack into the rear would be a common opposing strategy. With other elements covering other parts of the vehicle, it was decided to install an automatic grenade launcher. The MAGL-70 is a further development of the SAGL-25 Faith Hammer, except meant to be mounted on vehicles and firing 40mm grenades as opposed to 25mm. It uses a wide variety of rounds, including ones primed for armor penetration and thermobarics for anti-infantry uses. It also uses 40mm Smart Active Munition Kill Field, or SAMKF. The SAMKF takes the targeting information granted by Sacheri and transmits it to the smaller submunitions, each of which are small guidance projectiles. Before they are fired, each one is assigned a target, with redundancy taken into account if Sacheri is worried about the submunitions not penetrating armor. Once fired, the submunitions separate and continually track their targets. Within a certain range, generally 7-8 meters, the submunitions will track predesignated targets and follow them, being able to hit moving targets in vulnerable areas.. This is a truly specialist munition used primarily when the need to reduce or eliminate collateral damage is paramount. This can be useful also in eliminating specific enemy threats armed with anti-armor weapons. Two MAGL-70s are on the rear of the vehicle, operated by one crewmember internally.
Weight: 20 kg
Length: 1000 mm
Barrel Length: 700 mm
Ammunition: 40 x 55mm
Action: Short Recoil
Muzzle Velocity: 310 m/s
Effective Range: 2100 m
The final weapon was added onto the vehicle after testing revealed a small flaw in the design. Immediately in front of the vehicle was a small weapons blind spot that could not be reached by the Badalā. Committed infantry forces could in theory get into very close range and attempt to destroy the vehicle through suicide attacks or attachments of extreme high explosives. It was decided to add an underslung coaxial weapon to the Badalā which would give the Hammerhead capability to engage such forces. It was decided that the MA-300 Berdun. The exact makeup is dependent on the situation the Hammerhead exists in, as the main advantage of the MA-300 is its ability to engage using a wide variety of ammunition. As standard it fires the 7.62 MCAP. Made with lightweight materials, the mounting options for the MA-300 allow for it to have near recoilless operation in support of local infantry. The fact it can use a wide variety of ammunition also enables it to survive in just about any environment, making it a valuable asset.
Weight: 4.9 kg standard, 5.5 kg with bipod, 10.5 kg with tripod.
Length: 930mm
Barrel Length: 440mm
Ammunition: 7.62 MCAP, 6.3 LCL, 6.5 x 45mm JMC, JMC Mk5, 7.62x39mm Russian, 7.62mm NATO, 5.56mm NATO, 6mm Remington, 6.5mm Grendel, 6.7x35mm CTA, 6.8 TCI, 8.4 TCH, 6.8x43mm SPC Remington.
Rate of Fire: 300, 600, or 900 rounds per minute
Action: Closed-bolt, short-recoil operated, balanced automatic action with semi-automatic option.
Muzzle Velocity: 830 m/s, dependent on cartridge
Range: up to 1950 meters with tripod, bipod; 950 meters.
Feed: Disintegrating-link belt- or magazine-fed. (100 for 8.5 MCAP, 150 LCLC, 150 6.5 JMC, 150 Mk5, 120 7.62 Russian/NATO, 140 TCI, 140 SPC Remington, 100 8.4 TCH)
Sights: T-section iron sight, dorsal picatinny rail allows alternates, BALCOTH-assisted aiming device.
The Mobile Gun System has been a black sheep for years. Firing a weapon that has difficulty penetrating the main battle tanks most commonly fielded in the world while not having the armor to survive or the support weaponry to be entirely effective against infantry. Not only that, but the increasing effectiveness of APS systems meant that the marginal effectiveness of the L74 andother MGS guns was reduced even more. The introduction of the LY10 made the Mobile Gun an even more precarious development. In terms of role, the LY10 did everything a Mobile Gun could do but better.
Instead of abandoning the Mobile Gun, it was decided to reimagine it in line with the MFSV-13-30's shunning of a heavy IFV concept to develop a new concept: The Fire Support Vehicle. A Fire Support Vehicle is designed to support infantry forces with heavy firepower on tap. The advent of increasingly effective APS demanded a response and with the requirement for engaging heavy armor not on the table as a standard role, designers went about creating ways to defeat APS systems. The answer was obvious- every APS, even SACHERI-aided ones, buckled under sheer numbers. Rather than trust on a single shot to do the job, the Hammerhead relies on volume of fire to break through defenses, at which point their high powered rounds can find home. To this end, a new autocannon was needed. This was a stark difference from the more traditional mobile gun being envisioned for the wheeled version, and led to a great deal of difference between the vehicles.
The Badalā 50mm compact rapid-fire autocannon was the result. The Badalā fires 50 x 300mm caseless telescoping rounds. The Badalā is chain-operated, externally powered by a 12 HP motor which, as with the AC1, uses a system of sprockets, grooves and clutches to not only feed, load and fire rounds, but also allows the operator to change ammunition types.
Much of the weapon system is titanium, which, while expensive, is considerably lighter than its steel volume/strength equivalent, thus allowing for the weapon's mounting to be considerably lighter. The now-lighter elements of the receiver assembly do not adversely affect the weapon's recoil characteristics, firmly entrenched in the turret. A high-efficiency muzzle brake and long recoil mechanism (30mm) also lower the felt recoil signature, and provide for more efficient firing characteristics. As with all weapons on the platform, the Badalā is linked to native Fire Control and Battlespace Networks, and can prosper from attendant fire data and ballistic calculation.
The barrel is 50 calibres long, putting it 2.5m from the end of the receiver, and is chrome-lined to improve durability, and allow for the provision of higher-pressure propellant charges, with tungsten-carbide facing along the steel-forged barrel to increase heat tolerance and felt recoil.
Four rates of fire are able to be selected: semi-automatic, low-rate automatic, high-rate automatic, and ten-round burst which allow single-shot, 120rpm (approx.) and 240 rpm (approx.) and burst fire capability.
Two Badalā's are attached side by side.
The Badalā is designed to provide the Hammerhead owith effective, reliable, and lightweight firepower for engagement and defeat of light and medium threats including helicopters, opposing IFVs, APCs, entrenched enemy positions, and other infantry support targets. While not as effective against the heaviest of armor- though it can reliably penetrate the rear and side of many MBTs- it has a much greater utility in other roles. It can be called in to effectively remove tree lines, cause large structures to collapse, engage and erase enemy mobile columns, and support infantry in an immediate and violent sense. Most commonly firing thermobaric rounds, the high rate of fire of the system allows it to obliterate large areas of enemy deployment in a matter of moments, rendering even heavily armored infantry forces as a non-factor to the continued advance of Marshite forces.
The Hammerhead has other concerns, however. While it's powerful autocannons give it the ability to engage and eliminate vast swathes of infantry and terrain, destroy lightly armored vehicles, medium armored, and even some heavily armored vehicles as well as low flying helicopters, it still needs a superior anti-armor capability to truly shine. As such, several ATGMs were considered.
When it came time to select a new ATGM for use in the MFSV-13 line three separate competitors were chosen for analysis. The powerful Mercury from Allanea and the Lamonian Havik II were set against the standard Hellios II from Lyras. All had some noted advantages, with the Mercury getting exceptionally high marks for its all-purpose capability and its range. The Hellios was a powerful tool of war, but the Havik II was superior in every noted way. Against the Mercury its lighter and smaller nature were great advantages, and when penetration was noted to be slightly higher, the winner was chosen. The Mercury would go on to find a great deal of use in other vehicles, and some versions of the Hammerhead would use the Mercury due to it's ability to be used for a wider variety of roles.
Guidance for the Havik II is provided by a tri-seeker warhead, combining MMW, IIR, and SALH homing. This is combined with an INS/GPS system, allowing the missile to attain a hit ratio of 95%. In areas where enemy ECM is encountered, the system can also use a fiber-optic connection to the launching mechanism (available in both air and box launched versions). This connection to the launching mechanism is impossible to jam, and will allow the missile to strike the target, with enemy ECM becoming effectively useless.
The Havik II is a top-attack missile, allowing it to strike the weakest part of enemy armor formations. The Havik II is meant to attack AFVs, MBTs, and low flying helicopters. However, the missile will simply fly directly toward enemy helicopters when fired in anti-helicopter mode. This helps to increase accuracy against helicopter targets. With a penetration rating of 1,400 mm IRHAe, it will severely damage enemy armor, likely resulting in a kill.
With a maximum range of 18 km the Havik II can be fired without revealing the location of the firing unit to the enemy. All that the missile needs is the location of the enemy (provided that the enemy units are within range), and it's good to go. The Havik II can also re-attack a target, in case it were to miss, provided that there is enough range left in the missile to allow this. The top speed of Mach 2 was designed to give the enemy little to no time to react, as well as increasing the probability of a kill.
The Havik II retains an active radar jammer, allowing it to bypass the MMW and radar frequencies commonly used in Active Protection Systems. While the Havik used a jammer from Krupp Industries in The Peoples Freedom, the Havik II uses a domestic model, which is smaller, while giving the same performance as the model from Krupp Industries. In addition, the electronics in the Havik II use Gallium Arsenide in place of Silicone, allowing the missiles to survive EMP in good working order. The use of Gallium Arsenide makes the missile more expensive, but the resistance to EMP was judged to be worth the extra cost.
The Havik II is considered to be too heavy for man-portable use, owing to it's total weight of 65 kg. However, the Havik II can still replace multiple missiles with one proven missile system, saving time and money.
The first stage of the tandem warhead creates an Explosively Formed Penetrator. This EFP moves at high speed, and is able to trigger any Explosive Reactive Armor that the target might have. The secondary shaped charge is where the bulk of the armor penetration occurs, and gives the Havik II it's penetration rating of 1,400 mm of IRHAe. A laser fuse tells the weapon when to detonate.
The Havik II is powered by a ramjet, allowing the missile a maximum speed of Mach 2. The ramjet's fuel contains 78% Ammonium Perchlorate, 20% Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene, and 2% Aluminum. This is a "low-smoke" mixture, making it harder for the enemy to trace the firing location of the Havik II via the smoke trail, and does not degrade ramjet performance. At launch, the Havik II is propelled by a low smoke APCP-fueled launch booster, bringing the missile to speed, thus allowing the ramjet to take over for the rest of the flight. Two are on either side of the turret.
Length: 2 m
Diameter: 178 mm
Weight: 65 kg
Warhead: Tandem, EFP/Shaped Charge
Warhead Weight/composition: 20 kg, PBXN 103
Range: 18 km
Speed: Mach 2
Detonation Mechanism: Laser Fuze
Engine: Solid Fuel, "Low Smoke" Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant ramjet; with launch booster
Wingspan: 325 mm
Guidance: 94 GHz Millimeter wave active radar homing, imaging infrared, and semi-active laser seeker, with INS/GPS. Can also use fiber-optics to defeat enemy ECM.
Targets: AFVs, MBTs, low flying Helicopters
Launch systems: Box Launch
Penetration: ~1,400 mm IRHAe
The Hammerhead still requires more anti-infantry capability on the flanks and rear of the vehicle. As such, the Hammerhead uses two MA-340 Reil Heavy Machine Guns, capable of firing 15.5x115mm Marshite Caseless Armor Piercing rounds. Lighter than any comparable heavy machine gun while still having a task oriented design, the MA-340 is capable of blowing through any body armor design on the market or on the drawing board of any world power. It can reliably penetrate light armor and can damage medium armor, while working effectively as an anti-air mount. It can be mounted as the main armament, coaxial, on a RWS, commander's weapon, hatch weapon, and can even be removed for use by infantry. For the Hammerhead, two weapons are carried, one on each flank, and controlled from internal weapons stations by two operators. The mount can traverse 240 degrees with unmatched stability, giving the operator firing arcs that can cover almost the entire arc of the vehicle with few blind spots, all of which are covered by other weaponry.
Weigth: 17 kg standard, 18.2 kg with bipod, 24 kg with tripod mount
Length: 1700 mm
Length of barrel: 1310 mm
Ammunition: 15.5x115 mm MCAP
Action: Recoil operated
Muzzle Velocity: 1000 m/s
Range: 2400 effective range, 7000m maximum.
Feed: Single or Dual belt
Rate of fire: 450 rounds/min
Sights: Iron, BALCOTH, alternates accepted on rail.
The rear was still unarmed, but due to the incredible firepower up front, it was considered likely that an axis of attack into the rear would be a common opposing strategy. With other elements covering other parts of the vehicle, it was decided to install an automatic grenade launcher. The MAGL-70 is a further development of the SAGL-25 Faith Hammer, except meant to be mounted on vehicles and firing 40mm grenades as opposed to 25mm. It uses a wide variety of rounds, including ones primed for armor penetration and thermobarics for anti-infantry uses. It also uses 40mm Smart Active Munition Kill Field, or SAMKF. The SAMKF takes the targeting information granted by Sacheri and transmits it to the smaller submunitions, each of which are small guidance projectiles. Before they are fired, each one is assigned a target, with redundancy taken into account if Sacheri is worried about the submunitions not penetrating armor. Once fired, the submunitions separate and continually track their targets. Within a certain range, generally 7-8 meters, the submunitions will track predesignated targets and follow them, being able to hit moving targets in vulnerable areas.. This is a truly specialist munition used primarily when the need to reduce or eliminate collateral damage is paramount. This can be useful also in eliminating specific enemy threats armed with anti-armor weapons. Two MAGL-70s are on the rear of the vehicle, operated by one crewmember internally.
Weight: 20 kg
Length: 1000 mm
Barrel Length: 700 mm
Ammunition: 40 x 55mm
Action: Short Recoil
Muzzle Velocity: 310 m/s
Effective Range: 2100 m
The final weapon was added onto the vehicle after testing revealed a small flaw in the design. Immediately in front of the vehicle was a small weapons blind spot that could not be reached by the Badalā. Committed infantry forces could in theory get into very close range and attempt to destroy the vehicle through suicide attacks or attachments of extreme high explosives. It was decided to add an underslung coaxial weapon to the Badalā which would give the Hammerhead capability to engage such forces. It was decided that the MA-300 Berdun. The exact makeup is dependent on the situation the Hammerhead exists in, as the main advantage of the MA-300 is its ability to engage using a wide variety of ammunition. As standard it fires the 7.62 MCAP. Made with lightweight materials, the mounting options for the MA-300 allow for it to have near recoilless operation in support of local infantry. The fact it can use a wide variety of ammunition also enables it to survive in just about any environment, making it a valuable asset.
Weight: 4.9 kg standard, 5.5 kg with bipod, 10.5 kg with tripod.
Length: 930mm
Barrel Length: 440mm
Ammunition: 7.62 MCAP, 6.3 LCL, 6.5 x 45mm JMC, JMC Mk5, 7.62x39mm Russian, 7.62mm NATO, 5.56mm NATO, 6mm Remington, 6.5mm Grendel, 6.7x35mm CTA, 6.8 TCI, 8.4 TCH, 6.8x43mm SPC Remington.
Rate of Fire: 300, 600, or 900 rounds per minute
Action: Closed-bolt, short-recoil operated, balanced automatic action with semi-automatic option.
Muzzle Velocity: 830 m/s, dependent on cartridge
Range: up to 1950 meters with tripod, bipod; 950 meters.
Feed: Disintegrating-link belt- or magazine-fed. (100 for 8.5 MCAP, 150 LCLC, 150 6.5 JMC, 150 Mk5, 120 7.62 Russian/NATO, 140 TCI, 140 SPC Remington, 100 8.4 TCH)
Sights: T-section iron sight, dorsal picatinny rail allows alternates, BALCOTH-assisted aiming device.
The LY700 is an 8L hybrid-electric opposing-piston multi-fuel hyperbar engine, designed to generate 1,100 HP (101 kW) at 2000RPM. In most regards it is simply a scaled down version of the LY693 engine fitted to the Dire Wolf, and maintains the salient features of that platform. There is, however, one primary exception. The LY700 has two modes of operation; a high power mode for planing over the sea, and a low power mode for land travel. To this end, the hull has a bow flap which is hydraulically actuated, designed to aid planing. Under the LY700’s maximum power, the Hammerhead has a maximum waterborne speed of 54 km/h (33.75mph). Shrouded waterjet propul-sors are fitted to both sides of the hull in recessed ports, and generate in excess of 2850 hp. To aid in waterborne mobility, hydraulically actuated chines can be deployed to cover the tracks, and also to adjust the base of the Hammerhead’s hull, with the v-shaped anti-mine layout being unsuitable for planing over the water.
Maintenance on the LY700 engine is slightly more complex than on legacy systems, but the total package, while unchanged in power output, is lighter, more compact, quieter and provides available power faster and more efficiently than conventional diesels.
Banks of additional high-energy density lithium ion polymer batteries fill the space created by shift-ing from the V-form layout to the more-unusual opposing piston format. These batteries are re-charged from the main engine during normal operation, but lend current and endurance to the sys-tem, and bolster the combat-persistence of the APU.
The LY700 engine uses an electric transmission system, where the drive shafts have been replaced by cable and the power is transferred by cable through-put, which delivers a number of advantages, including volume efficiency, very high fuel efficiency, faster delivery of low-end torque (a key feature in the engine’s viability), reduced lifecycle costs, and reduced environmental impacts.
The electric drive has also greatly improved low observability characteristics in terms of thermal and acoustic signatures as well as low visual and radar signatures, although the latter two detection criteria are very much more a function of hull form than engine.
Once the 10's systems were brought to maturity, the suspension systems, although less of them than were seen on the Wolfhound, were brought across bodily. The suspension is mounted on the underframe and not on the side frames, so that the suspension is separated from the hull. A result of using a decoupled suspension in conjunction with the resilin spall liners and quieter engine is that the internal noise level is as low as 68 dB which is well below civilian vehicle noise acceptability standards.
The final drives are connected by a cross-shaft which gives higher power efficiency in turning manoeuvres by transferring the power regenerated at the inner track during a turn to the outer track.
The engine is, like its predecessors, linked to the SACHERI system, which keeps track of the temperatures of each individual segment of the engine, and both monitors and records engine stresses. The system then notifies both the operators and higher command when replacement or repair is required for components, as well as when the engine or parts of it are coming due for routine maintenance. This contributes to greatly reduced attrition, and total combat readiness is markedly improved as a result, while lowering maintenance workloads. The SACHERI system is also responsible for monitoring the active cooling of the vehicle's exhaust, as a means of reducing the vehicle's thermal signature, further enhancing the vehicle's low observability characteristics.
The entire assembly is, as per existing standards, also fitted with deployable sand filters for use in high-sand environments, such as deserts or certain parts of the littoral. The new engine is, however, less susceptible to damage of this nature than its predecessors.
Rear-vision manoeuvring cameras also come as standard, a factor which in close country or urban environments, has, in other vehicles, prevented a tremendous number of accidents and eased the psychological load on personnel responsible for moving the vehicles in less-than-optimal conditions. With the BALCOTH-type interface, however, this has become less important, but serves as a backup nonetheless, operable in the advent of combat damage or similar.
Tracks are skirted, as is the case for most Lyran and Covenant designed AFVs, to increase resilience to battle damage, and have seven road wheels and two drive rollers, with only the rear roller on each side partially unshrouded. This skirting also, as it happens, tremendously reduces the amount of dust and/or debris thrown up by the vehicle, which dramatically lowers its detection footprint in many conditions. Unlike previous AFVs, however, the tracks are titanium, being, as covered previously, both lighter and stronger than their steel equivalent.
They are, in turn, provided with resilin padding by default (an expensive measure, unfortunately), which serves to lower their acoustic footprint. The resilin itself never lasts as long as the tracks themselves do, but they’re handy to have while they are around, provide excellent traction, lower damage on the terrain over which the vehicle drives, and which dramatically lowers the platform's acoustic signature. It also allows the Hammerhead to pivot, allowing it exceptional mobility in rough terrain.
Maintenance on the LY700 engine is slightly more complex than on legacy systems, but the total package, while unchanged in power output, is lighter, more compact, quieter and provides available power faster and more efficiently than conventional diesels.
Banks of additional high-energy density lithium ion polymer batteries fill the space created by shift-ing from the V-form layout to the more-unusual opposing piston format. These batteries are re-charged from the main engine during normal operation, but lend current and endurance to the sys-tem, and bolster the combat-persistence of the APU.
The LY700 engine uses an electric transmission system, where the drive shafts have been replaced by cable and the power is transferred by cable through-put, which delivers a number of advantages, including volume efficiency, very high fuel efficiency, faster delivery of low-end torque (a key feature in the engine’s viability), reduced lifecycle costs, and reduced environmental impacts.
The electric drive has also greatly improved low observability characteristics in terms of thermal and acoustic signatures as well as low visual and radar signatures, although the latter two detection criteria are very much more a function of hull form than engine.
Once the 10's systems were brought to maturity, the suspension systems, although less of them than were seen on the Wolfhound, were brought across bodily. The suspension is mounted on the underframe and not on the side frames, so that the suspension is separated from the hull. A result of using a decoupled suspension in conjunction with the resilin spall liners and quieter engine is that the internal noise level is as low as 68 dB which is well below civilian vehicle noise acceptability standards.
The final drives are connected by a cross-shaft which gives higher power efficiency in turning manoeuvres by transferring the power regenerated at the inner track during a turn to the outer track.
The engine is, like its predecessors, linked to the SACHERI system, which keeps track of the temperatures of each individual segment of the engine, and both monitors and records engine stresses. The system then notifies both the operators and higher command when replacement or repair is required for components, as well as when the engine or parts of it are coming due for routine maintenance. This contributes to greatly reduced attrition, and total combat readiness is markedly improved as a result, while lowering maintenance workloads. The SACHERI system is also responsible for monitoring the active cooling of the vehicle's exhaust, as a means of reducing the vehicle's thermal signature, further enhancing the vehicle's low observability characteristics.
The entire assembly is, as per existing standards, also fitted with deployable sand filters for use in high-sand environments, such as deserts or certain parts of the littoral. The new engine is, however, less susceptible to damage of this nature than its predecessors.
Rear-vision manoeuvring cameras also come as standard, a factor which in close country or urban environments, has, in other vehicles, prevented a tremendous number of accidents and eased the psychological load on personnel responsible for moving the vehicles in less-than-optimal conditions. With the BALCOTH-type interface, however, this has become less important, but serves as a backup nonetheless, operable in the advent of combat damage or similar.
Tracks are skirted, as is the case for most Lyran and Covenant designed AFVs, to increase resilience to battle damage, and have seven road wheels and two drive rollers, with only the rear roller on each side partially unshrouded. This skirting also, as it happens, tremendously reduces the amount of dust and/or debris thrown up by the vehicle, which dramatically lowers its detection footprint in many conditions. Unlike previous AFVs, however, the tracks are titanium, being, as covered previously, both lighter and stronger than their steel equivalent.
They are, in turn, provided with resilin padding by default (an expensive measure, unfortunately), which serves to lower their acoustic footprint. The resilin itself never lasts as long as the tracks themselves do, but they’re handy to have while they are around, provide excellent traction, lower damage on the terrain over which the vehicle drives, and which dramatically lowers the platform's acoustic signature. It also allows the Hammerhead to pivot, allowing it exceptional mobility in rough terrain.
The Grand Theocracy played a heavy role in the development of the LY10 Bloodhound, including testing some of the earliest prototypes in development in battle during the Marshite Civil War. Experiences on that design were thrust onto the MFSV-13 series of vehicles in order to ensure the highest degree of protection possible for weight.
The armour scheme on the MFSV-13 family is designed to be effective against CE threats (very few states instruct their personnel to use KE rounds against light armoured vehicles, though the Bloodhound’s advent may change this), small arms and light cannon. Such specialist armour requires specialised materials, even some that people don’t normally associate with armour schemes. Given their recent experiences in the field, Covenant Arms worked in conjunction with Lyran Arms in order to generate the most effective and appropriate armour scheme within the parameters provided.
The outer hull of the MFSV-13 is composed of Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (aka Ti-10-2-3). This Titanium alloy is normally used on airframes, but offers one of the best mixes of strength vs. toughness. It is a near beta alloy, developed primarily for high-strength applications in the 1241 MPa (180ksi) range. The alloy also possesses the best hot-die forgeability of any commercial titanium alloy, and is suitable for near net-shape forging applications and isothermal forging. Ti-10-2-3 also offers high strength/toughness combinations and is deep-hardenable.
Composition
C
<0.05%
N2 <0.05%
O2 <0.13%
Fe 1.6-2.2%
Al 2.6-3.4%
V 9.0-11.0%
H2 <0.015%
Ti ~ Remainder
Physical Data
Typical
Density g/cm3(lb/cu.in) 4.65 (0.167)
Melting Range °C±15°C (°F) 1649 (3000)
Mean Thermal Exp.Coeff.20-400°C/°C (68-752°F/°F) 9.7x10-6 (5.4)
Beta Transus °C±15°C°(°F) 796 (1465)
Mechanical Data
Minimum Typical
Tensile Strength MPa (ksi) 1241 (180) 1310 (190)
0.2% Proof Stress MPa (ksi) 1104 (160) 1228 (178)
Elastic Modulus GPa (Msi) 103 (15)
Hardness Rockwell C 41
Tensile Strength
0.2% Proof Stress
Elongation over 2 inches
The alloy is welded via laser welding, which offers precise welding, at a faster and more economical pace than other welding methods.
Lamonian innovations in the form of extruded para-organic resilin are also used. Resilin is an elastomeric fibrous compound found within the musculature of insects. To quote Dr Chris Elvin of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation;
“Resilin has evolved over hundreds of millions of years in insects into the most efficient elastic protein known...”
Resilin shown under UV at 360nm
Using genetically modified E.Coli bacteria, the CSIRO team was able to synthetically generate a soluble resilin protein, based upon the cloning and expression of the first exon of the Drosophila CG15920 gene. By means of a CSIRO-patented process, the resulting resilin rubber was shown to have structurally near-perfect resilience, with a 97 percent post-stress recovery. The next-nearest competitors are synthetic polybutadiene ‘superball’ high resilience rubber (80 per cent) and elastin (90 per cent). The cross-linking process itself is remarkably simple. It needs only three components - the protein, generally lactose, or a near analog, a metal ligand complex, ruthenium in this case, and an electron acceptor. The mixture is then flashed with visible light of 452 nanometers wavelength to form the polymer - within 20 seconds, the proteins will be cross-linked into a matrix with remarkable tensile strength.
Like its Acerbitas (and Acerbitas-B ) cousin, the Resilin used within the MFSV-13’s armour scheme is intended, as with NERA generally, to warp, bend or bulge upon impact. As the plates move, bullets are subjected to transverse and shear forces, diminishing their penetration, and shaped-charge weapons find their plasma jets unable to readily focus on a single area of armour. In the case of segmented projectiles, the transverse forces are less pronounced, compared to unitary variants, but the movement of the plate essentially forces the projectile to penetrate twice, again lowering total impact upon the platform protected.
For anti-spall, a Dyneema/Resilin blend is used, followed by another thinner layer of Ti-10-2-3. Semi-synthetic anciniform spidersilk is also used, adding 380kg of weight. This is then laced with
All of the armour panels can be removed in-toto, allowing for easy maintenance and rapid repair of combat damage. Armour panels themselves consist of all layers detailed above, and, upon removal, each can be separated out further for repair or replacement.
Fireproof armoured bulkheads separate the crew compartment from the engine bay, which itself forms part of the forward passive protection suite, and from the turret. There have been cases were the turret has been blasted clean off the hull of an MFSV-13, and the hull (complete with shaken but unharmed crew and passengers) has withdrawn.
Fuel and ammunition are located within armoured sub-compartments with integral anti-spalling layers, and those self-same antispalling systems are also used to protect the internals of the crew compartment. The spall lining is also designed to provide a high degree of noise and thermal insula-tion, making the MFSV-13, in keeping with the Covenant norm, extremely quiet internally, analogous, to the operators, to a civilian vehicle.
Extensive use of heavy explosive reactive armour on multiple surfaces follows. The vehicle's heavy use of titanium (especially on the sides and rear, where surfaces generally have the least slope) to keep weight to a minimum while not sacrificing protection, allows for for further up-armouring, should circumstances dictate. It is expected that, as new or more effective forms of modular armour are developed, users will be easily able to integrate the packages into the chassis with a bare minimum of effort.
Available from the Lyran Protectorate and Covenant Arms, at no extra cost, is the North Point applique armour system, designed for the LY4A1 and carried over first to the -A2, and now to the MFSV-13. In response to burst-firing main guns being fielded by several nations, Lyran personnel enquired of Krupp Industries as to the possibility of developing a new form of armour suitable for up-armouring the LY4 series. After an extensive design and implementation process, the Bismarck armour, for which Krupp Industries had purchased rights to, was selected as the basis. Given that, from the outset, the new armour would be appliqué in nature (allowing for extensive retrofitting), emphasis was placed on creating effective armour that would not drastically increase the weight of the LY4 which was already heavy at just over seventy tons. The new armour system for the LY4A1 came to be known as 'North Point'.
North Point is a triple-layered active/passive system, which finds its predominant use on the turret and glacis. The first layer is a thick plate of approximately 80mm in actual thickness which correlated to an additional 350mm of RHAe equivalence. This plate consists of ceramic backed up significantly by heavy metals. First layer North Point relies primarily on tungsten disulfide sandwiched between layers of Improved Rolled Homogenous Armour (IRHA). This plate is slanted at 45 degrees to further assist the defeat of kinetic penetrators and chemical energy (ie HEAT) threats.
The second layer is a backing to the first, and serves to utilise heavy metals to help defeat kinetic penetrators and explosively formed plasma jets. Due to weight limitations, this layering is only 20mm in actual thickness and consists of a IRHA plate embedded with depleted uranium pellets.
The third layer consists mainly of a specially designed Heavy Explosive Reactive Armor set [HERA] which is meant to provide high levels of protection for the tank with (proportionally) little gain in weight. The HERA, named “Rainmaker” uses a system of operation whereupon the offending projectile in engaged by the “rays” [Small EFPs] of the HERA and thus deflecting the projectile or (in some cases) actually destroying LRPs, thus drastically reducing penetrating ability of the offensive system.
North Point is composed of “bricks” making each “brick” easily replaceable once used and allowing the system to be fitted to AFVs already in service. The “bricks” are lightweight (at around 3kg) and this allows them to be positioned on as many areas of the tank as needs require.
The bricks are smaller than the armour plates on which they sit, and as such it is extremely unlikely that, in the advent of engagement by a vehicle employing a burst-fire main gun, the burst will strike the same brick. As a consequence, the chances of penetration being scored by a burst firing weapon against a North Point equipped vehicle is substantially lowered relative to its unaugmented counterpart.
Finally, the roof, as part of the North Point upgrade, can be mounted with non-explosive reactive armor [NERA] bricks. These thick bricks grant the tank multiple hit capability against threats such as explosively formed penetrators, and thus is the most effective lightweight solution that can be provided to an area not condusive to HERA employment. The smaller turret of the MFSV-13 means that this is less of an issue, but NERA bricks are fitted to the upper surfaces of the hull instead, with much the same effect.
Tungsten disulfide (WS2) is the key material in the first layer of HERA, and is the same substance used not only in Lyran MBTs since the LY4A1 (and now the MFSV-13), but also in the 'Dauntless' ballistic armour series. WS2 is an inorganic fullerene; a tubular or spherical nanocomposites.
Passive armour is not the sole defensive mechanism employed, however, and the active protection suite utilises all the standard measures implemented on other Covenant AFVs, with particular reference to the GOLIATH II APS. SACHERI aided APS functions are also popular, though what follows is the description of what is considered Covenant Standard.
Its ancestor, the WATCHKEEPER APS, has become one of the most well-known and effective active protection systems available today, owing much of its success to the tremendous export success of the LY4 Wolfhound MBT, LY219 Ironheart series of combat vehicles, and LY6 Werewolf Assault Gun, the former two in particular being some of the most widely exported armoured fighting vehicles in the world. Originally an interim solution by The Free Reich of the People’s Freedom to Lyran requirements for an APS suite, TPF designers, despite the system's success, often continued to think of it in those terms.
Responsible for a great number of saved vehicles, especially amongst the LY219s fighting on the Cancun peninsula during the Mokan Civil War WATCHKEEPER nevertheless proved to have some trouble targeting and destroying multiple threats that originated from greater than 30 degrees elevation. Thus, designers began work on the GOLIATH, which was to be a multi-tiered system that could combat multiple threat natures effectively, quickly, reliably and flexibly.
GOLIATH block II/SACHERI II differs from block I in that it detects incoming munitions by any or all of three means of acquisition, rather than the two of its first generation counterpart. One by millimeter wavelength radar (mounted on seven flat-panel antennae with a combined field of 360°/6400mils), the second by LIDAR, and the third by SACHERI-backed IR/TI. This tri-mode sensor input provides a very high degree of redundancy against failures or jamming methods, and has raised reliability against a number of active anti-countermeasure systems. The new system has a total reaction time of 0.35 seconds, an improvement of 0.05 seconds. Every bit counts, and despite the difficulties encountered in generating that slight improvement, the added survivability was deemed worthy of the effort.
The first defensive mechanism GOLIATH and SACHERI employs is a soft-kill suite. The suite includes a number of features designed to confuse or misdirect enemy guided anti-tank systems. Primarily, the system uses the 'Gold' targeting program, interlinked to the databanks of the SACHERI II, which identifies incoming projectiles, classifies and prioritises them for intercept. By way of illustration, the system would engage a Havik or Helios-series weapon, Koronet and Javelin, most likely in that order, while ignoring the three incoming RPGs. In addition, the Gold program automatically deploys applicable alternate counter-measures including IR-suppressant smoke grenades and electro-optical jammers. When painted by laser-based technology, the platform's LWRs relay the position to the SACHERI battlenet, for engagement or neutralisation by whichever force element is in the most optimum position to carry out appropriate action.
In addition to the soft-kill suite, GOLIATH or SACHERI also features an advanced and layered hard-kill suite. The first layer employs four 2.5 inch kinetic kill rockets. These rockets are designed to engage and destroy incoming targets out to 600 meters. This allows the tank to eliminate threats before they become of concern to the shorter ranged systems. The rockets also have an increased proportional effectiveness against air-launched ATGMs.
The second tier of the hard-kill suite is the most widely used system, and consists of four bundles of grenades, each consisting of four grenades a piece. This allows the GOLIATH to engage many multiple targets at the same time, while still providing a firm degree of protective target neutralisation. The second tier system can reach out to just over 100 meters.
The final tier is based more directly on the WATCHKEEPER, and is rarely employed, and generally only in the case of ammunition expenditure in the previous two tiers. The battlespace management system’s fire control computer detects the incoming weapons system and calculates an approach vector. Once the attack is fully classified, the system determines, if required, the best time and angle to fire the 3rd tier of GOLIATH. The response comes from four launchers installed on the vehicle, two on each side of the turret. The launchers can pivot/rotate about both the x and y axis, and can therefore engage targets in any direction that the fire control computer deems necessary. The launchers fire a spread of tungsten balls, similar to the projectiles of an M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel weapon, at the target at ranges out to 25 meters. The system is reloadable and there is a total of eight spreads.
Criticism of the GOLIATH or SACHERI as 'too complex' was readily accepted and acknowledged by the Lyran Research and Development Commission, and steps were taken to mitigate the drawbacks of this. As it happened, the solution was stumbled across, rather than developed, when the newly-distributed photonic-crystalline fiber-optic computational capabilities of the LY10 were seen to make the operation of GOLIATH considerably less problematic. With the MFSV-13 continuing the computational trends established by the LY10 (admittedly to a lesser degree), the complexities of GOLIATH II or SACHERI as a negative are, for the most part, a thing of the past. However, during moments of abnormally high CPU load (more or less only encountered while the FCS is actively attempting to engage targets with the main gun without manual input), there is an appreciable reduction in the GOLIATH or SACHERI response time. Care is encouraged in these circumstances.
In acknowledgement of the increasing lethality of sophisticated anti-tank mines (and even their less-sophisticated improvised cousins), the Hammeherad comes with a very potent suite of anti-mine systems. The MFSV-13’s underside is now armoured, using dual-layered plates of titanium and SiC lattice. The plates are in turn backed up by resilin anti-spalling, providing for an extremely high level of protection against threats originating from these forms of munitions. The chassis features V-form angled titanium ribbing, designed to channel the blast out and away from the crew compartment. The crew's stations are shock-isolated by standardised high-g-load springs on the underside of their adjustable seats, and the headsets of the crew are designed to cushion the wearer's heads from impact with the internals of the tank, in the advent of underside explosive detonations or impact in general.
Automatic fire suppression systems are activated in the event of fire, and inoperable systems within the platform are cut off from the central power supply until diagnostics confirm their return to operation. This not only lowers the risk of further damage or injury by electrical fire, but also lowers the power drain to the vehicle.
The armour scheme on the MFSV-13 family is designed to be effective against CE threats (very few states instruct their personnel to use KE rounds against light armoured vehicles, though the Bloodhound’s advent may change this), small arms and light cannon. Such specialist armour requires specialised materials, even some that people don’t normally associate with armour schemes. Given their recent experiences in the field, Covenant Arms worked in conjunction with Lyran Arms in order to generate the most effective and appropriate armour scheme within the parameters provided.
The outer hull of the MFSV-13 is composed of Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (aka Ti-10-2-3). This Titanium alloy is normally used on airframes, but offers one of the best mixes of strength vs. toughness. It is a near beta alloy, developed primarily for high-strength applications in the 1241 MPa (180ksi) range. The alloy also possesses the best hot-die forgeability of any commercial titanium alloy, and is suitable for near net-shape forging applications and isothermal forging. Ti-10-2-3 also offers high strength/toughness combinations and is deep-hardenable.
Composition
C
<0.05%
N2 <0.05%
O2 <0.13%
Fe 1.6-2.2%
Al 2.6-3.4%
V 9.0-11.0%
H2 <0.015%
Ti ~ Remainder
Physical Data
Typical
Density g/cm3(lb/cu.in) 4.65 (0.167)
Melting Range °C±15°C (°F) 1649 (3000)
Mean Thermal Exp.Coeff.20-400°C/°C (68-752°F/°F) 9.7x10-6 (5.4)
Beta Transus °C±15°C°(°F) 796 (1465)
Mechanical Data
Minimum Typical
Tensile Strength MPa (ksi) 1241 (180) 1310 (190)
0.2% Proof Stress MPa (ksi) 1104 (160) 1228 (178)
Elastic Modulus GPa (Msi) 103 (15)
Hardness Rockwell C 41
Tensile Strength
0.2% Proof Stress
Elongation over 2 inches
The alloy is welded via laser welding, which offers precise welding, at a faster and more economical pace than other welding methods.
Lamonian innovations in the form of extruded para-organic resilin are also used. Resilin is an elastomeric fibrous compound found within the musculature of insects. To quote Dr Chris Elvin of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation;
“Resilin has evolved over hundreds of millions of years in insects into the most efficient elastic protein known...”
Resilin shown under UV at 360nm
Using genetically modified E.Coli bacteria, the CSIRO team was able to synthetically generate a soluble resilin protein, based upon the cloning and expression of the first exon of the Drosophila CG15920 gene. By means of a CSIRO-patented process, the resulting resilin rubber was shown to have structurally near-perfect resilience, with a 97 percent post-stress recovery. The next-nearest competitors are synthetic polybutadiene ‘superball’ high resilience rubber (80 per cent) and elastin (90 per cent). The cross-linking process itself is remarkably simple. It needs only three components - the protein, generally lactose, or a near analog, a metal ligand complex, ruthenium in this case, and an electron acceptor. The mixture is then flashed with visible light of 452 nanometers wavelength to form the polymer - within 20 seconds, the proteins will be cross-linked into a matrix with remarkable tensile strength.
Like its Acerbitas (and Acerbitas-B ) cousin, the Resilin used within the MFSV-13’s armour scheme is intended, as with NERA generally, to warp, bend or bulge upon impact. As the plates move, bullets are subjected to transverse and shear forces, diminishing their penetration, and shaped-charge weapons find their plasma jets unable to readily focus on a single area of armour. In the case of segmented projectiles, the transverse forces are less pronounced, compared to unitary variants, but the movement of the plate essentially forces the projectile to penetrate twice, again lowering total impact upon the platform protected.
For anti-spall, a Dyneema/Resilin blend is used, followed by another thinner layer of Ti-10-2-3. Semi-synthetic anciniform spidersilk is also used, adding 380kg of weight. This is then laced with
All of the armour panels can be removed in-toto, allowing for easy maintenance and rapid repair of combat damage. Armour panels themselves consist of all layers detailed above, and, upon removal, each can be separated out further for repair or replacement.
Fireproof armoured bulkheads separate the crew compartment from the engine bay, which itself forms part of the forward passive protection suite, and from the turret. There have been cases were the turret has been blasted clean off the hull of an MFSV-13, and the hull (complete with shaken but unharmed crew and passengers) has withdrawn.
Fuel and ammunition are located within armoured sub-compartments with integral anti-spalling layers, and those self-same antispalling systems are also used to protect the internals of the crew compartment. The spall lining is also designed to provide a high degree of noise and thermal insula-tion, making the MFSV-13, in keeping with the Covenant norm, extremely quiet internally, analogous, to the operators, to a civilian vehicle.
Extensive use of heavy explosive reactive armour on multiple surfaces follows. The vehicle's heavy use of titanium (especially on the sides and rear, where surfaces generally have the least slope) to keep weight to a minimum while not sacrificing protection, allows for for further up-armouring, should circumstances dictate. It is expected that, as new or more effective forms of modular armour are developed, users will be easily able to integrate the packages into the chassis with a bare minimum of effort.
Available from the Lyran Protectorate and Covenant Arms, at no extra cost, is the North Point applique armour system, designed for the LY4A1 and carried over first to the -A2, and now to the MFSV-13. In response to burst-firing main guns being fielded by several nations, Lyran personnel enquired of Krupp Industries as to the possibility of developing a new form of armour suitable for up-armouring the LY4 series. After an extensive design and implementation process, the Bismarck armour, for which Krupp Industries had purchased rights to, was selected as the basis. Given that, from the outset, the new armour would be appliqué in nature (allowing for extensive retrofitting), emphasis was placed on creating effective armour that would not drastically increase the weight of the LY4 which was already heavy at just over seventy tons. The new armour system for the LY4A1 came to be known as 'North Point'.
North Point is a triple-layered active/passive system, which finds its predominant use on the turret and glacis. The first layer is a thick plate of approximately 80mm in actual thickness which correlated to an additional 350mm of RHAe equivalence. This plate consists of ceramic backed up significantly by heavy metals. First layer North Point relies primarily on tungsten disulfide sandwiched between layers of Improved Rolled Homogenous Armour (IRHA). This plate is slanted at 45 degrees to further assist the defeat of kinetic penetrators and chemical energy (ie HEAT) threats.
The second layer is a backing to the first, and serves to utilise heavy metals to help defeat kinetic penetrators and explosively formed plasma jets. Due to weight limitations, this layering is only 20mm in actual thickness and consists of a IRHA plate embedded with depleted uranium pellets.
The third layer consists mainly of a specially designed Heavy Explosive Reactive Armor set [HERA] which is meant to provide high levels of protection for the tank with (proportionally) little gain in weight. The HERA, named “Rainmaker” uses a system of operation whereupon the offending projectile in engaged by the “rays” [Small EFPs] of the HERA and thus deflecting the projectile or (in some cases) actually destroying LRPs, thus drastically reducing penetrating ability of the offensive system.
North Point is composed of “bricks” making each “brick” easily replaceable once used and allowing the system to be fitted to AFVs already in service. The “bricks” are lightweight (at around 3kg) and this allows them to be positioned on as many areas of the tank as needs require.
The bricks are smaller than the armour plates on which they sit, and as such it is extremely unlikely that, in the advent of engagement by a vehicle employing a burst-fire main gun, the burst will strike the same brick. As a consequence, the chances of penetration being scored by a burst firing weapon against a North Point equipped vehicle is substantially lowered relative to its unaugmented counterpart.
Finally, the roof, as part of the North Point upgrade, can be mounted with non-explosive reactive armor [NERA] bricks. These thick bricks grant the tank multiple hit capability against threats such as explosively formed penetrators, and thus is the most effective lightweight solution that can be provided to an area not condusive to HERA employment. The smaller turret of the MFSV-13 means that this is less of an issue, but NERA bricks are fitted to the upper surfaces of the hull instead, with much the same effect.
Tungsten disulfide (WS2) is the key material in the first layer of HERA, and is the same substance used not only in Lyran MBTs since the LY4A1 (and now the MFSV-13), but also in the 'Dauntless' ballistic armour series. WS2 is an inorganic fullerene; a tubular or spherical nanocomposites.
Passive armour is not the sole defensive mechanism employed, however, and the active protection suite utilises all the standard measures implemented on other Covenant AFVs, with particular reference to the GOLIATH II APS. SACHERI aided APS functions are also popular, though what follows is the description of what is considered Covenant Standard.
Its ancestor, the WATCHKEEPER APS, has become one of the most well-known and effective active protection systems available today, owing much of its success to the tremendous export success of the LY4 Wolfhound MBT, LY219 Ironheart series of combat vehicles, and LY6 Werewolf Assault Gun, the former two in particular being some of the most widely exported armoured fighting vehicles in the world. Originally an interim solution by The Free Reich of the People’s Freedom to Lyran requirements for an APS suite, TPF designers, despite the system's success, often continued to think of it in those terms.
Responsible for a great number of saved vehicles, especially amongst the LY219s fighting on the Cancun peninsula during the Mokan Civil War WATCHKEEPER nevertheless proved to have some trouble targeting and destroying multiple threats that originated from greater than 30 degrees elevation. Thus, designers began work on the GOLIATH, which was to be a multi-tiered system that could combat multiple threat natures effectively, quickly, reliably and flexibly.
GOLIATH block II/SACHERI II differs from block I in that it detects incoming munitions by any or all of three means of acquisition, rather than the two of its first generation counterpart. One by millimeter wavelength radar (mounted on seven flat-panel antennae with a combined field of 360°/6400mils), the second by LIDAR, and the third by SACHERI-backed IR/TI. This tri-mode sensor input provides a very high degree of redundancy against failures or jamming methods, and has raised reliability against a number of active anti-countermeasure systems. The new system has a total reaction time of 0.35 seconds, an improvement of 0.05 seconds. Every bit counts, and despite the difficulties encountered in generating that slight improvement, the added survivability was deemed worthy of the effort.
The first defensive mechanism GOLIATH and SACHERI employs is a soft-kill suite. The suite includes a number of features designed to confuse or misdirect enemy guided anti-tank systems. Primarily, the system uses the 'Gold' targeting program, interlinked to the databanks of the SACHERI II, which identifies incoming projectiles, classifies and prioritises them for intercept. By way of illustration, the system would engage a Havik or Helios-series weapon, Koronet and Javelin, most likely in that order, while ignoring the three incoming RPGs. In addition, the Gold program automatically deploys applicable alternate counter-measures including IR-suppressant smoke grenades and electro-optical jammers. When painted by laser-based technology, the platform's LWRs relay the position to the SACHERI battlenet, for engagement or neutralisation by whichever force element is in the most optimum position to carry out appropriate action.
In addition to the soft-kill suite, GOLIATH or SACHERI also features an advanced and layered hard-kill suite. The first layer employs four 2.5 inch kinetic kill rockets. These rockets are designed to engage and destroy incoming targets out to 600 meters. This allows the tank to eliminate threats before they become of concern to the shorter ranged systems. The rockets also have an increased proportional effectiveness against air-launched ATGMs.
The second tier of the hard-kill suite is the most widely used system, and consists of four bundles of grenades, each consisting of four grenades a piece. This allows the GOLIATH to engage many multiple targets at the same time, while still providing a firm degree of protective target neutralisation. The second tier system can reach out to just over 100 meters.
The final tier is based more directly on the WATCHKEEPER, and is rarely employed, and generally only in the case of ammunition expenditure in the previous two tiers. The battlespace management system’s fire control computer detects the incoming weapons system and calculates an approach vector. Once the attack is fully classified, the system determines, if required, the best time and angle to fire the 3rd tier of GOLIATH. The response comes from four launchers installed on the vehicle, two on each side of the turret. The launchers can pivot/rotate about both the x and y axis, and can therefore engage targets in any direction that the fire control computer deems necessary. The launchers fire a spread of tungsten balls, similar to the projectiles of an M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel weapon, at the target at ranges out to 25 meters. The system is reloadable and there is a total of eight spreads.
Criticism of the GOLIATH or SACHERI as 'too complex' was readily accepted and acknowledged by the Lyran Research and Development Commission, and steps were taken to mitigate the drawbacks of this. As it happened, the solution was stumbled across, rather than developed, when the newly-distributed photonic-crystalline fiber-optic computational capabilities of the LY10 were seen to make the operation of GOLIATH considerably less problematic. With the MFSV-13 continuing the computational trends established by the LY10 (admittedly to a lesser degree), the complexities of GOLIATH II or SACHERI as a negative are, for the most part, a thing of the past. However, during moments of abnormally high CPU load (more or less only encountered while the FCS is actively attempting to engage targets with the main gun without manual input), there is an appreciable reduction in the GOLIATH or SACHERI response time. Care is encouraged in these circumstances.
In acknowledgement of the increasing lethality of sophisticated anti-tank mines (and even their less-sophisticated improvised cousins), the Hammeherad comes with a very potent suite of anti-mine systems. The MFSV-13’s underside is now armoured, using dual-layered plates of titanium and SiC lattice. The plates are in turn backed up by resilin anti-spalling, providing for an extremely high level of protection against threats originating from these forms of munitions. The chassis features V-form angled titanium ribbing, designed to channel the blast out and away from the crew compartment. The crew's stations are shock-isolated by standardised high-g-load springs on the underside of their adjustable seats, and the headsets of the crew are designed to cushion the wearer's heads from impact with the internals of the tank, in the advent of underside explosive detonations or impact in general.
Automatic fire suppression systems are activated in the event of fire, and inoperable systems within the platform are cut off from the central power supply until diagnostics confirm their return to operation. This not only lowers the risk of further damage or injury by electrical fire, but also lowers the power drain to the vehicle.
