NationStates Jolt Archive

Edit: Since I've officially become a supermodern nation, I've redesigned the tank to take advantage of my tech. As such, it has a corresponding weight reduction.

Code Name: Admiral A-1
Unofficial Name: Octo-tank
Unit Type: Super Heavy Assault Tank
Operator: Axis Nova
Dimensions: Length 22.5 meters; width 10.2 meters; height 7.5 meters
Maximum Weight: 178.2 metric tons
Construction: titanium/depleted uranium alloy frame with reactive armor plating
Powerplant: 1 x GenTech fusion reactor; 2000 kW output
Propulsion: 2 x 12-wheel tread set
Performance: Maximum land speed: 80 km/h; 180-degree turn time: 8 seconds
Armaments: 120mm gas-gun main cannon; 3-barrel 90mm gas-gun cannon turret; 4 x 75mm gas-gun cannon turret; 12 x 20mm Metal Storm turret; 40mm Metal Storm AA turret; 40mm "high-mount" Metal Storm AA turret x 2; 2 x 30mm gas-gun turret; high-output flamethrower; 12 x grenade launcher/smoke discharger
Other equipment: Command radio; battlefield network node; standard sensor suite including normal daylight, low-light, infrared, et cetera
Crew: 16 (commander, driver, 2 navigators, 10 gunners, 2 engineers)

Axis Nova has rolled out the ridiculously massive Admiral A-1 tank. The Admiral is unlike anything fielded by Axis Nova up until this time, and is expected to give our armored operations a substantial advantage.

Even more heavily armed than an air destroyer, the Admiral A-1 (or Octo-tank as it became to be known by the developers because of its eight weapon systems) will serve as a mobile command platform and super heavy assault unit.

While most enemies have proven capable of dealing with our standard hover-tanks, the A-1 will be quite a different matter. Its huge main batteries are quite capable of taking down enemy tanks without trouble, and numerous secondary and tertiary guns ensured 360 degree protection from possible incursion.

A crew of over a dozen men are required to operate the A-1, most of which are in charge of aiming and firing its guns. Reactive armor plating, internal compartmentalization, and no less than six escape hatches also made the A-1 quite survivable in combat. Its maneuverability is virtually nonexistant, but it is easily able to smash almost anything that gets in its way. It can be air-dropped from either a heavily modified transport airship (one unit) or a Lucifer Class air dreadnought (16 units) when the situation calls.

Axis Nova will be pleased to field any questions about this new model. We have already produced a test run of 12 units, and will be entering full production shortly.

And now for some photos from our field tests against a local insurgent group...

Admiral A-1s during paradrop tests

http://www.animeleague.net/~septagain/UNDEFINED-1.jpg

Admiral A-1 firing it's main cannon

http://www.animeleague.net/~septagain/UNDEFINED-4.jpg

A-1 crashing through some obstacles

http://www.animeleague.net/~septagain/UNDEFINED-6.jpg

A-1 firing it's flamethrower

http://www.animeleague.net/~septagain/UNDEFINED-13.jpg

A-1 taking some fire from antitank guns and rocket launchers, but still in action and not taking any damage

http://www.animeleague.net/~septagain/UNDEFINED-23.jpg




Axis Nova

*bump*

C'mon, people. I want some comments here.

It's very...uh...big.

It seems so big that it's impractical. A 200 ton tank would have major problems using bridges, most roads, and just about any other terrain.

^^^^^
That sums up my opinion.

Other than that, one scramjet into that thing = teh dead.

The only way to transport that thin would be via permacrete or rail. The only practical; appication for something that massive is as a massive mobile bunker. urban areas would cause problems for this model since it would be susceptable to ambush or roadblock. it would also have ptroblems keeping supplied due to its massive fuel consumption.

Maybe if we coild convert the thing to BAT or nucleonic and equip it with shields . . .

We say that it will get bogged down either in Weyr's western desert sands, southern swamps, eastern lowlands, or northern canyon/hill terrains.

We are still interested in purchasing the design plans for adaptation to Weyrean enviroments.

Major Jo Nash,
Commander of the High Guard Midland Corps

While it's big, that's why there's a specialized transport aircraft to carry it anywhere it's needed.

Besides, if you dislike this, you'll HATE the land battleship design I'm working on =P

And what exactly is a scramjet round? O.o

I keep seeing people post about them but no one has really explained what they are.

Axis Nova

OOC: Scramjet refers to the round's propulsion system. One scramjet round can move at speeds in excess of Mach 7. More than enough to pierce any armor.

It's a screwed up rocket design that we've dropped in favor of sub-etheric shells. Scramjet = crap when it comes to fighting the things that come out of our BattleSpire project's portals.

We're still looking into the design as possible naval gun ammunition for our next generation of naval patrol craft. It is also being looked-into as possible ammunition for the Gromada MBT, which will be employed in the Expeditionary Corps for use outside of the Weyrik Alliance.

Sincerely,
Major Jo Nash

----------------------
OOC:
http://www.aviation-history.com/engines/ramjet.htm
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/research/f_scramjets.html

That thing's so big its rediculous!

But I mean seriously, how many 'those is someone going to afford? Like...two? And something as big as that...it'll be at the point where its a direct target for artillery rockets and cruise missiles.

The proper way to use these is to drop them as near to a target as possible and let them do their thing. I agree the bridge thing is a weakness-- however, the big tall exhaust funnel along with the Admiral's massive size means it can just ford most rivers anyways.

And frankly, cost is no object to me-- Axis Nova has tons of $, and hasn't really been in any major wars, plus our economy is Powerhouse status.

...and from that scramjet thing you showed me, I don't really see how it could be made into a viable battlefield weapon. O.o

The object of the Admiral A-1 is to field something with incredible firepower that is pretty much immune to most conventional, real-world weaponry. For example, it'd laugh at a shot from the M1A1. :P

Axis Nova

The only plane that can carry a tank that big is the An-225...

Also, it will get stuck in pretty much any terrain. You would probably wreck a train car or a concrete road with this.

I'm not fully familiar with the tech, but scramjet shells would be something like a rocket with a solid warhead made of something like depleted Uranium. It'd accelerate during its flight, and the speed would mean that it would have enough force to penetrate pretty much anything . . .

The solid warhead is the basis for sandard sabot currently used by most modern tanks.

You can use the equation P=MA to figure out the force behind something. P = momentum (N). M = mass (kg). A = acceleration, or the speed(meters/sec) at which the impact happens.

The proper way to use these is to drop them as near to a target as possible and let them do their thing. I agree the bridge thing is a weakness-- however, the big tall exhaust funnel along with the Admiral's massive size means it can just ford most rivers anyways.

And frankly, cost is no object to me-- Axis Nova has tons of $, and hasn't really been in any major wars, plus our economy is Powerhouse status.

...and from that scramjet thing you showed me, I don't really see how it could be made into a viable battlefield weapon. O.o

The object of the Admiral A-1 is to field something with incredible firepower that is pretty much immune to most conventional, real-world weaponry. For example, it'd laugh at a shot from the M1A1. :P

Axis Nova

Its a bomb/airplane huge target. Even if the bomb didnt take hit the tank, a close hit would damage the ground enough so the tanks tracks, with their huge PSI, would sink in anything other than extremely reinforced ground types.

Axis Nova uses airships, not planes. I avoid copying things directly from R/L whenever possible. And no, as a matter of fact, it wouldn't get stuck-- note how wide the treads are and how powerful the engines are. It may be slow, but it's also powerful-- like a bulldozer.

Edit: I know it's a huge aircraft target. You really think I'd deploy these things without a calliope escort? :P

In addition, most of the top mounted machineguns do double duty as AA weapons.

and btw, from my point of view, scramjets are future tech if they're a golden BB that can penetrate anything.

Axis Nova

Your tank is less than three times wider than the say LeClerc, but 4 times heavier. Not only is the sheer weight hard, but the PSI is more than any other tank in the world. Tanks already have trouble in hard terrain.

Axis Nova uses airships, not planes. I avoid copying things directly from R/L whenever possible. And no, as a matter of fact, it wouldn't get stuck-- note how wide the treads are and how powerful the engines are. It may be slow, but it's also powerful-- like a bulldozer.

Edit: I know it's a huge aircraft target. You really think I'd deploy these things without a calliope escort? :P

In addition, most of the top mounted machineguns do double duty as AA weapons.

and btw, from my point of view, scramjets are future tech if they're a golden BB that can penetrate anything.

Axis Nova

The thing weighs 200 tons. There is a limit to how heavy a mobile unit can be. Buildings can weigh more, naturally, but they are usually placed in extremely reinforced foundations. This tank will be unable to use most standard roads, bridges, grasslands...

Plus there is the fact that not even a really big airship could carry many of these, and airships tend to make great targets for AA fire.

Erm . . . From what I gather you'd probably be able to knock scramjet down with good computer AA. The shell would be larger than normal, since it would carry not only the explosive/warhead, but also the jet fuel. So it's more like a rocket than a normal shell. I believe that modern tech allows for ntercept missiles to counter things that are less than 0.5m . . .

Aside from that, I can arrange for you to try that tank design out in the Weyrean desert . . . It's eaten our Mark I design alive, although the Mark III is doing rather well due to its decreased mass and wider treads.

Should have made a note that the tonnage rating is in metric tons, sorry. ><

Anyways, I want to make this general design work and I'll do what's neccesary to make it do so.

(perhaps a double row of treads on each side?)

And btw, I know this thing would flounder like a beached whale in a desert.

Edit: I think I may have an idea towards solving the aircraft/scramjet missile problem.

If those indeed can be shot down, as you say, what if I replaced all the 20mm guns on this thing with Metal Storm systems instead?

Axis Nova

I'm just guessing, on this, but you'd have to have propellant in the scramjet, and that'd make it a nice traget to kill with heat-seeking or radar-guided missiles. Of course, you'd have to have a head-on collision . . . The question is, how fast can your missile/M-gun defense system react?

Anyone here have working knowledge of scramjet sustems?

Ever try intercepting a mach 7 round? Not gonna happen when the penetrator is tungsten or DU, and the bullets you use to stop it shatter, and the thing keeps comin. AND HOW CAN YOU AIRDROP A 200TON TANK? Limit is pretty much 20 to 22 ton's.

Remember, momentum and vectors are conserved. All you gotta do is nudge tthe round, or hit it so that it slows down. Aside from that, the system would be similar to the Sundancer ICBM counter -- direct-target the warhead via a head-on collision.

Scramjet would probably be a missile, and that'd give plenty of computer time to react . . . I don't buy using scramjet effectively in standard tank shells or bazookas . . .

In either case, Mach 1 is a lot less deadly than Mach 7.

Ever try intercepting a mach 7 round? Not gonna happen when the penetrator is tungsten or DU, and the bullets you use to stop it shatter, and the thing keeps comin. AND HOW CAN YOU AIRDROP A 200TON TANK? Limit is pretty much 20 to 22 ton's.

You airdrop a 200 ton tank with a gigantic freaking aircraft, that's how.

You'll notice, if you look at the pic of the A-1s being paradropped, that there's a set of thrusters along the sides for slowing their descent.

Edit: And Axis Nova -has- to move everything by air-- we're a landlocked nation surrounded by mountains.

Axis Nova

You do not understand the concept of a Scramjet round, and I refuse to explain it to you. If I get into a war with you, I will explain it then, but Im very lazy. And what I meant by un-airdroppable, is that there are no parachutes in the world that can hold up 200 tons. The Tzar Bomba had the biggest parachute ever, and it required several months to make, and used up all the nylon in Moscow. And your tank ways around 100 tons more then it did.

Airdropping a tank that weighs over 200 tons? Get real!

You do not understand the concept of a Scramjet round, and I refuse to explain it to you. If I get into a war with you, I will explain it then, but Im very lazy. And what I meant by un-airdroppable, is that there are no parachutes in the world that can hold up 200 tons. The Tzar Bomba had the biggest parachute ever, and it required several months to make, and used up all the nylon in Moscow. And your tank ways around 100 tons more then it did.

I don't understand it because it has not been adequately explained to me. Fine, it moves at Mach 7. Someone showed me a link to a NASA project.

How fast does it accelerate? How is it fueled? How much does it cost?

Most especially, how would such a weapon be fired? Rocket launcher? Cannon? Catapult? Gigantic slingshot?

I can only work with information I have.

Axis Nova

Shoot 'em down with big lasers!

Its interesting for the military alliance of Walinga/Stor-Senja to get some of theese... not because we need them as tanks, because theire so big and heavy that they willo sink into the ground wherever theres no solid rock under... What we intend to do is to place them as stationary cannons (on solid rock) on some extremely important and strategic locations....

You do not understand the concept of a Scramjet round, and I refuse to explain it to you. If I get into a war with you, I will explain it then, but Im very lazy.

Far as I can tell, a scramjet is just another rocket engine, except that it uses oxygen from the atmosphere rather than from tanks.

Its interesting for the military alliance of Walinga/Stor-Senja to get some of theese... not because we need them as tanks, because theire so big and heavy that they willo sink into the ground wherever theres no solid rock under... What we intend to do is to place them as stationary cannons (on solid rock) on some extremely important and strategic locations....

Admiral A-1s are not available for export.

Axis Nova State Department

I'm still open to suggestions on how to make this thing workable. My idea of replacing all the machinegun turrets with Metal Storm systems will definitely be implemented (and for that matter, I'm considering force-wide refit, considering how effective Metal Storm appears to be...)

Axis Nova

You can use the equation P=MA to figure out the force behind something. P = momentum (N). M = mass (kg). A = acceleration, or the speed(meters/sec) at which the impact happens.

Just for reference momentum, P = mV, Force is defined as the rate of change of momentum, so F = ma. Although if you want to calculate something piercing something else you really want it's exerted pressure which would be F/A, A being the contact area between shell point and armour (therefore make shells very slim to pierce better).

IMO MetalStorm will be a bitch for larger calibre rounds, simply because of the size of the magazine.

So how many mm of armour?

The metal storm system is already proven to work with 20mm rounds, and that's all it needs to do.

As for mms of armor... I hadn't actually calced it out (but thanks for reminding me)... the armor is supposed to be enough to deflect even a 135mm shell from an electrothermal cannon. The thing I copied this from took a lot of shots from even antitank railguns to put down.

Edit: A while back, out of curiosity, I emailed the Metal Storm people and asked if their system would work with tank guns and other large calibre rounds, and they said yes. Not that I plan to make something that has a metal storm system for a main gun, but it may come in handy sometime to know that...

Axs Nova