NationStates Jolt Archive


A.M.I. Releases Main Battle Tank, Mark X "Banshee"

Aequatio
26-01-2006, 04:38
Aequatian Main Battle Tank, Mark X, "Banshee"

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/2505/mbtmark10bansheecamo2mr.png

Development began on the Banshee Main Battle Tank after shortcomings were discovered in both the Incubus and Lancer armoured vehicles. The tank was designed as a joint project for both the Aequatian Army and Marines, specifications directed the development from accounts from combat units, noticable design flaws on previous vehicles and rigourous testing with several prototypes until the design had been perfected.

Weapon Systems

The main change is in the main armament, the 120mm electrothermal chemical gun on the Incubus generated too much of a heat signature to be camofluaged while the 125mm Rifled gun of the Lancer was ineffective against modern armour. It was decided to improve the Aequatian Military Industries M70 Fully-Stabilized, High-Velocity 140mm Smoothbore Gun originally mounted on the Predator II main battle tank and supply it with two main ammunition types: A high-explosive, dual-purpose for the use against soft targets such as entrenched and fortified infantry, light vehicles and bunkers; and a gun-launched high-velocity Kinetic Energy Missile providing the Banshee with an anti-tank capability that can defeat any present and projected armoured systems. Connected to the main gun's systems are a "Spotlight" InfraRed targetting system for use with the KEM weapon.

Secondary systems include the standard coaxial Aequatian Military Industries M90 20mm autocannon and a cupola-mounted Aequatian Military Industries M101 turret-mounted 23mm auocannon for use by the commander.

Defensive Systems

Armour

The Banshee MBT has the Aequatian designed and developed Composite Armour Mark IV which consists of layers of Bisplate Steel which are encased within thin layers of titanium, a layer of Carbon-60 Ceramic to protect against High-Explosive, Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds while layers of Tungsten rods laid perpendicularly protect the vehicle against kinetic-energy (KE) penetrators.

The outer layer consists of Carbon-60 Ceramic which is effective against shaped charge munitions. When the armour is hit by a HEAT round the ceramic layer shatters under the impact point, forming a dust under high pressure. When the HEAT round "burns through" the outer layers of armour and reaches the ceramic, the dust comes flying back out the hole, slowing the jet of metal.

The interior layer is a cast aluminum slab with rods of tungsten (encased in titanium) running perpendicularly through it, intended to cause the points of high-velocity long-rod penetrator armour-piercing projectiles to deform, which sometimes causes the projectile to tip and strike the armour at an angle, presenting far greater surface area to the armour and therefore greatly increasing the resistance.

The outermost layer is also protected by the Aequatian Military Industries "Helmet" Explosive Reactive Armour meant to defeat HEAT rounds before they strike the vehicle's main armour. Even after the explosive armour has been discharged, it acts as an appliqué armour for extended protection.

Active Defence Systems

Active defence systems included on the Predator II MBT are the Shield Electro-Optical Countermeasures Defensive Aids Suite (EOCDAS) and the Sword Active Protection System (APS).

“Shield” Electro-Optical Countermeasures Defensive Aids Suite (EOCDAS)

Shield consists of a specialized computer/control panel, two electro-optical interference emitters located on the front of the turret on each side of the gun, four laser sensors located on top of the turret and anti-laser smoke grenade launchers alongside the turret.

Shield I has two combat roles, 1) against infrared-guided anti-tank missiles by aligning the turret front to the incoming ATGM and using the emitters to send false signals which scramble the ATGM guidance system as follows:

Wire-guided missiles such as the American TOW are guided to the target by means of a wire and a flare on the back of the missile. The flare is used to keep a 'reference point' of the missile in relationship to the target lock held by the operator, and the guidance computer tries to put the flare on the reference point. Shield I emitters create a large hotspot, essentially tricking the missile guidance into following the Shield I hotspot instead of the flare hotspot, resulting in faulty course corrections by the ATGW computer. In fact, the computer shall usually believe that no horisontal course correction is necessary since the false flare comes from the same direction as the targeted tank, while vertical corrections shall cause ATGM to either dive into the ground or climb into the sky, depending on whether the operator holds the lock below or above the emitters.

2) The second part of the system defeats laser guided weapons. When a laser beam is detected the Shield I System informs the crew with light and sound; it then launches laser defeating smoke grenades, which enshroud the tank and break or degrade the lock. The tank commander can also press a button that will turn the turret front to the laser to meet incoming ATGM with the best protected section and to engage the laser beam source with the maingun.

“Sword” Active Protection System (APS)

Sword consists of a multi-functional millimetre radar with “instant” scanning of all the vehicle’s protected sectors to detect and track anti-tank ballistics, use of focused, instant-effect protective ammunition for aimed destruction of incoming targets and the system’s control equipment, represented by a specialized computer that provides automatic control over radar operation and Sword as a whole.

The rack-mounted radar is fixed to the turret rood and the rest of the system’s compoenents are located within the turret. Once activated, the system runs a self-diagnostic before switching to combat mode. In combat mode of operation, the radar searches for targets and locates them during their approach to the tank. Once the threat is detected the radar switches to the target tracking mode, thereby obtaining data on the moving target and entering the data into the computer. After processing the entered data, the computer selects one of the siloes and determines the time for its activation. At the determined moment, the computer generates command signals to the selected protective ammunition. When the later detonates it creats a directed stream of destructive elements which destroys any target within this field, eliminating the shaped-charge effect of the threat or reducing it to levels that are not dangerous to the tank.

The Sword system does not react to: targets at a range of over fifty metres from the tank, small-zise targets (splinters, small arms fire), targets flying away from the tank (including projectiles fired from its own gun), slow flying objects (pieces of earth, birds, etc.), shells and projectiles exploding around the tank; targets flying over the tank (i.e. not crossing the protected projection of the tank).

All this resulted in the radical reduction of false alerts and “unwanted” information entering the computer for analysis and processing and also allows operation only if a dangerous target appears within the system’s zone of action and when this targets is about to hit the tank.

Combat Systems

The Banshee MBT has been outfitted with the latest in command and control (C2) systems as well as automated fire control systems. The Battlefield Information Control System (BICS) allows the vehicle's commander to co-ordinate his efforts with those of his platoon and any attached elements to complete missions. The Forward Looking InfraRed Sighting System allows the commander to designate targets for the tank's gunner and organize them into priorities for elimination.

The WillTell Computerized Fire Control System (FCS) was developed to work in co-operation with the tank's Carbon Dioxide Laser Rangefinder to distinguish targets and aid the commander in identifying targets on the battlefield.

The tank is equipped with a K-50 Environmental Control System which controls temperature and protects the crew against an attack from a biological or chemical agent and protection against an irradiated area from a nuclear attack.

The sighting system provides the gunner with a 16-times power gunsight with a secondary 8-times power sight should the former become damaged or inoperable. As well, the primary 16x sight is equipped with an "Inferno" Thermal Imager which helps him distinguish targets during night combat.

Propulsion

The XMBT-04 is powered by the next-generation of engines designed for vehicles. This new engine was developed in the year 1996 and is the most efficient and marvalous technology in the engine's industry. Meet the Quasiturbine Engine. The Quasiturbine engine is the most efficient and powerful engine to be put out. Designed as a rotary engine like a diesal engine, except that it is much more powerful. Its like a rotary engine but the rotor instead of having 3 points creating a 3 chamber effect, has a 4 point rotor, which creates a 4 chamber effect. It is ultra-efficient because the extra chamber allows for it to have continous combustion that provides for a full-burn of the fuel. There is virtually no emission except a small amount of carbon monixide that is very small compared to even electric hybrid engines. But a big advantage is that it can burn any fuel including hydrogen, biowastes, and any other source of fuel.

The use of Quasiturbine has also allowed it to be open for more markets. Seeing as many nation's might use different fuels besides just petrol and diesal, this allows for use of those fuels with little modifications. Not only that but the use of Quasiturbine allows for more logistic's friendly because it has only one moving part, which allows for the logistic's to know what went wrong and what need's to be replaced if serious. This allows the logistics to be more efficient instead of having to look through all the complex, different part's to see which one is working incorrectly.

Specifications

Price: 3,750,000 Aequatian Markes
Crew: 4 (Commander, Gunner, Driver, Loader)
Weight: 56,500kg
Length: 8.1m (hull); 11.3m (gun forward)
Height: 2.7m
Width: 3.4m
Engine: Aequatian Auomotive Industries (Propulsion Division) 2,100hp Quasiturbine Powerplant
Range: 425km
Armour Type: Aequatian Military Industries (Composites Division) Mark.IV Composite Armour
Armament
Aequatian Military Industries M70A1 Fully-Stabilized, High-Velocity 140mm Smoothbore Gun (20 140mm HEDP Rounds, 15 "Mace" Kinetic Energy Missiles)
Aequatian Military Industries M90 20mm Coaxial Autocannon (1,000 Rounds)
Aequatian Military Industries M101 turret-mounted 23mm auocannon (400 rounds)
Secondary Systems
Battlefield Information Control System
AMI WillTell Computerized Fire Control System (FCS)
AMI K-50 Environmental Conditioning and NBC Protection System
"Shield" Electro-Optical Countermeasures Defensive Aids Suite (EOCMDAS)
"Sword" Active Protection System (APS)
"Helmet" Explosive Reactive Armour
Forward Looking InfraRed Sighting System (Commander)
Sights w/Magnification Day AMI EMES-15, 12x/secondary (Gunner)
8x AMI "Inferno" Nighttime Thermal Imager (Gunner)
Carbon Dioxide Laser Rangefinder
Two Tri-Barrel Smoke Grenade Launchers on each side of turret
Performance
Max. Road Speed: 74km/h
Max. Cross-Country Speed: 58km/h
Fording Depth: 1.35m
Vertical Obstacle: 1.0m
Trench: 3.75m