NationStates Jolt Archive


GAT-6 Stutzer close support tank (PMT-ish, with pictures!)

Bretton
04-10-2006, 07:25
At Brettonian Military Industries, producers of The Technology of Peace™, we believe that a comprehensive organization is second to none with regard to importance in the modern armed forces structure. Recently, a war game between our longstanding ally Axis Nova and ourselves has exposed a number of vulnerabilities with our current J-model Stahlkörpe (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=447922) assault suits in a combined force operation. While the powered armors themselves performed admirably, a lack of fire support in close quarters fighting in a simulated urban environment hindered their effectiveness. Our LA3 Instigator (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=468051) vehicle was not lacking of firepower, but its thin armor protection, along with the Stahlkörpe’s relatively plodding pace, rendered its high mobility ineffective and the unit as a whole performed less than satisfactory. High Command would have none of this, and issued a contract for a new support vehicle to back up our Stahlkörpe units in heavy fighting. As always, we responded with gusto: the GAT-6 Stutzer.

Lineart (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Parch/Stutzer2.jpg)

Model number: GAT-6
Code name: Stutzer
Unit type: Close range support tank
Manufacturer: Bretton
Operator: Bretton, Allanea, Greal, Kraven Corporation (custom version)
Dimensions: maximum height 2.4 meters; maximum width 5.4 meters; maximum length 8.1 meters
Dry weight: 51.2 tons
Maximum weight: 97.6 tons
Construction: titanium/ceramic composite with depleted uranium rods, various specialized armor materials; electric/reactive armor subsystem
Powerplant: quasiturbine, output rated at 2,000 horsepower
Propulsion: 2 7-wheel track sets
Crew: 5; commander, driver, 3 gunners
Performance: road speed 58 km/h, cross-country 34 km/h
Equipment and design features: all-spectrum all-weather sensor suite
Weapon systems: 75mm machine cannon, mounted in primary turret; 2-barrel 20mm coaxial machine cannon, mounted in primary turret; high output coaxial flame projector, mounted in primary turret; 82mm mortar, mounted in sub-turret; 3 x 7.92mm machine gun, mounted in individual sub-turrets, 2 fore 1 aft; 4 x 4-canister 40mm grenade launchers, 1 aft, 1 roof, 1 left, 1 right
Weapon system variations: 75mm automatic grenade launcher, replaces flame projector; directional microwave emitter, replaces flame projector

Kraven version powerplant: quasiturbine, output rated at 2,200 horsepower
Kraven version performance: road speed 63 km/h, cross-country 36 km/h
Kraven weapon system variations: 105mm gun, replaces 75mm machine cannon, includes pneumatic auto-loader; high-output flame projector, mounted in right chassis sub-turret, replaces 7.92mm machine gun

The Stutzer, so named from General Leon Stutzer of the Imperial Nod Campaign, has championed the commander’s principles of a combined arms assault. Sharing ammunition commonality with the Stahlkörpe, providing a mobile shield against heavy assault, and packing enough armament to deal with arguably any non-Main Battle Tank land weapons system, the Stutzer provides an excellent tool for any army needing to deal with close quarters warfare.

Armament: The design contract required our vehicle to be able to punish any powered armor in current service, as well as various other targets including scout vehicles, antiaircraft systems, self-propelled artillery, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, etc. To this end, we have provided the Stutzer with a snub-nosed 75mm machine cannon, equipped for firing caseless ammunition. Fitted with a hydraulic recoil-dampening system, even firing at 120 rounds-per-minute transfers little of the explosive blowback into dangerous vibrations and the ensuing complications. Loaded with HEAP shells, the Stutzer’s primary armament has defeated the armor protection of our Stahlkörpe from all sides, even from ranges well over a kilometer. Given the assault suit’s heavy armor protection, this was quite a feat; Army observers were even more impressed. The fully automatic cannon is capable of suppression of enemy land forces, even those behind obstacles, terrain hazards, and some structures. The cannon is provided with a gigantic powered ammunition feed, and its shells are electrically fired. Unfortunately, the cannon’s angle of fire is quite limited, with a maximum angle of around +30 degrees and -10 degrees, owing to the complicated gun mantlet setup and aforementioned ammunition feeding system. To supplement the primary gun, a twin-barrel 20mm machine cannon is installed coaxially on the left side. Also electrically fired, the weapon uses the Gast principle of the blowback from the first barrel operating the action of the second. In this hybrid system, a high rate of fire can be achieved without resorting to a revolver (barrel wear) or rotary gatling (size and weight) setup, while evenly spreading the amount of ammunition fired between the two barrels. It also enables the weapon to have a relatively slim profile, essential for a coaxial position. On the opposite side, a flame projector has been provided. Due to its much smaller size, the projector is mounted on a wide-angle servo, enabling it to discharge at angles upwards of +50 degrees. Angles of 20 degrees to the right and 10 degrees to the left (due to the main gun’s barrel) are possible. Its negative angle is only limited by the desire to not light its own chassis on fire. An unusual configuration in the mostly-standardized world of flamethrowers, the projector utilizes a binary fuel. Two liquid compounds, each in their own tanks, are mixed together in the projector before being fired over a pilot flame. Because this fuel only achieves flammability just before being projected from the vehicle, the usual inherent risks of fuel catching fire inside the vehicle are drastically reduced. The projector has an effective range of up to 70 meters. To assist in indirect fire applications, an internal 82mm mortar is provided. Its housing in positioned on the left side of the turret roof. Ammunition commonality with the Instigator’s mortar is retained, though unlike that particular design, the launcher is completely linear. Though the Stutzer loses the ability to rapidly fire off a series of shells, the simplified loading mechanism is much more mechanically reliable and, again, takes up less space. In addition to a battery of grenade launchers, located on the back of the turret, mortar housing, and front chassis, three 7.92mm machine guns are provided for local defense, each in their own remotely-operated turret. Two are positioned on the front of the chassis; the third is mounted in a complicated arrangement on the rear of the turret roof. The unique mount allows the smaller turret to rotate independently of the main turret, and also to remain pointed in a given direction regardless of the primary turret’s current rotation. These local-defense guns are chambered for Brettonian standard heavy rifle/machine gun 7.92x57mm ammunition. Finally, some field modifications popular among certain units have came to our attention, and we have offered these configurations as variants for specific combat situations. A 75mm automatic grenade launcher can be fitted in place of the flame projector, for use in situations where the projector’s incendiary effect may be undesirable, greater range is wanted, or to help clear enemy forces from behind cover. This device shares ammunition commonality with the Stahlkörpe’s own grenade launcher as well, for ease of combat logistics. Also available is a directional microwave emitter, the same available from the A4G Partisan (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=450430) bipedal tank. This device, which also replaces the flame projector, enables the Stutzer to conduct antipersonnel operations against non-hardened targets without risking heavy damage to the relevant infrastructure, and has also proven quite potent and popular among Civil Protection units for use in our own population centers, where we would like to keep collateral damage to an absolute minimum. Its applications for riot control are also quite promising.

Recently, the Kraven Corporation has commissioned a specialized variant for their usage. The flame projector was removed from the turret and positioned in the right machine gun sub-turret. The machine gun and its magazine were removed, allowing the fuel tanks to be stored directly under the turret. The turret retains full rotation and armor protection, and the projector itself has a maximum angle of +60/-10 degrees. At their insistence, the Stutzer's signature 75mm machine cannon was dismounted and replaced with a conventional 105mm rifled gun. The gun features a pneumatic auto-loader. By removing the massive hydraulic recoil dampener and powered ammunition feeds, the gun and breech were able to be moved further back into the turret. Externally, the barrel's length did not increase; however, the barrel's overall longitude grew due to the breech's further rearward position, ensuring the slower rate of fire will be offset by not only by a greater weapon payload, but a higher muzzle velocity. The reduced weight from removing the recoil dampener and ammunition feed allowed us to package the version with just as many of the larger, heavier 105mm shells, as well as a slight engine upgrade.

Armor: No corners were cut in protection for the Stutzer. At Brettonian Military Industries, defense is our primary objective, and next to the Peacemaker (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=444410), the Stutzer extols this virtue marvelously. The massive size of the primary turret is owed to its multiple layers of composite armor material, interlaced with steel-encased depleted uranium rods. The hull is offered similar protection, with a very heavy protection to the frontal arc and only slightly reduced protection on the sides and back. Owing to a combat theatre where attacks may come from any angle, even the roof and floor armor was not sacrificed. This culminated in a very substantial weight, and consequently the Stutzer’s speed is somewhat less than stellar. However, the vehicle is not intended to duel with main battle tanks at long ranges, so we feel that despite this handicap, the overall combat survivability against its designed enemy in close quarters more than makes up for that. Our electric/reactive armor subsystem found a top customer in the Stutzer as well, owing to the propensity of HEAT munitions in man- and vehicle-portable anti-tank missiles and rockets. Described in detail in some of our older designs, the electric/reactive armor subsystem uses a powerful electrical discharge between two conductive plates within the tank’s armor to negate or severely reduced the effects of a shaped charge effect. Indeed, even this system was treated in spades, and is capable of surviving multiple strikes to the same area, even during a short period of time. Finally, for maximum (at this point, some were decrying our innovations as “neurotic”) protective capability, conventional reactive armor panels may be mounted over most of the hull and turret, creating an even greater layer of defense against the outside world. This is typically only observed where a concentration of enemy firepower is expected to be so great that even the electric/reactive armor subsystems may be overwhelmed.

Logistics and Operation: The Stutzer is a specialist vehicle. While not the most versatile of combatants on the modern battlefield, when employed as designed the Stutzer should offer magnificent results. The vehicle features a conventional tank layout, with a large primary turret. Upon closer inspection, the specialized nature of the vehicle becomes apparent. The track layout is more analogous to that of a bulldozer than a tank; the treads return atop the road wheels, omitting the usual configuration in an attempt to reduce the tank’s already large height. While some capacity to clear large obstacles was sacrificed, the Stutzer’s nature as a support vehicle shouldn’t leave it alone for need of moving over something. Additionally, this also has the effect of allowing us to employ even more side armor protection via the enormous “skirts” that cover the returning tread. These can be removed to aid in maintenance on the running gear, though a Stahlkörpe’s powered arms, or preferably a depot situation, is usually necessary to get at them. The engine, a quasiturbine design scaled up from that of the Instigator, is mounted in the rear hull, and along with its fuel supply, is kept entirely separate from the crew’s interior space. The same is true for the main gun, whose self-contained ammunition feed is also kept behind an armored sleeve. Ammunition is stored, loaded and fired similarly to an automatic naval gun system (e.g. AK-130), and an expert on the topic will note that, under close scrutiny, the arrangement is almost a carbon copy except where weight and space limitations prevented it. A blow-out panel provides a further hedge against a catastrophic internal ammunition explosion. External video and audio feed is provided for the crew and relayed through their helmets via a brace of hull- and turret-mounted pickups. A powerful FLIR “and then some” suite is positioned on a retractable servo on the top of the turret; it can be withdrawn into a divot in the turret’s roof to prevent damage from driving through obstacles, home-made incendiary devices, etc. A less powerful suite is crammed into the turret mantlet for use during such times (speaking of which, while our engineers and tankers love it, our maintenance departments began threatening to quit after Stutzers which had taken damage to the mantlet in combat arrived at the depots; we settled for a pay raise for those who must repair the complicated unit). The interior is fully climate controlled, NBC-proofed, and roomy enough to accomodate its crew during long duration operations. To help facilitate its role in a combat situation as a support unit for our powered armor and high mobility attack units, a powerful transmitter, equipped with high-bit encryption, has been provided, allowing the Stutzer to keep in touch with other friendly units in its vicinity, even in situations where a high amount of ECM is present (such as during a nuclear attack). A directional line-of-sight laser emitter can be used for laser communication between other Stutzers, Stahlkörpe, Instigators, and other elements of our land-based forces. Inadvertently, this has led to situations where Stutzers in the field began acting as forward command posts during intensive combat operations, and we are currently further probing this application for possible use as a standard procedure.

Visual Gallery:

1. Stutzer on patrol somewhere in former Imperial Nod (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Parch/UNDEFINED-123.jpg)

2. The main gun produces quite a flash... (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Parch/UNDEFINED-124.jpg)

3. ...and an impressive backblast (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Parch/UNDEFINED-126.jpg)

4. Rolling down a hill (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Parch/UNDEFINED-125.jpg)

5. Investigating something; note FLIR suite (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Parch/UNDEFINED-129.jpg)

6. Holding a position and making good use of machine guns (http://malikcarr.250free.com/Parch/UNDEFINED-131.jpg)

Going where no main battle tank has (comfortably) gone before, the Stutzer will become a name known among your combat forces as a blessing from God in close quarters operations. Anti-tank crews in bombed-out buildings, powered armors lurking in darkened alleys, camouflaged land mines and improvised explosive devices will no longer be the bane of your armored crews' existence when the fight moves to your enemy's devastated population centers. Never again will your ground troops suffer for lack of heavy support in close quarters while you hesitate sending main battle tanks into a theatre they were never designed for. Don't wait - the next war is just around the corner!

GAT-6 Total Programme Cost: J$1,733,500,000 (one billion, seven hundred thirty-three million, five hundred thousand jions)
GAT-6 Unit Production Cost: J$3,470,000 (three million, four hundred seventy thousand jions)
GAT-6 Unit Maintenance Cost, Annual: J$200,400 (two hundred thousand, fourt hundred jions)
GAT-6 Unit Export Cost: J$4,200,150 (four million, two hundred thousand, one hundred fifty jions)

As with all of the Technology of Peace™, we are fully open to export to any interested parties. Demonstrations will be offered to potential buyers at agreed-upon locations.
Axis Nova
04-10-2006, 17:17
bump for morning crew
Imperial isa
04-10-2006, 17:27
i have seen the movie this out of
Bretton
04-10-2006, 19:14
OOC: And what a movie it is. BUY THE TANK!
Imperial isa
04-10-2006, 19:31
OOC: And what a movie it is. BUY THE TANK!

OOC venus wars
iam saving to buy space ships so no sorry
Axis Nova
06-10-2006, 11:56
Official Communique, Axis Nova Defense Department

This looks useful. We'll take 3,000, along with appropriate spare parts for same.
Bretton
06-10-2006, 23:18
Brettonian Military Industries is always eager to accept a production order from our close ally and compatriot Axis Nova.

We will prepare for your shipment immediately. Please wire J$12,600,450,000 over at your earliest opportunity; assuming there are no hold-ups, you may expect delivery by the 15th.
The World Soviet Party
06-10-2006, 23:22
OOC: Is this MT/PMT or FT?
Bretton
07-10-2006, 09:32
OOC: Errr... it's PMT. That was in the title.

I can probably dumb it down to MT if you want.
The Kraven Corporation
07-10-2006, 09:55
The Supreme Overlord State of The Kraven Corporation

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v399/HorusGodEmperor/KravenInsignia2.jpg

We will buy the exclusive production rights for the Kraven varient, we would like to firstly however extend our thanks for creating a machine suited to our needs, you will receive a full report on its performance during the Subjugation of urban areas in our up and comming campaign.

The High Command
Bretton
07-10-2006, 10:15
Brettonian Military Industries is pleased that its long-time ally in the fight against socialism and "tree hugging hippies" has no sign of its defense procurement slowing down at any rate.

In order to complete a smooth transaction, we ask for a purchase of five units at a cost of J$21,000,750 - this will also have the side benefit of placing the original testbed units of your national variant in your hands, effectively putting all Kraven variation Stutzers in your inventory. Afterwards, production rights will be available in the form of an exclusive license at a rate of 7.9% of export cost per unit.

Transport will begin once we have recieved payment. Keep in mind the most current exchange rates. For your exclusive production rights, our men from the transport division shall bring the appropriate documentation and affadavits, paper and electronic, to officially license your heavy industry of choice as a Stutzer production licensee. Please keep in mind that your licensing fees are due upon completion of each unit batch (if you use batch production methods) or in a bi-monthly collection if you produce single units or use other sporadic production methods.

Brettonian Military Industries reserves the right to conduct periodic, low-hinderance inspections of your designated production facilities to ensure production rights are being respected by all signatory members.
Allanea
03-09-2007, 09:02
Official Request of the United States Department of Justice

Our Border Patrol requires 10,0000 GAT-6 Stutzers for painfully obvious reasons.
Greal
03-09-2007, 09:04
Greal would like to buy 1000.
Bretton
03-09-2007, 09:50
Ministry of Procurement and Shipping
Official Communique

Business is good, we see! We are always willing to do business with our good friends in Allanea, but newcomers are welcome as well.

Allanean Report: J$41,001,500,000 (forty-one billion, one million five hundred thousand jions) have been billed to your relevant ministry, reflecting our usual discount to our close friends and allies. Two thousand units will be shipped within 48 hours - you may expect delivery of the remaining eight thousand to be completed in two installments of four thousand each with a roughly one week delay while we sent our production back into full speed. If your relevant ministries have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to direct them to us.

Greal Report: Since you do not appear to be a pro-socialist enclave, we are, of course, willing to commit exports to your country. J$4,200,150,000 (four billion, two hundred million, one hundred fifty thousand jions) have been billed to your relevant ministry - you may expect shipping of all one thousand ordered units within 72 hours, with delivery to follow shortly. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to direct them to our front office, and we will answer them in the most satisfactory manner possible. Thank you for your business, and please enjoy your new investment in the Technology of Peaceā„¢.
Greal
03-09-2007, 09:52
The money has been wired to your nation.