Kahanistan
30-03-2007, 23:37
Spartacus MBT
Type: Main Battle Tank
Manufacturer: Kahanistan Military Industries
Weight: 74 tons
Length: 12.1 m (gun forward = 13.9 m)
Width: 5.1 m
Height: 2.5 m (turret roof)
Crew: 4 (driver, commander, gunner, loader)
Armor: Internal anti-spalling layer, titanium-vanadium composite, NERA, tantalum-cobalt modular, NXRA or ERA applique from innermost to outermost
Primary armament: 1 KMI 105mm ETC gun with 90 rounds, capable of firing ATGM's, HARM's, and standard 105mm shells
Commander's weapon: 1 KMI Mk.18 40mm chaingun with 800 rounds, contains programmable air-bursting, AP, HE, and AA rounds
Engine: KMI Mk.62 diesel, 2,900 HP
Power / weight: 39 HP / ton
Suspension: Torsion bar
Operational range: 550 km (1,200 km with external tanks)
Speed: 69 km/h on road, 48 km/h off road
Elevation: -10 to +45 degrees
Armor capabilities:
Actual Thickness / RHA vs. HEAT / RHA vs. KE
Side: 300mm / 900mm / 720mm
Rear: 170mm / 500mm / 400mm
Top: 100mm / 300mm / 240mm
Turret: 600mm / 1,800mm / 1,440mm
Glacis: 800mm / 2,400mm / 1,920mm
Other Defenses: TROPHY active protection system
Domestic production rights: $24 billion USD, solid human rights record (Very Good +), moderate political freedoms (Some +)
Export cost: $12 million USD, solid civil freedoms (Very Good +)
Production cost: $9 million USD
History
The Spartacus main battle tank was designed by Kahanistan Military Industries to combat the threat of the Doomani Imperator main battle tanks used against them with devastating effect against the Merkava IV tanks defending during Operation Silva.
Noting the superior power and range of Doomani ETC tank guns, it was decided to devise a domestic ETC tank gun with a superior rate of fire to enemy tanks and ability to launch various missiles through a single 105mm cannon.
Named Spartacus after the gladiator who nearly eradicated slavery in ancient Rome, this tank was designed to answer the threat of a repeated invasion by the Imperium Doomanum and the possible resultant enslavement or worse.
Weapons
The Spartacus is equipped with a 105mm ETC gun, like those used in many advanced militaries as artillery. The reasoning behind this move was that the 120mm smoothbore guns of the Merkava had proven slow and ineffective against enemy armor; stronger, faster weapons with superior range were needed. It also carries a 40mm ETC chaingun with a wide variety of ammunition, from programmable air bursts for use against light vehicles and infantry to tracers to direct infantry and air support to put fire on a certain position.
Defenses
The Spartacus comes with multiple layers of armor spaced apart to blunt the impact of anti-tank munitions. The first layer is simple modular armor, which can be replaced in plates if damaged. Beyond this is a layer of NERA, and an anti-spalling layer inside to prevent HESH damage to the interior of the tank. Between each layer is roughly 25mm of space in which to absorb explosive gases or kinetic force of heavy penetrators.
Other defenses include the lack of a blowoff panel over the ammunition compartment, as it was deemed too vulnerable to enemy munitions. To vent the ammunition should an enemy missile penetrate the ammunition storage, a hole is drilled in the bottom of the tank floor. The explosion in the ammunition compartment will follow the path of least resistance - out the bottom of the tank.
The Spartacus is also highly resistant to top-attack munitions as the hatch, a necessary weak point of any tank design, is on the bottom, hence the 400mm clearance under the tank. The crew crawls under the tank to enter the hatch, rather than an exposed hatch that could be penetrated by enemy fire. While this makes evacuating the tank slow, that sacrifice was deemed necessary in order to protect the tank from enemy fire.
For the commander to be able to spot enemy targets for the 105mm gun, or to fire the chaingun at lighter targets, a seat is attached to a hydraulic lift system. The commander sits in this seat, and to move into spotting mode, he or she activates the hydraulic lift, raising the seat as well as the armor plates immediately above the seat so that the commander's head is slightly above the level of the tank's main body. He or she then sights through a pair of lenses attached to the top of the command seat, which can be switched to infrared or night vision as well as conventional vision, and aims the chaingun to fire on appropriate targets. This adds many parts, but was considered important as tank commanders usually represent several years of training, experience, and promotions, and are thus not easily replaced.
Conclusion
The Spartacus MBT places survivability above lethality, to the point where it uses a relatively light, albeit versatile, 105mm gun. This gives crew members a certain sense of security, and enables them to feel safe against most threats that lack the heavy armor protection of the new MBT.
The 105mm shell has superior range to many larger shells, further enhanced by use of ETC, and a higher rate of fire, making it a formidable opponent against almost any threat, and for those opponents with heavy armor against which penetration by a 105mm shell is unlikely, the Spartacus also carries APFSDS missiles designed to pierce heavy armor at ranges of over 15 kilometers.
Type: Main Battle Tank
Manufacturer: Kahanistan Military Industries
Weight: 74 tons
Length: 12.1 m (gun forward = 13.9 m)
Width: 5.1 m
Height: 2.5 m (turret roof)
Crew: 4 (driver, commander, gunner, loader)
Armor: Internal anti-spalling layer, titanium-vanadium composite, NERA, tantalum-cobalt modular, NXRA or ERA applique from innermost to outermost
Primary armament: 1 KMI 105mm ETC gun with 90 rounds, capable of firing ATGM's, HARM's, and standard 105mm shells
Commander's weapon: 1 KMI Mk.18 40mm chaingun with 800 rounds, contains programmable air-bursting, AP, HE, and AA rounds
Engine: KMI Mk.62 diesel, 2,900 HP
Power / weight: 39 HP / ton
Suspension: Torsion bar
Operational range: 550 km (1,200 km with external tanks)
Speed: 69 km/h on road, 48 km/h off road
Elevation: -10 to +45 degrees
Armor capabilities:
Actual Thickness / RHA vs. HEAT / RHA vs. KE
Side: 300mm / 900mm / 720mm
Rear: 170mm / 500mm / 400mm
Top: 100mm / 300mm / 240mm
Turret: 600mm / 1,800mm / 1,440mm
Glacis: 800mm / 2,400mm / 1,920mm
Other Defenses: TROPHY active protection system
Domestic production rights: $24 billion USD, solid human rights record (Very Good +), moderate political freedoms (Some +)
Export cost: $12 million USD, solid civil freedoms (Very Good +)
Production cost: $9 million USD
History
The Spartacus main battle tank was designed by Kahanistan Military Industries to combat the threat of the Doomani Imperator main battle tanks used against them with devastating effect against the Merkava IV tanks defending during Operation Silva.
Noting the superior power and range of Doomani ETC tank guns, it was decided to devise a domestic ETC tank gun with a superior rate of fire to enemy tanks and ability to launch various missiles through a single 105mm cannon.
Named Spartacus after the gladiator who nearly eradicated slavery in ancient Rome, this tank was designed to answer the threat of a repeated invasion by the Imperium Doomanum and the possible resultant enslavement or worse.
Weapons
The Spartacus is equipped with a 105mm ETC gun, like those used in many advanced militaries as artillery. The reasoning behind this move was that the 120mm smoothbore guns of the Merkava had proven slow and ineffective against enemy armor; stronger, faster weapons with superior range were needed. It also carries a 40mm ETC chaingun with a wide variety of ammunition, from programmable air bursts for use against light vehicles and infantry to tracers to direct infantry and air support to put fire on a certain position.
Defenses
The Spartacus comes with multiple layers of armor spaced apart to blunt the impact of anti-tank munitions. The first layer is simple modular armor, which can be replaced in plates if damaged. Beyond this is a layer of NERA, and an anti-spalling layer inside to prevent HESH damage to the interior of the tank. Between each layer is roughly 25mm of space in which to absorb explosive gases or kinetic force of heavy penetrators.
Other defenses include the lack of a blowoff panel over the ammunition compartment, as it was deemed too vulnerable to enemy munitions. To vent the ammunition should an enemy missile penetrate the ammunition storage, a hole is drilled in the bottom of the tank floor. The explosion in the ammunition compartment will follow the path of least resistance - out the bottom of the tank.
The Spartacus is also highly resistant to top-attack munitions as the hatch, a necessary weak point of any tank design, is on the bottom, hence the 400mm clearance under the tank. The crew crawls under the tank to enter the hatch, rather than an exposed hatch that could be penetrated by enemy fire. While this makes evacuating the tank slow, that sacrifice was deemed necessary in order to protect the tank from enemy fire.
For the commander to be able to spot enemy targets for the 105mm gun, or to fire the chaingun at lighter targets, a seat is attached to a hydraulic lift system. The commander sits in this seat, and to move into spotting mode, he or she activates the hydraulic lift, raising the seat as well as the armor plates immediately above the seat so that the commander's head is slightly above the level of the tank's main body. He or she then sights through a pair of lenses attached to the top of the command seat, which can be switched to infrared or night vision as well as conventional vision, and aims the chaingun to fire on appropriate targets. This adds many parts, but was considered important as tank commanders usually represent several years of training, experience, and promotions, and are thus not easily replaced.
Conclusion
The Spartacus MBT places survivability above lethality, to the point where it uses a relatively light, albeit versatile, 105mm gun. This gives crew members a certain sense of security, and enables them to feel safe against most threats that lack the heavy armor protection of the new MBT.
The 105mm shell has superior range to many larger shells, further enhanced by use of ETC, and a higher rate of fire, making it a formidable opponent against almost any threat, and for those opponents with heavy armor against which penetration by a 105mm shell is unlikely, the Spartacus also carries APFSDS missiles designed to pierce heavy armor at ranges of over 15 kilometers.