Hamilay
21-09-2007, 11:38
M88 “Cataphract” Main Battle Tank
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e267/Flaw3dLegacy/M8MBT_2-3.jpg
Background
The Federal Republic currently operates two different main battle tanks; the LY4 Warhound and the ubiquitous Arca IV Nakil (1A1 model). The M88 Cataphract was admittedly commissioned for political reasons, as the current two vehicles of the Republic’s tank inventory are deemed unsuitable; the Nakils are in the process of being phased out, and whilst they are extremely popular, they are disliked for that very reason, as they have no advantages over many other nations who also field Nakils, seen in recent fighting with New Manthian 1A1s at Bastion. Whilst the LY4 is also an excellent tank, recent tensions with Lyras over the Londim situation have also led the Federal Republic’s leadership to be uncomfortable with its continued use. The project, given the preliminary name of Project T(ank)-91 was also intended to be a fully ‘Hamilayan’ design, as a signature weapon of the Federal Republic of Hamilay and a demonstration of Republic industrial and technological prowess, and to this end all components of the M8 for Hamilayan usage are designed and constructed domestically, although the vehicle’s design draws from numerous other tanks nonetheless.
However, the lack of need for a new tank has strangely been a blessing to the T-91 project, as for the vehicle to be acceptable to the armed forces it is required to be able to at the very least match these high-quality vehicles and hence, arguably all, or at least most, modern main battle tanks in the field today. Whilst military commanders initially balked at the prospect of a weapon with such an extensive political agenda riding on it, the M88 was enthusiastically accepted by the early prototype stage, as it was now apparent that no expense would be spared in producing and designing the vehicle to the highest quality possible. The early name for prototypes of the M88, “Cuirassier” was re-evaluated after a great deal of alterations to the armour scheme, the final designation being M88 “Cataphract”.
The M88 is an enormous leap forward in terms of the role of the Federal Republic’s indigenous armaments industry. The Cataphract will hopefully establish Hamilayan armaments as weaponry to be reckoned with [OOC: lulz], indeed, primarily amongst the armed forces, which up till this point has focused on high-quality foreign designs (the FH-48 Peregrine air superiority fighter perhaps being the first step in altering this) as well as amongst the international community. The tank is of course one of the most integral parts of a large modern army, and Hamilayan Armaments Systems Incorporated in conjunction with the Hamilayan government aim to emulate just a small slice of the export successes of the M8’s two foreign predecessors. [OOC: lulz again]
Characteristics
Thus the Cataphract was born. The vehicle is optimised for tank-to-tank warfare as well as infantry support, with an emphasis on survivability. The base model is designed to operate in open spaces for large-scale tank battles, but for operation in urban environments an alteration scheme similar to the M1 Abrams’ TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit) was a high priority, the end result of which was UWS (Urban Warfare Suite)
With the lack of useful cover on flat, open plains of the Federal Republic and improvements in guided missile and gun fire-control, mobility was placed secondary to armour, as well as secondary firepower to a lesser extent. Whilst it has strangely never been used in Hamilayan service, as with other designs the Israeli Merkava MBT has once more been a heavy influence, this time on the Cataphract’s armour and protection scheme. The M8’s turret assembly and engine are located in front of the crew quarters to provide extra mass protecting the crew from a frontal attack, and armour has been increased further at the front to protect these important components. As with the Merkava, the cleared rear space provided by this relocation was deemed a valuable asset for the rapid and safe entrance and exit of crew members into the vehicle, as well as providing more space and comfort for the crew. This is partly used to store extra fuel and ammunition, although only APFSDS and machinegun rounds are recommended here due to its close proximity to the crew.
The vehicle is intended to be the lead product of HASI, and also demonstrates many new weapons technologies designed first for the M88 and later to be moved into use across other vehicles and infantry amongst the Hamilayan armed forces, such as the 12.7mm MG51 antiaircraft machine gun (to replace the Russian Kord 6P50) and the tank’s primary armament, the Hamilayan C158 130mm ETC gun.
The M8 is not designed to mesh greatly with any particular military doctrine, and is able to be used effectively by most militaries, the greatest, if any, concern possibly being terrain issues. It is however designed to work in concert with close air support and artillery fire. Two main designations of the vehicle are in Hamilayan usage, the M8/T and M8/IS, for Tank and Infantry Support respectively. However, it should be noted that these are simply role designations, rather than different variants, and the vehicles are virtually identical. The only difference between the two designations is the addition of explosive reactive armour to the Tank variant, which of course cannot be used with friendly infantry present.
Armament
The M88 Cataphract’s primary armament is the C158 130mm smoothbore ETC (electrothermal chemical) cannon. The ETC technology, involving the ignition of the weapon’s propellant, which is liquid propellant in the case of the C158, more powerful than standard solid propellant, by an electrically-catalysed plasma charge, is now generally standard on modern tank guns, and was the first choice for the C158’s design. The 130mm calibre, whilst unconventional, was chosen as the obvious intermediary compromise between 140mm and 120mm calibres, which, combined with ETC technology, gives the tank an advantage in firepower over other main battle tanks, allowing the gun to achieve a muzzle velocity of up to 20MJ.
The C158 is able to fire many different types of ammunition, the most common being APFSDS (armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot) kinetic energy penetrators for primary antitank use. The standard Hamilayan 130mm round is 760mm in length, made of tungsten and has a muzzle velocity of approximately 2,050 m/s, able to penetrate armour of almost all tanks in the field today. Other weapons fired include HEAT rounds and, significantly, the AT-19 Lance laser-guided missile, a narrower variant of the AT-18 Halberd ATGM designed to be fired from a 130mm tank gun, with a similar role to that of the 9M119 Reflex launched from the T-80. The laser guidance pod is mounted on top of the turret rather than along the gun barrel and can rotate 360 degrees in all planes 180 degrees in front of the vehicle, allowing the missile to engage targets at greater height than the cannon can reach. This makes the Lance, in addition to its antitank capabilities, a potent weapon against helicopters and low-flying aircraft, and coupled with the power and rate of fire of the 12.7mm antiaircraft MG51 gives the Cataphract good measures for self-defence against enemy attack aircraft.
AT-19 Statistics
Diameter: 13.0cm
Length: 112cm
Warhead weight: 13.1kg
Missile weight: 24.2kg
Launcher weight w/missile: 106.8kg
Maximum effective range: 4.25km
Armour penetration: 1200mm RHAe
Time of flight to maximum effective range: approximately 18 seconds
Unit replacement cost: $135,000
Secondary armament of the M88 includes a coaxially mounted Hamilayan M301 general-purpose machine gun, in 7.62mm NATO calibre, as well as the MG51 heavy machine gun, chambered in 12.7x107mm Russian, mounted on the cupola for use against infantry, aircraft and light vehicles. The MG51 may be fired either by the commander or remotely from inside the vehicle. The four primarily defensive grenade launchers on either side of the turret are also capable of firing fragmentation grenades to engage infantry in a wide radius around the tank.
The Urban Warfare Suite provides a second M301 machine gun, mounted on the turret, again able to be fired remotely or manually. In some models the MG51 HMG is replaced with an FIM-92 Stinger low-level surface-to-air missile system.
Armour
The M88’s armour scheme comes in two parts. The outer layer uses new electrically charged armour technology, which, in the M8, consists of two further layers of steel/depleted uranium alloy, the outer layer being grounded and the inner layer being insulated from the inner layer of armour and electrically charged. The ECA defeats rocket-propelled grenades and, more importantly, kinetic energy penetrators, by passing a great current through the incoming weapon once it penetrates and makes contact with both layers of armour, liquefying RPGs and removing much of the power of any incoming warhead.
The inner layer of armour consists of Chobham titanium matrix and ceramic silicon carbide tile composite armour, as well as depleted uranium mesh. The mesh involves a wire cage fitted between the titanium layers. The armour scheme is comprehensive and fitted throughout the whole tank mostly evenly. Exceptions include up-armouring on the front of the tank, designed to give extra protection to engine components, and on the turret, to counter top-attack infantry and air-launched antitank guided missiles becoming the most popular method of destroying tanks today, although this increases the tank’s profile slightly. The rear of the vehicle was originally the least armoured section, due to the presence of the hatch there, which must be light and easy to open and close or its purpose is defeated. This weakness appeared in early combat trials of the M88, and whilst the (possibly) tongue-in-cheek reply of military commanders was to simply avoid ever retreating, steps were taken to rectify it, with the installation of a more powerful hydraulic system to move the hatch which subsequently allowed the addition of more armour. The rear is now well protected, but it should be noted that it remains a weak point relative to the rest of the vehicle. The hatch may be opened manually in the event of hydraulic failure.
Explosive reactive armour is also fitted to the M88/T model when intended to work independently of infantry. The Urban Warfare Suite package for the M88/IS role also provides slat armour on the sides and front of the vehicle to offer additional protection against early-model RPG rounds.
The tank is also fully NBC-protected and climate-controlled, and as with the Merkava, ammunition and fuel are stored in armoured and sealed compartments, and an automatic fire-suppression system is installed which will neutralise fires either inside or outside the vehicle (if an external fuel tank such as that on the T-80 is fitted, for example)
Countermeasures/Networking/Electronics
The Cataphract is equipped with laser, infra-red and radar-guided warning systems as well as a full ECM suite to counter all electronically-guided missile threats. The tank also has a hard-kill system in the form of SENTINEL-II (related to the prototype SENTINEL laser system seen on early- model FH-48 aircraft only in name) Similar to the ARENA and TROPHY systems and most other ground-based hard-kill systems in use today, SENTINEL-II tracks enemy missile launches with a millimetric Doppler radar, then automatically neutralises them by launching a canister, which explodes, spraying steel pellets to detonate the target. The projectile has an engagement range of fifty metres, but when operating in concert with infantry it is reprogrammed in Hamilayan usage to fire at a range of no more than 15 metres to lessen the danger zone to unprotected personnel around the vehicle. This may be reconfigured as the user sees fit. Three SENTINEL-II projectile launchers are mounted on the tank; two on the turret and one on the front. The SENTINEL-II computer systems are battlefield networked and linked, allowing all systems of M88 tanks to work in concert to engage incoming projectiles at the greatest distance and as effectively as possible. There are also four launchers situated on each side of the turret, capable of firing smoke grenades, chaff, flares or anti-infantry fragmentation grenades, amongst others.
The M88 sports an advanced fire control system, integrated with the detection ECM unit to track the positions of enemy missile-launching units. Sensors gathering data from the laser rangefinder pod for the AT-19, crosswind, temperature of both ammunition and surroundings, thermal/daylight/night-vision gunsight, amongst others, calculate the range to the designated target, allowing for obstacles in between, and can be either fired manually or the turret automatically positioned to fire on the target at the push of a button. The fire control system is also able to receive data and achieve locks on targets designated from a variety of external sources, such as other tanks, aircraft or infantry with designator equipment.
Propulsion/Power
The M88’s features require a large amount of power, such as the electric armour system, ETC gun system, countermeasures suite and the power required to move the significant weight of the particularly heavily armoured vehicle itself. The PTE-149 engine used in the tank is a large diesel engine providing 2050hp, which gives the tank respectable speed and mobility, with a maximum speed of 48km/h. However, the engine consumes a great deal of fuel, causing logistics problems. These are alleviated to some extent by the addition of an optional external fuel tank on the rear of the M8, but to keep up with the demands of M8 units the A88/L was developed, a logistics vehicle based on the M8 chassis with fuel transportation in mind. (see Variants section)
Personnel
The vehicle has three crew members; a driver, gunner and commander. The already large size of the vehicle relative to some other tanks and extra crew space provided by the relocation of the engine initially made manual loading the first choice; however, it was scrapped after the finalization of the M88’s choice of main gun, as autoloader proved to be much more efficient in managing the large 130mm shell. The M88’s autoloading system involves two drums of eight rounds each placed on left and right of the gun, configured to hold different types of rounds. In Federal Republic usage, the left drum holds exclusively APFSDS rounds, as these are most used, whilst the right drum holds HEAT rounds and all other types of shells. The onboard computing system automatically detects the round type in each slot and cycles the drum to load the requested ammunition, hence the APFSDS-only drum to ensure armour-piercing rounds are always available in the ready to load position when called for. The AT-19 missile requires a different type of loading system, and these are held on a rack inside an armoured compartment below the gun, being moved into the barrel when required.
The M88’s large size allows for other personnel to be carried, as with the Merkava. Whilst in the majority of usage for optimal performance in tank-to-tank combat the extra space is used for fuel and ammunition, it is used to accommodate crews of destroyed tanks, and in specialised roles may house medical personnel, antiaircraft or designated marksmen units, commanders or regular infantry.
Statistics
Weight: 80.1 tons
Length: 10.45m (rear to muzzle)
Width: 3.75m
Height: 2.80m (turret roof)
Crew: 3 (commander, driver, gunner)
Armour: Electrically charged, Chobham (Titanium/Silicon carbide) with depleted uranium mesh
Lower Hull (RHAe): 1320mm
Glacis: 2,820mm
Rear Hull: 494mm
Side Hull: 1,020mm
Front Turret: 1,040mm
Upper Front Turret: 880mm
Side Turret: 1160mm
Rear Turret: 450mm
Turret Roof: 240mm
Gun Mantlet: 1,660mm
Hull Roof: 310mm
Base: 400mm
Primary Armament: C158 130mm ETC gun with 35 rounds
Secondary Armament: 12.7x107mm MG51, 7.62mm NATO M301 GPMG, 8x fragmentation grenade launchers
Engine: PTE-149 diesel, 2,050hp
Power/Weight Ratio: 25.6
Suspension: Helical spring
Operational Range: 415km
Speed (road): 58km/h
Speed (off-road): 44km/h
Price: $9.6 million USD, $425,000 USD for UWS
Variants
M88/IS Urban Warfare
The M88/ISUWS (Infantry Support with Urban Warfare Suite equipped) whilst structurally identical to the base variant, nevertheless has a large amount of changes, some of which have been previously detailed in the report. The package, to make the vehicle in the infantry support role more suitable for urban warfare, as the name suggests, involves the addition of slat/cage armour to the sides and rear, the installation of an extra pintle-mounted M301 GPMG, armoured gun shields for the turret machine guns and changes to the ammunition and equipment loadout of the vehicle, some of which are already seen in the base IS variant.
A88/Logistics
The A88/L is an Armoured Logistics Vehicle, simply consisting of the M88 with its turret removed. The vehicle is used to keep pace with M88 units so as to provide them with much-needed fuel, as well as ammunition, and also acts as an armoured recovery vehicle. It may also be optimised with the Urban Warfare Suite to create a well-armoured resupply vehicle for infantry units, especially useful when surrounded by enemy forces and pinned down by heavy fire, allowing for resupply in areas too dangerous for light utility vehicles or helicopters. The A88/L ALV is also fitted with a slightly different suspension system to the M88, to reflect its reduced weight and higher speed.
Price: $5.8 million USD
M89 Anti-Aircraft Platform
M89AA is a prototype antiaircraft vehicle built on the Cataphract chassis, intended as a replacement for Tunguska M1 antiaircraft guns with armoured units. The M88 C158 turret is replaced with the A144 antiaircraft turret, consisting of four 30mm autocannons and sixteen 9M311 SA-19 medium-range rockets, although these remain an interim measure whilst the development of indigenous surface-to-air missile systems is underway. The vehicle has of course been outfitted to reflect the different weapons systems, with ammunition compartments for rockets and autocannon shells; the cannons are reloaded automatically whilst the missiles must be manually reloaded through a roof hatch at the end of the vehicle, surrounded by a steel shield for protection. Its armoured chassis combined with four cannons makes it also suitable for infantry support and suppression of enemy infantry. This remains a prototype system and is not in large-scale production.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e267/Flaw3dLegacy/M8MBT_2-3.jpg
Background
The Federal Republic currently operates two different main battle tanks; the LY4 Warhound and the ubiquitous Arca IV Nakil (1A1 model). The M88 Cataphract was admittedly commissioned for political reasons, as the current two vehicles of the Republic’s tank inventory are deemed unsuitable; the Nakils are in the process of being phased out, and whilst they are extremely popular, they are disliked for that very reason, as they have no advantages over many other nations who also field Nakils, seen in recent fighting with New Manthian 1A1s at Bastion. Whilst the LY4 is also an excellent tank, recent tensions with Lyras over the Londim situation have also led the Federal Republic’s leadership to be uncomfortable with its continued use. The project, given the preliminary name of Project T(ank)-91 was also intended to be a fully ‘Hamilayan’ design, as a signature weapon of the Federal Republic of Hamilay and a demonstration of Republic industrial and technological prowess, and to this end all components of the M8 for Hamilayan usage are designed and constructed domestically, although the vehicle’s design draws from numerous other tanks nonetheless.
However, the lack of need for a new tank has strangely been a blessing to the T-91 project, as for the vehicle to be acceptable to the armed forces it is required to be able to at the very least match these high-quality vehicles and hence, arguably all, or at least most, modern main battle tanks in the field today. Whilst military commanders initially balked at the prospect of a weapon with such an extensive political agenda riding on it, the M88 was enthusiastically accepted by the early prototype stage, as it was now apparent that no expense would be spared in producing and designing the vehicle to the highest quality possible. The early name for prototypes of the M88, “Cuirassier” was re-evaluated after a great deal of alterations to the armour scheme, the final designation being M88 “Cataphract”.
The M88 is an enormous leap forward in terms of the role of the Federal Republic’s indigenous armaments industry. The Cataphract will hopefully establish Hamilayan armaments as weaponry to be reckoned with [OOC: lulz], indeed, primarily amongst the armed forces, which up till this point has focused on high-quality foreign designs (the FH-48 Peregrine air superiority fighter perhaps being the first step in altering this) as well as amongst the international community. The tank is of course one of the most integral parts of a large modern army, and Hamilayan Armaments Systems Incorporated in conjunction with the Hamilayan government aim to emulate just a small slice of the export successes of the M8’s two foreign predecessors. [OOC: lulz again]
Characteristics
Thus the Cataphract was born. The vehicle is optimised for tank-to-tank warfare as well as infantry support, with an emphasis on survivability. The base model is designed to operate in open spaces for large-scale tank battles, but for operation in urban environments an alteration scheme similar to the M1 Abrams’ TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit) was a high priority, the end result of which was UWS (Urban Warfare Suite)
With the lack of useful cover on flat, open plains of the Federal Republic and improvements in guided missile and gun fire-control, mobility was placed secondary to armour, as well as secondary firepower to a lesser extent. Whilst it has strangely never been used in Hamilayan service, as with other designs the Israeli Merkava MBT has once more been a heavy influence, this time on the Cataphract’s armour and protection scheme. The M8’s turret assembly and engine are located in front of the crew quarters to provide extra mass protecting the crew from a frontal attack, and armour has been increased further at the front to protect these important components. As with the Merkava, the cleared rear space provided by this relocation was deemed a valuable asset for the rapid and safe entrance and exit of crew members into the vehicle, as well as providing more space and comfort for the crew. This is partly used to store extra fuel and ammunition, although only APFSDS and machinegun rounds are recommended here due to its close proximity to the crew.
The vehicle is intended to be the lead product of HASI, and also demonstrates many new weapons technologies designed first for the M88 and later to be moved into use across other vehicles and infantry amongst the Hamilayan armed forces, such as the 12.7mm MG51 antiaircraft machine gun (to replace the Russian Kord 6P50) and the tank’s primary armament, the Hamilayan C158 130mm ETC gun.
The M8 is not designed to mesh greatly with any particular military doctrine, and is able to be used effectively by most militaries, the greatest, if any, concern possibly being terrain issues. It is however designed to work in concert with close air support and artillery fire. Two main designations of the vehicle are in Hamilayan usage, the M8/T and M8/IS, for Tank and Infantry Support respectively. However, it should be noted that these are simply role designations, rather than different variants, and the vehicles are virtually identical. The only difference between the two designations is the addition of explosive reactive armour to the Tank variant, which of course cannot be used with friendly infantry present.
Armament
The M88 Cataphract’s primary armament is the C158 130mm smoothbore ETC (electrothermal chemical) cannon. The ETC technology, involving the ignition of the weapon’s propellant, which is liquid propellant in the case of the C158, more powerful than standard solid propellant, by an electrically-catalysed plasma charge, is now generally standard on modern tank guns, and was the first choice for the C158’s design. The 130mm calibre, whilst unconventional, was chosen as the obvious intermediary compromise between 140mm and 120mm calibres, which, combined with ETC technology, gives the tank an advantage in firepower over other main battle tanks, allowing the gun to achieve a muzzle velocity of up to 20MJ.
The C158 is able to fire many different types of ammunition, the most common being APFSDS (armour-piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot) kinetic energy penetrators for primary antitank use. The standard Hamilayan 130mm round is 760mm in length, made of tungsten and has a muzzle velocity of approximately 2,050 m/s, able to penetrate armour of almost all tanks in the field today. Other weapons fired include HEAT rounds and, significantly, the AT-19 Lance laser-guided missile, a narrower variant of the AT-18 Halberd ATGM designed to be fired from a 130mm tank gun, with a similar role to that of the 9M119 Reflex launched from the T-80. The laser guidance pod is mounted on top of the turret rather than along the gun barrel and can rotate 360 degrees in all planes 180 degrees in front of the vehicle, allowing the missile to engage targets at greater height than the cannon can reach. This makes the Lance, in addition to its antitank capabilities, a potent weapon against helicopters and low-flying aircraft, and coupled with the power and rate of fire of the 12.7mm antiaircraft MG51 gives the Cataphract good measures for self-defence against enemy attack aircraft.
AT-19 Statistics
Diameter: 13.0cm
Length: 112cm
Warhead weight: 13.1kg
Missile weight: 24.2kg
Launcher weight w/missile: 106.8kg
Maximum effective range: 4.25km
Armour penetration: 1200mm RHAe
Time of flight to maximum effective range: approximately 18 seconds
Unit replacement cost: $135,000
Secondary armament of the M88 includes a coaxially mounted Hamilayan M301 general-purpose machine gun, in 7.62mm NATO calibre, as well as the MG51 heavy machine gun, chambered in 12.7x107mm Russian, mounted on the cupola for use against infantry, aircraft and light vehicles. The MG51 may be fired either by the commander or remotely from inside the vehicle. The four primarily defensive grenade launchers on either side of the turret are also capable of firing fragmentation grenades to engage infantry in a wide radius around the tank.
The Urban Warfare Suite provides a second M301 machine gun, mounted on the turret, again able to be fired remotely or manually. In some models the MG51 HMG is replaced with an FIM-92 Stinger low-level surface-to-air missile system.
Armour
The M88’s armour scheme comes in two parts. The outer layer uses new electrically charged armour technology, which, in the M8, consists of two further layers of steel/depleted uranium alloy, the outer layer being grounded and the inner layer being insulated from the inner layer of armour and electrically charged. The ECA defeats rocket-propelled grenades and, more importantly, kinetic energy penetrators, by passing a great current through the incoming weapon once it penetrates and makes contact with both layers of armour, liquefying RPGs and removing much of the power of any incoming warhead.
The inner layer of armour consists of Chobham titanium matrix and ceramic silicon carbide tile composite armour, as well as depleted uranium mesh. The mesh involves a wire cage fitted between the titanium layers. The armour scheme is comprehensive and fitted throughout the whole tank mostly evenly. Exceptions include up-armouring on the front of the tank, designed to give extra protection to engine components, and on the turret, to counter top-attack infantry and air-launched antitank guided missiles becoming the most popular method of destroying tanks today, although this increases the tank’s profile slightly. The rear of the vehicle was originally the least armoured section, due to the presence of the hatch there, which must be light and easy to open and close or its purpose is defeated. This weakness appeared in early combat trials of the M88, and whilst the (possibly) tongue-in-cheek reply of military commanders was to simply avoid ever retreating, steps were taken to rectify it, with the installation of a more powerful hydraulic system to move the hatch which subsequently allowed the addition of more armour. The rear is now well protected, but it should be noted that it remains a weak point relative to the rest of the vehicle. The hatch may be opened manually in the event of hydraulic failure.
Explosive reactive armour is also fitted to the M88/T model when intended to work independently of infantry. The Urban Warfare Suite package for the M88/IS role also provides slat armour on the sides and front of the vehicle to offer additional protection against early-model RPG rounds.
The tank is also fully NBC-protected and climate-controlled, and as with the Merkava, ammunition and fuel are stored in armoured and sealed compartments, and an automatic fire-suppression system is installed which will neutralise fires either inside or outside the vehicle (if an external fuel tank such as that on the T-80 is fitted, for example)
Countermeasures/Networking/Electronics
The Cataphract is equipped with laser, infra-red and radar-guided warning systems as well as a full ECM suite to counter all electronically-guided missile threats. The tank also has a hard-kill system in the form of SENTINEL-II (related to the prototype SENTINEL laser system seen on early- model FH-48 aircraft only in name) Similar to the ARENA and TROPHY systems and most other ground-based hard-kill systems in use today, SENTINEL-II tracks enemy missile launches with a millimetric Doppler radar, then automatically neutralises them by launching a canister, which explodes, spraying steel pellets to detonate the target. The projectile has an engagement range of fifty metres, but when operating in concert with infantry it is reprogrammed in Hamilayan usage to fire at a range of no more than 15 metres to lessen the danger zone to unprotected personnel around the vehicle. This may be reconfigured as the user sees fit. Three SENTINEL-II projectile launchers are mounted on the tank; two on the turret and one on the front. The SENTINEL-II computer systems are battlefield networked and linked, allowing all systems of M88 tanks to work in concert to engage incoming projectiles at the greatest distance and as effectively as possible. There are also four launchers situated on each side of the turret, capable of firing smoke grenades, chaff, flares or anti-infantry fragmentation grenades, amongst others.
The M88 sports an advanced fire control system, integrated with the detection ECM unit to track the positions of enemy missile-launching units. Sensors gathering data from the laser rangefinder pod for the AT-19, crosswind, temperature of both ammunition and surroundings, thermal/daylight/night-vision gunsight, amongst others, calculate the range to the designated target, allowing for obstacles in between, and can be either fired manually or the turret automatically positioned to fire on the target at the push of a button. The fire control system is also able to receive data and achieve locks on targets designated from a variety of external sources, such as other tanks, aircraft or infantry with designator equipment.
Propulsion/Power
The M88’s features require a large amount of power, such as the electric armour system, ETC gun system, countermeasures suite and the power required to move the significant weight of the particularly heavily armoured vehicle itself. The PTE-149 engine used in the tank is a large diesel engine providing 2050hp, which gives the tank respectable speed and mobility, with a maximum speed of 48km/h. However, the engine consumes a great deal of fuel, causing logistics problems. These are alleviated to some extent by the addition of an optional external fuel tank on the rear of the M8, but to keep up with the demands of M8 units the A88/L was developed, a logistics vehicle based on the M8 chassis with fuel transportation in mind. (see Variants section)
Personnel
The vehicle has three crew members; a driver, gunner and commander. The already large size of the vehicle relative to some other tanks and extra crew space provided by the relocation of the engine initially made manual loading the first choice; however, it was scrapped after the finalization of the M88’s choice of main gun, as autoloader proved to be much more efficient in managing the large 130mm shell. The M88’s autoloading system involves two drums of eight rounds each placed on left and right of the gun, configured to hold different types of rounds. In Federal Republic usage, the left drum holds exclusively APFSDS rounds, as these are most used, whilst the right drum holds HEAT rounds and all other types of shells. The onboard computing system automatically detects the round type in each slot and cycles the drum to load the requested ammunition, hence the APFSDS-only drum to ensure armour-piercing rounds are always available in the ready to load position when called for. The AT-19 missile requires a different type of loading system, and these are held on a rack inside an armoured compartment below the gun, being moved into the barrel when required.
The M88’s large size allows for other personnel to be carried, as with the Merkava. Whilst in the majority of usage for optimal performance in tank-to-tank combat the extra space is used for fuel and ammunition, it is used to accommodate crews of destroyed tanks, and in specialised roles may house medical personnel, antiaircraft or designated marksmen units, commanders or regular infantry.
Statistics
Weight: 80.1 tons
Length: 10.45m (rear to muzzle)
Width: 3.75m
Height: 2.80m (turret roof)
Crew: 3 (commander, driver, gunner)
Armour: Electrically charged, Chobham (Titanium/Silicon carbide) with depleted uranium mesh
Lower Hull (RHAe): 1320mm
Glacis: 2,820mm
Rear Hull: 494mm
Side Hull: 1,020mm
Front Turret: 1,040mm
Upper Front Turret: 880mm
Side Turret: 1160mm
Rear Turret: 450mm
Turret Roof: 240mm
Gun Mantlet: 1,660mm
Hull Roof: 310mm
Base: 400mm
Primary Armament: C158 130mm ETC gun with 35 rounds
Secondary Armament: 12.7x107mm MG51, 7.62mm NATO M301 GPMG, 8x fragmentation grenade launchers
Engine: PTE-149 diesel, 2,050hp
Power/Weight Ratio: 25.6
Suspension: Helical spring
Operational Range: 415km
Speed (road): 58km/h
Speed (off-road): 44km/h
Price: $9.6 million USD, $425,000 USD for UWS
Variants
M88/IS Urban Warfare
The M88/ISUWS (Infantry Support with Urban Warfare Suite equipped) whilst structurally identical to the base variant, nevertheless has a large amount of changes, some of which have been previously detailed in the report. The package, to make the vehicle in the infantry support role more suitable for urban warfare, as the name suggests, involves the addition of slat/cage armour to the sides and rear, the installation of an extra pintle-mounted M301 GPMG, armoured gun shields for the turret machine guns and changes to the ammunition and equipment loadout of the vehicle, some of which are already seen in the base IS variant.
A88/Logistics
The A88/L is an Armoured Logistics Vehicle, simply consisting of the M88 with its turret removed. The vehicle is used to keep pace with M88 units so as to provide them with much-needed fuel, as well as ammunition, and also acts as an armoured recovery vehicle. It may also be optimised with the Urban Warfare Suite to create a well-armoured resupply vehicle for infantry units, especially useful when surrounded by enemy forces and pinned down by heavy fire, allowing for resupply in areas too dangerous for light utility vehicles or helicopters. The A88/L ALV is also fitted with a slightly different suspension system to the M88, to reflect its reduced weight and higher speed.
Price: $5.8 million USD
M89 Anti-Aircraft Platform
M89AA is a prototype antiaircraft vehicle built on the Cataphract chassis, intended as a replacement for Tunguska M1 antiaircraft guns with armoured units. The M88 C158 turret is replaced with the A144 antiaircraft turret, consisting of four 30mm autocannons and sixteen 9M311 SA-19 medium-range rockets, although these remain an interim measure whilst the development of indigenous surface-to-air missile systems is underway. The vehicle has of course been outfitted to reflect the different weapons systems, with ammunition compartments for rockets and autocannon shells; the cannons are reloaded automatically whilst the missiles must be manually reloaded through a roof hatch at the end of the vehicle, surrounded by a steel shield for protection. Its armoured chassis combined with four cannons makes it also suitable for infantry support and suppression of enemy infantry. This remains a prototype system and is not in large-scale production.