NationStates Jolt Archive

NPS | Heavy Division has won a contract to produce a veraient of the
MBT140 for the Nachmere military. The MBT140RT as the new tank is called, is largely based on the MBT140, but has a so called "Robotic Turret". This turrest is an oscillating, unmanned, and has a very nerrow profile. Specifications for the tank remain classified, but officials in NPS claimed it is about 10 tons lighter, while maintaining the same protection levels of the original tank. They have also agreed to release this image of the MBT140RT prototype:
http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu322/NWIpics_2009/MBT140RT.png

A Nachmere Armed Forces General commented on the decision to produce this tank veraient:
"While the MBT140 is an exellent design, we found that we cannot afford its cost with our limited budget. The MBT140RT has drawbacks but in our situation they are small when compared to the lower cost.

NPS says the new tank is currently being produced at its Nachmere factories and will only become avilable if M.A.C of Anghele(which holds the right for all sails of NPS products outside of Nachmere) will decide to sell it.

ooc: the turret could be a little smaller, unless you're going for the KV-2 look. Because of how high it's placed, I can see a limited gun depression which might be an issue if you need to use it against infantry who've entrenched themselves. Also, the turret ring is very exposed, so I'd put at least some rubber flaps like what the T-80U has, or those chain looking things on the back of some Merkava tanks

Yep. It is in prototype phase.

If you modify the turrent and ring, uber anti-infantry weapon.

(OOC: Surely that the gun is mounted quite high leaves potential for good angles of depression, not limitation? If the turret were lowered, the barrel wouldn't have as far to go before encountering an obstruction, wouldn't it? He does say that the turret has a narrow profile, so if we saw the tank head-on or from behind the turret would present a small target... perhaps the designers are hoping that will compensate for it being tall?)

In Soviet India, design bureaus and heavy military-industrial co-operatives such as SEB, JOS, and OPA have expressed interest in Nachmeri(?) claims to have reduced the design's weight by around ten tons without sacrificing protection, and to have achieved this while also decreasing costs.

Some have dismissed the claims as empty bourgeois propaganda or suggested that savings have been made at the expense of workers and product quality, while others are interested in the possibility of visiting production facilities in order to learn of new developments.

ooc: Less turret width=less armor, therefore less weight, less money. As the weight was cut down, i placed a les powerfull but cheaper powerpack and can still have the same mobilety. The ooscillating turret simplifies fire controls and the auto loader, as the breech of the gun is now always at the same pont compared to other parts of the turret. There is no human loader in this version, it only has 3 people, so we loose the cost of everything the loader had, TI viewer, LCD interface, radio interface, NBC components, etc. this allsaves weight and money.
So yes, altogather costs per vehicle will be lower, as it is actually a simpler, not more comlicated version. Think of it as a downgrade, not an upgrade.

(OOC: Seems to add up to, "autoloader = lighter, cheaper, simpler" which doesn't sound quite right somehow! Oh well, whatever.)

ooc: there was an autoloader in the original design, it had a human loader mainly to maintain the system and take care of malfunctions as well as being an extra pair of eyes.

NPS and NAF have published the following specifications for the new tank. The NAF also said it will order 1000 of these new tanks over a 4 year period.

Name: MBT140RT "Wild Boar"
Type: MBT
Place of Origin: Armed Republic of Nachmere and the Protected Dictatorship of Anghele
Designer: Nachmere Precision Systems | AFV Designs
Manufacturer: NPS Precision Systems Anghele Complex
Production Status: In Production
Crew: 3(TC, Gunner, Driver)
Weight: 70 metric tons combat ready.
Length: 10 meters gun forward
Width: 4 meters
Height: 2.9 meters
Armor: Composite(DU, Steel, Ceramics) and NERA
Primary armament: 140mm smooth-bore, Autoloading, ETC gun
Coaxial armament: 1X7.62 Machinegun, 1X40mm AGL
Commander armament: 12.7mm Machinegun in a remotely operated weapons station
Close range armaments: 16 80mm grenade launchers
Ammunition storage: 40X140mm, 12000X7.62, 1000X12.7mm,200X40mm Grenades, 48X80mm grenades
Engine: 2000hp (1400kw), Twin Turbo-Charged, Multi-Fuel.
Power to weight ratio: 28.5hp/ton
Suspension: Helical-Springs
Fuel Capacity: 2000 liters, +400 liters in jettison tanks.
Operational range: 510 kilometers with jettison tanks.
Speed: 80km/h on road, 55km/h off-road