"Hydra" Electric-Motor Flak Tank EMFT-61
As we have many problems with dealing with our enemies aerial support as we had to deal with the menacing Lightning Streaks and now the controversial how-the-hell-does-that-work four winged Blizzard jet vehicle, we needed a proper surface-to-air missile or cannon that we can utilize so that we can deal with these threats. Our knowledge of coils and magnets, but especially electric batteries have allowed us to develop such a vehicle.
This new form of a tank, in which we can both agree with on the Aratam national military that they would like new forms of tanks in their arsenal. Has a unique way in which it utilizes four heavy auto-loading cannons like the 120 mm cannon utilize in the halberd. However these four very auto-leading cannons are interfaced with a very advanced form of guidance and radio system that allows the operators of these tanks to interface with these four cannons to hit an aerial enemy target. The four normal cannons are all fired consecutively from each other and all have a intensive amount of reserve AA shrapnel shells so that the Hydra can fire its flak multiple time in the sky without interruption. Since all of the cannons on the tank are utilizing the power of shrapnel and that aircrafts are often lightly armored as it difficult to put armor in the sky, it would mean any aircraft ship that meets the force of one of the shrapnel of the shell will quickly realize the devastating force of the flailing metal will have completely penetrated it and nearly-guarenteed blown the aircraft up. All the shells utilize a proximity-based detection system that utilizes radio waves which makes the shrapnel shells explode if the targets gets close enough.
While indeed the tank utilize the same form of treads and armor plating that the Halberd has, their has been significant time on increasing the amount of electrical charge that a SynthOil battery pack can store so that it allows this vehicle to work in its intended role as mobile anti-air gun. The guidance system while still somewhat simplified to the technology of the Cold War, we have found ways to integrate a dedicated guidance system that configures with the tank's electronics to allow it target aerial targets that are hundred of meters off the ground and allow the tank's normal cannon to blow them up. The Hydra, also needs an only a single SynthOil battery pack as the other four cannons do not utilize electromagnetic-based technology and utilize normal AA Aircraft cannons to fire in a consecutive to reduce the strain in the vehicle gears and electronics, it only need a single SynthOil battery pack for it to power movement and just general parts of the tank. While still a novel idea and ignored in the Halberd tank, just like the APC it still equipped with smoke grenade launchers so that it create smoke clouds for our infantry in any guaranteed.
The guidance system is very simple actually, it's just utilizes radar and just notices the disturbances and messes with electromagnetic waves that aircraft often do in the skies to track and locate the basic "idea" of the target, as radar has the ability to mess and discern the location of object in the sky just making the slightest amount of light, this form of radar can track those objects in the sky. Rather the very normal not electromagnetic cannons all utilize Flak, so they shoot out shells into the sky that flail into a bunch of shrapnel that decimate aircraft through just pure area of effect, how is an airplane going to avoid shrapnel in the sky? Also the cannon really has two weapon subsystems as well, the tank has four cannon on its main head, but two cannons are aligned to the other side of each tank, which it can also utilize its cannon to slightly aim down against infantry and fire a bunch of "AP" shrapnel shells against infantry.
The Hydra Tank is a new incorporation of a mobile anti-aircraft gun that has the mobility and armor of a tank, developed with special guidance systems to allow the four auto-loading cannons to blow anything in the sky to many many pieces. It still has room for an electronic battery motor to power it as well, especially because all of its shells explode into a lot of shrapnel, and are based on proximity-based technology.
Design: "Hydra" Electric-Motor Flak Tank EMFT-61Normal: (2+3) = 5: Average
Despite the insistence of several engineers on how advanced it is, the guidance system in the EMFT-61 Hydra is remarkably simple. But its charm is in its simplicity. Based on technology from late in World War 2, the Hydra utilizes a simple electric computer and integrated radar to locate targets. We've had some success with a very basic
"glass" (which isn't actually glass) on which a crosshair can be overlaid based on radar data. Again - this system is remarkably simple. The gunner then moves the turret via hydraulics until the digital crosshair is roughly overlaid on top of the physical one for the actual guns, then fires.
Accuracy from this approach is good, but not perfect. We believe that it'll do best with slower aerial targets and aircraft flying in predictable patterns. The human gunner and hydraulics simply can't keep up with any especially fast or evasive aircraft, though
some effectiveness in these situations can be relied on.
We recommend that the Hydra tank stay out of infantry & armored combat. In order to maintain visibility, the gunner sits in an mostly-open cage on top of the main chassis, where the commander and river handle the rest of the Hydra's operations. This part of the Hydra maintains the same Light armor as the Halberd Battletank, meaning that while its offensive capabilities can be easily disabled it will still be able to move. Unless it's frozen. Merethans like doing that to our tanks.
Care was taken to facilitate the turret being used in anti-infantry roles. The tank's chassis has been angled in such a way that the turret actually has a minimum angle slightly
below the horizontal line forward, meaning infantry can't just stay vaguely nearby and duck to avoid being hit. The flak shells are configured to also trigger on impact to allow for them to be fairly effective against infantry (though not
as effective as more dedicated anti-infantry weapons). But a single lucky shot at the turret and the Hydra is effectively disabled.
The four-gun autoloading turret uses flak shells that are both time and (aforementioned) impact-triggered, like most other ground anti-aircraft weapons. The flak allows the shells to still damage aircraft even if it doesn't hit the actual vehicle, and complete misses can still cause minor disruptions in flight. Its turret is self-loading from the internal magazine, and is configured so the gunner can hold down the trigger to fire all four guns in repeated sequence for maximum aerial flak coverage; a few Hydras can effectively fill a sky with flak. However, the normally respectable ammo supply can be diminished quickly by this and as such we recommend that gunners are somewhat conservative with their firing; for now, we can't rely on blind firing to down aircraft.
The gunner sits right in the middle of this turret in a vaguely ball-shaped cage. Some plating is in place to prevent some stray bullets from hurting whoever's in the turret but generally anyone dedicated with a gun is able to shoot the gunner. The four barrels occupy four front "corners" of the cage and obvious mechanisms connect them to the rest of the tank where the ammo is stored.
We didn't have enough time to directly improve the battery tech, so the Hydra can travel for 10 hours on a single full battery. We don't expect SynthOil to be a large problem here as it won't be spending as much time in the front lines, its guns don't need SynthOil, and it can be refueled in the field.
It certainly is intimidating. The commander and driver almost have to crouch in the squat interior, and the turret's four barrels reaching outwards provoke respect from observers. Most of the tank is dedicated to ammo supply, the electric engine, and the SynthOil battery, leaving little room for the rest of the crew. The front is very notable angled downwards to allow for maximum firing angles from the turret, and while there is a hatch in front of the turret most entry & exiting is done via an armored door on the side that opens upward in order to prevent a flak shell hitting the open hatch and wrecking havoc on the tank.
It costs
5 Ore and
4 Oil, the same as the Halberd, making it
Very Expensive. The fact that it doesn't use SynthOil for its gun means it's
just on the edge of only costing 3 Oil; its cost of travel requires more oil to keep effective operations, but we predict even a mild increase in efficiency could reduce the cost by one "unit" of Oil.
Transport Capacity: 1
Resources: 3 Ore,
2 Oil,
2 Rare ChemicalsWeapons- "Pursuit" Rifle: An 20-round magazine automatic rifle with mediocre accuracy at Medium range (and useless accuracy further).
[Cheap] 1 Ore - "Machete" Pistol: A 6-round semiautomatic pistol semi-accurate up to Short range. Reliable.
[Cheap] 1 Ore - "Jumper" EMA Grenade Launcher: The Electromagnetically Assisted Grenade Launcher "Jumper" is roughly the shape of a very noticeably thicker bazooka-like assembly. It uses inefficient brick-sized SynthOil batteries that provide enough charge for one shot per battery. Once a battery is inserted, the Jumper has to "charge" for roughly thirty seconds before being able to fire, and can fire 1.5 inch specially-made grenades with "average" radii and okay accuracy, silently. It's fairly bulky. The manufacturing of the coilgun adds severe complexity.
[Expensive] 2 Ore, 1 Oil, Complex - HMKR-59 'Osprey': Hybrid Magnetic Kinetic Rifle; a variant of the Pursuit rifle that houses coilgun components to increase the velocity of bullets after conventional firing. Has a slot in the back for a single SynthOil battery, which has enough charge for 10 powered shots (soldiers carry 2 batteries total). Powered shots are accurate to Medium range (unpowered shots to Short range) and have increased lethality and armor piercing capabilities.
[Cheap] 1 Ore, 1 Oil
Land Vehicles- M3T1A1 Raider: The Raider is a Diesel-Electric tracked APC designed to serve as a base platform for many roles. It has light RHA armor with a sloped front, plus slats. It holds ten passengers and three crew, making it look like a large metal box. It has an interchangeable turret, which is very wide and flat with medium armor. Default armament is a Can shredder, plus 6 external Thumper barrels for smoke grenades and an RPG, these can only be reloaded from the outside. It's also chemical warfare protected, and last but not least, amphibious, with a trim vane and two electric powered propellers. Exits are on large rear hatch and one small top hatch, only latter can be used while afloat.
[Cheap] 3 Ore 2 Oil - Privateer 1 1/2 Ton Truck: Cannala's first truck, it's a cabover on an antiquated 3-cylinder, the transmission only has a forward and reverse setting. It's still better than horses, though.
[Cheap] 2 Ore, 2 Oil, Provides 1 TC - "Halberd"-Electromagnetic Coil Cannon Battletank ECCB-60: A large silent tank armed with a 120mm coilgun and a coaxially-mounted unpowered auto-loading Osprey. Has a respectable speed for its size, and the Coilgun turret is powered but manually aimed. Powered by two SynthOil batteries - one provides enough power for six Coilgun shots, the other provides enough power for four hours of full throttle movement and ten hours of less-fast "travel" movement.
[Very Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil - "Hydra" Electric-Motor Flak Tank EMFT-61: A "tank" where the turret is an unarmored cage on top of the squat chassis where the gunner sits; four self-loading automatic cannons fire automatically consecutively flak shells to shoot down aircraft and infantry. The turret can be angled downwards effectively to shoot at infantry; limited ammo supply means the gunner has to be somewhat conservative with his firing patterns and can't just fill the sky with flak. Electric computer & radar guidance overlays a digital crosshair on a small sheet of "glass" in front of the gunner that is overlaid on top of the physical crosshair to maximize accuracy, allowing for decent accuracy as long as the aircraft isn't too fast or evasive. The commander and driver reside in the cramped interior and exit/enter largely via a door to the side, with the front of the tank being heavily angled downward for firing angle reasons. The turret is an open-air cage making the gunner vulnerable. Can travel for 10 hours on a full SynthOil battery, and the gun doesn't require power to operate.
[Very Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil
Air Vehicles- M1938 A-3 'Parrot': The Parrot is a low-cost air superiority fighter, designed to counter the Yellowjacket. It looks very similar to the Falcon, but without the complicated prop system and reduced to a 10-cyclinder, normally aspirated power plant. It too is fully aluminum, and contains most of the little features like retractable gear, an oxygen system, and a reflex sight. It is actually quite heavily armed with two Muerte heavy machine guns and two Can Perforators, though the perforators don't have a lot of ammo.
[Cheap] 3 Ore, 2 Oil - M1942 A-5B 'Spearhead-B' Air Superiority Fighter: Following Forenia's Thunderbird design, the Spearhead is an aluminum-built fighter with two turbojet engines. It features a rounded canopy, swept wings, pointy nose, and the engines are under each wing, but hug the body closely; the inlets are flush with the fuselage. A heavy Can Shredder sits in the nose. Two Morei turbojets burn kerosene and take some advantage of experiences of the Bull tank's turboshaft, it includes a water-cooling system (the shared radiator creates a third intake under the body). Despite carrying more weight, it's very nearly as fast as the Thunderbird, but it does have trouble recovering from stalls. On the other hand, when it's keeping good speed it can make impressive turns thanks to its hydraulic control system; the pilot can pull the relatively large control surfaces with ease. The Can Shredder can do serious damage to bombers from a safe distance. A hardpoint for 500lb bombs or missiles has been added under each wing.
[Very Expensive] 4 Ore, 4 Oil
Navy- Corsair Destroyer: The Corsair is a moderate sized ship with light (for a ship) steel hull armor. It has a light cannon armament of two hydraulic-equipped Nightwind cannons and four Can Shredders. However, its main armament is its Shark Torpedo launchers (it has a couple on each side) and newly-invented Seahorse mines, which use the same warheads as Shark torpedoes but rest on the sea surface, detonating on cpntact with ships. It is powered by steam turbines and easily outpaces battleships like the Kalmar, Kraken and Kurokami.
[Expensive] 4 Ore, 3 Oil - Santos-Class Naval Aircraft Support Vessel: The Santos is a large aircraft carrier. It is about the size of the Khorne but not armored. It's powered by four oil-burning steam turbines, which are more powerful than coal ones. The hangar deck stores two dozen fighters, moved to the flight deck by a hydraulic lift. On deck is an Eagle Eye Radar system, con tower, a few Firecracker AA guns and a miscellaneous autocannons wherever there's spare room. It also has a decent sized flight deck, with an arrester cable for landing aircraft, and two overlapping runways with room for ready aircraft on deck. It also has a steam catapult, which allows it to launch some planes which could not normally take off from its short runway. [5 Ore, 4 Oil]
[Very Expensive] 5 Ore, 4 Oil
Chemicals & Drugs- Spice: An extremely potent manufactured drug resulting in extreme schizophrenia, delusions of power, frequent seizures, and eventually death. Extremely addictive. Those who undergo the week-long "Goldeneye" treatment in a CryoStat tank become accustomed (and permanently addicted) to low dosages of Spice, enabling very high awareness of surroundings and mildly increased reaction and thinking speeds when under the influence of the drug.
[Very Expensive] 5 Rare Chemicals, Complex. - Combat Drug 'Fury': A Spice-based drug that massively decreases reaction time, and lasts for ~2 hours. Also incites rage, decreasing soldier effectiveness at range and chances of occasional friendly fire. Mild hallucinations are common, preventing users from being effective at recon/espionage/etc. roles. Makes veins much more apparent and red. Addictive, and takes effect >5 minutes after injection.
[Expensive] 3 Rare Chemicals - Metal Recominators: A special mixture that separates pure metal from ore, obsoleting a large part of Aratam's refining industry. A variant can also be used to fuse metal with (likely) any other matter.
Provides 1 Ore.
Other- Standard Uniform: A plain red featureless uniform. The red's mild enough that it doesn't really stick out.
- CryoStat Tank: A large three-meter tall "coffin" with a small glass vertical slit inside showing a tank. Dozens of tubes connect it to the other machinery required for operation, taking up ~36 square meters of space total. Trained technicians monitor and operate it and prepare subjects for submerging. Subjects are put into "stasis" via a numbing solution they're submersed in, and medical drugs are constantly pumped into their body via dozens of injection sites prepared pre-submerging. Once taken out, subjects are put into a machine to recover from the effects of the tank. A day stabilizes minor life-threatening wounds, and a week stabilizes near all wounds. A month starts completely healing scars and generally brings up health status to pristine, and a year can restore lost limbs. Also used for life-extending "rejuvenation" processes by important people.
[Very Expensive] 4 Rare Chemicals, Complex - SynthOil: SMRO-58 "SynthOil" is an advanced form of oil - it's made using a combination of oil and other chemicals, making a much more stable and energy-dense solution. Has a peculiar property - with the right tools, it can directly produce electricity.
Provides 1 Oil
Infrastructure- The Refinery: An extremely secretive facility hidden under the canopy in a remote part of the rainforest, identifiable only by its smoke. Contains large liquid storage tanks and refineries for the production of chemicals, well-equipped laboratories, cells for test subjects, a steady supply of test subjects from Aratam's prisoners, and more. Useful as a base for chemical research.
Provides 1 Rare Chemical - Division of Biological Manipulation: An abandoned set of rooms on top of the Refinery; originally intended for biological manipulation research but was never finished due to a sudden test subject escape.
- Embassy "The Brewery": An embassy for Cannalan diplomats that doubles as a highly advanced brewery of Aratam's signature drink, Arachaca. The Cannalans can see the brewing process below through their glass flooring and taps straight form the brewery are available for Arachaca straight from the source. Uses basic electronic systems for very limited automation in conjunction with its general advanced brewing systems.
Please also vote on what to import at the end of the Revision Phase.
Author
Topic: Mad Arms Race - Aratam Design Bureau (Fall 1965 - Final Design Phase) (Read 60710 times)