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[Wizgrot]

Zhao De multipurpose vehicle

An enlarged and modified versión of the Qui-Chu, powered by two gas turbine engines and sporting a extra thick triple layered skirt. The skirt host an increase density of air inside of it, making bullet holes quickly close losing as less air as possible. Also, the middle and external layers contain two substances which solidify in contact with one another, making small leaks of air rapidly be repaired by the mixing of these two products, further reinforcing the bullet resistant properties of the skirt. This skirt, combined with the waterproofed engines and larger silhouette makes the craft amphibious, allowing us to use it in the Sea to counter their torpedo boats.

Its main weapon is a 150 mm artillery piece which is fitted with an autoloader hopefully transferable to all our artillery and Hexapod models. Two Tun NMGs or one Garin Gun complete its armament.

As for armor, the craft is fitted with light armor in the skirt and sides to protect against machine gun fire, and can be left open topped, to allow for a cheaper design and more transport capacity, or fitted with a Light armor turret and front. All the vehicle can be fit an slated “cage” to protect from Gin Na tonic´s attacks.

Zhao De MV:(1) Wizgrot
[h]
Use Research Credit:
Yes(1) Wizgrot
No:(0)

Ambitious, but I believe we can make it work with the research credit.

[Thanik]

It would appear the end-game is upon us. It's time to get what we've been waiting for. It's time for my baby to shine. It's time to see it...

It's time to unleash our rolling thunder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SoXxnlCUqk

Xi-54 Shǎndiàn Dào-Shǔ Hovertank
The Shǎndiàn represents the very pinnacle of Tondeshe hovercraft technology - improving upon the long-serving Xi-51 Qi-Chu monumentally, and giving the People's Army a vehicle capable of traversing most environments, while also allowing unparalleled mobility and unorthodox tactics. Thanks to unlimited foreign funding, research assistance and investment, it can now become a reality...

Firstly, the vehicle is built from the ground up to live up to it's name - quick, deadly and loud from close, but silent from far away - while also presenting itself as what can only be the first practical hovertank in the world. Key to this are several capabilities...
- The engine, which represents the pinnacle of turbine technology - the Xi-54 Xìnlài Shǎndiàn de-series Turbine Engine after which the tank gets it's name. Oil-cooled rolling-element bearings are included, as well as stabilized zirconium dioxide-based ceramics which are used as a thermal protective coating allowing much higher temperatures and RPM during operation, thus allowing the engine itself incredible power... power used to power the tank both in motion and for changes in orientation. The engine is placed to the back of the vehicle, and radiators are present flushed with the armor for added protection, as are the intakes on the front and top of the back of the vehicle.

- The plenum chamber, of which a conventional rubber chamber is discarded in favor of a reduced, inbuilt metal plenum chamber-like cavity edged by a staged plate, just like in the Qi-Chu, and small slanted metal plates with a rubber inner side, acting as vectoring thrusters and retaining most of the advantage a conventional plenum chamber has in reducing the lift requirements, while allowing the craft to be truly skirtless (thus immune to mobility kills such as those achievable on tracked, wheeled or legged designs) and allowing the tank to do something unparalleled on the battlefield - hover a set distance and angle in relation to the ground, enabling it to stabilize on ragged terrain, slope itself on the field to maximize the usage of cover or otherwise it's armor slant, and enabling evasive maneuvers unimagined before it's inception.

Images as a reference:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

- A carousel autoloader with intermeshing racks capable of holding 62 single-piece rounds in total, 50 in the carousel and 12 in the racks. The reload rate is made as fast as possible within design parameters, and speed isn't key should it infringe on other aspects of the design. This would allow the tank to keep firing until the on-board ammo supply is exhausted, and allowing for a turret isolated from the driving cabin. 

- It's armament: The high velocity 105 mm/L60 Xièlòu rarefaction wave gun mounted somewhat to the back and a coaxial dual Tūn NMG in a bicycle mount for the main gunner. Currently, large-caliber guns require a heavy mount to absorb the recoil, but the goal of the Xièlòu is to exponentially reduce the recoil and, hence, the mass of the system that absorbs the recoil - basically eliminating it akin to a recoiless rifle, while practically leaving the full projectile velocity enabling the cannon to be fired on the move without any disturbances to the tank. This is accomplished by venting the breech through an expansion nozzle during the firing cycle.

If the timing is done correctly, the rarefaction wave (the wave cause by the sudden drop in pressure due to the breech vents opening) from the venting will not reach the projectile until muzzle exit, as it cannot catch up with the projectile in time to affect it. Therefore, the projectile does not know that the vent has opened. A piston with one of six spindles on the end acts as a breech, sealing the gun. There is no shear plug, and instead the piston is initially held in place by recuperators, which are mounted symmetrically to the sides of the breech, exerting a small forward force and eliminating any backwards momentum by applying it to the piston - which is used to vent the gun of gasses during fire - additionally improving the reload rate of the autoloader to around 15 RPM, should the mechanical constraints allow it to function that fast. The gun should realistically be capable of attaining a velocity in excess of 1,000 m/s without feeling any recoil, but will realistically be capable of only 10° elevation/depression due to the length of the turret and the need to expel exhaust gases out the back of the gun.
All in all, the vehicle is 3 m wide, 2.8 m tall and around 8 m long (9.3 m when taking into account the barrel), with a heavily armored turret and front, and medium armored sides and back. Should the engine prove to be lacking (or not powerful enough to support a decent velocity or allow for decent angling, turn rates etc), rear and side armor are taken down to light and turret armor is made medium on the sides, back and top, while retaining heavy armor on the front. It's important to note that the underside is to keep medium armor, as it is a small surface and would still receive fire from walker tanks in an attempt to damage it's vectoring capability and partially slow it's turn rate, though this is the least of a tanker's worries if the enemy manages to hit a 10-20 cm piece of angled metal on the tank's underside.

These features all come together, giving the tank the following advantages:

Firepower - A gun that can reach almost anywhere on the modern battlefield, and adapt quickly to changes in loadout due to it's intermeshed racks.

Mobility - I can literally go over anything and go anywhere without loss of speed, it also turns very quickly (but of course suffers from inertia if you are travelling at high speed and trying to turn steeply - anyone who knows how a hovercraft moves should understand this). Furthermore, the hovertank can do side to side movement (strafing), raise or lower their profile via directing more or less power to lift and suddenly change direction by directing the exhaust at an angle, making it much harder for enemy tanks to take aim at the Shǎndiàn.

Staying Ability - Where unlike the Qi-Chu, the Shǎndiàn can actually hover above a slope within reason (50° or so in the extreme), allowing it to raise it's turret above rough terrain and exploit a hull-down position in much more situations, which is a singnificant advantage in and of itself.



Low Profile - Compared to walkers, the Shǎndiàn's 2.8 m vertical profile (with included ride height of 0.5 m) is competitive, or even much lower, making it a fair contender on the battlefield. This is a significant improvement over the Qi-Chu, whose rubber skirt raises the vehicle up significantly.

Powerful Armament - A gun that can take out any tank fielded currently out to a significant range, and do so precisely due to practically no knock-back when aiming and no need for horizontal stabilization due to the hovercraft's very nature.

etc.

Designs:
Zhao De MV:(1) Wizgrot
Xi-54 Shǎndiàn Dào-Shǔ Hovertank (1): Thanik
Use The Research Credit:
Yes(2) Wizgrot, Thanik
No:(0)

[Jilladilla]

Let's do this.... Wait, eS are we doing both designs simultaneously or sequentially?

Designs:
Zhao De MV:(1) Wizgrot
Xi-54 Shǎndiàn Dào-Shǔ Hovertank (2): Thanik, Jilladilla
Use The Research Credit:
Yes(3) Wizgrot, Thanik, Jilladilla
No:(0)

[Taricus]

Designs:
Zhao De MV:(1) Wizgrot
Xi-54 Shǎndiàn Dào-Shǔ Hovertank (3): Thanik, Jilladilla, Taricus
Use The Research Credit:
Yes: (4) Wizgrot, Thanik, Jilladilla, Taricus
No: (0)

[evictedSaint]

-snip-

Impossible Difficulty: (2d6 = 3,5) 5

The Xi-54 Shǎndiàn Dào-Shǔ Hovertank does not meet every design requirement, but manages to succeed in a number of places.

Our new Hovertank - and there's no doubt that yes, it is a hovertank - features a 105 mm autoloading cannon, which our engineers are quick to point out is 3.4 mm larger than Nogrania's Duke cannon.  The new autoloader is a bit slower than a skilled human loader, but manages to perform consistently and without issue, even allowing us to decrease the size of the turret and close-off the ammo supply from the main cabin.  The front turret and hull are Heavy armor, with Medium on the sides and rear.  Our existing Xi-53b Xìnlài de-series Turbine Engines were deemed sufficient for our purposes, which we were able to incorporate into the design without issue.  The turbine engine burns quite hot, but the horsepower it gives out can't be argued with.

The rigid Medium plenum chamber walls give the craft more defense against mobility kills, allowing it to survive against NMG fire and even some large-caliber shells.  Attempts to make thrust-vectoring that could allow the craft to truly hover - at angles of upwards of 50 degrees, no less - were met with failure.  In order to emulate the same effect, the top of the turret can lift up to allow the cannon breech to elevate high enough to allow an unheard of level of gun depression.  This open gap is vulnerable from the sides and behind, but only in a small sliver and only when depressed at a great angle.  We were able to use thrust vectoring to allow the craft to move without the large and unwieldy fans, but the act of lifting the entire craft is a bit beyond what's capable.

The nature of the hovercraft gives the Xi-54 Shǎndiàn Dào-Shǔ one of the highest land-speeds available to us on the battlefield.  The powerful levels of thrust allow the craft to move up hills without issue, and even survive in rougher terrain than what the Qi-Chu was able.  The ability to strafe is invaluable, as well as the low profile of the hovertank.  The only real vulnerabilities are the sizable air intakes from the engine and skirt intake, but those are only visible from higher elevations.  8 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Cobalt.

[Light forger]

Before I go to sleep I figured I would finally post this.

Type-54 'Hēilóng' Attack Helicopter
The Hēilóng stands as the pinnacle of our helicopter design a robust, fast and effective helicopter designed to beat anything the enemy can field. It's powered by twin Xi-53b Xìnlài de-series Turbine Engine which as we learned from the Shǎndiàn have more then enough power to offer the craft incredible speed. A bold step forward in rotor design the helicopter makes use of a tri-blade coaxial design. This improves the crafts top speed from the lessening of the dissymmetry of lift effect and removes the need for a vulnerable tail rotor. Designed to be extremely tough the Hēilóng features light armor all around and has it's armor reinforced to medium around the cockpit and engines.
The craft offers a highly flexible weapons load out with a pair of wings mount at about the mid-point of the fuselage each on bearing 2 mounting points. Each one of these four mounting points can hold either a 45mm grenade launcher, a 2x2 rocket pod, a 100kg bomb or a fuel drop pod. In addition the wings improves the crafts speed by generation lift and therefor letting the blades provide more forward thrust(however in accordance with the Geneva convention they will never provide a majority of the lift). For air to air use it comes with a nose mounted turret equipped with twin tun's. The turret has light armor and a electric mount allowing for accurate and rapid fire on priority targets. In combat the pilot in the fuselage is in charge of the wing mounted weapons letting the gunner focus on completely on engage other helicopters or removing ground threats.

Our engines seem to be more then powerful enough so a complete focus on the craft itself makes sense.

[Rockeater]

I would still prefer with only neglectable amount of lift

[RAM]

I would rather shut down their winged helicopter program than start our own. As far as I can tell, they are using their wings for stability, and that only works if they are wings, and those wings are fixed, which means it is a craft with fixed wings, or a fixed wing craft, in addition to whatever else it might be. Stabilising fins are fine, lift-generating fins are not. Such fins on a helicpter would only stabilise it if they were adjustable or if it somehow didn't tilt its chassis when it moved. Otherwise it would either "stabilise it" into a stall while at low tilt or a nose-dive while at high-tilt. Unfortunately we are somehow unable to get a look at those wings to tell if they are wing-shaped.

[evictedSaint]

Type-54 'Hēilóng' Attack Helicopter
The Hēilóng stands as the pinnacle of our helicopter design a robust, fast and effective helicopter designed to beat anything the enemy can field. It's powered by twin Xi-53b Xìnlài de-series Turbine Engine which as we learned from the Shǎndiàn have more then enough power to offer the craft incredible speed. A bold step forward in rotor design the helicopter makes use of a tri-blade coaxial design. This improves the crafts top speed from the lessening of the dissymmetry of lift effect and removes the need for a vulnerable tail rotor. Designed to be extremely tough the Hēilóng features light armor all around and has it's armor reinforced to medium around the cockpit and engines.
The craft offers a highly flexible weapons load out with a pair of wings mount at about the mid-point of the fuselage each on bearing 2 mounting points. Each one of these four mounting points can hold either a 45mm grenade launcher, a 2x2 rocket pod, a 100kg bomb or a fuel drop pod. In addition the wings improves the crafts speed by generation lift and therefor letting the blades provide more forward thrust(however in accordance with the Geneva convention they will never provide a majority of the lift). For air to air use it comes with a nose mounted turret equipped with twin tun's. The turret has light armor and a electric mount allowing for accurate and rapid fire on priority targets. In combat the pilot in the fuselage is in charge of the wing mounted weapons letting the gunner focus on completely on engage other helicopters or removing ground threats.

Hard Difficulty: 5

The Type-54 'Hēilóng' Attack Helicopter is an innovative new helicopter that makes use of a coaxial tri-blade design that eliminates the need for a tail rotor.  It relies on a pair of our Xi-53b Xìnlài de-series Turbine Engines, making it a remarkably fast aircraft.  This speed is only more pronounced by the use of a set of stubby wings designed to generate a small portion of lift, to allow the rotors to angle more thoroughly forward without a loss in altitude.  The coaxial blades also counteract the roll experienced with high forward speeds due to leading edge lift, making the helicopter more stable at such speeds than previous designs.

The Hēilóng is lightly armored all around, except for the cockpit and engines which make use of Medium armor.  The loadout is a bit heavier than our past helicopter designs, allowing for four hardpoints to which a 100 kg bomb, drop pod, 45 RGL, or 2x2 rocketpod can be mounted.  The nose features a pair of twin-mounted Tun NMG's, which is electrically operated by the gunner.  Fire control can be swapped between the pilot and gunner, depending on the circumstance.  5 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Cobalt, 1 Aluminum.

[Thanik]

Type-54 'Hēilóng' Attack Helicopter
The Hēilóng stands as the pinnacle of our helicopter design a robust, fast and effective helicopter designed to beat anything the enemy can field. It's powered by twin Xi-53b Xìnlài de-series Turbine Engine which as we learned from the Shǎndiàn have more then enough power to offer the craft incredible speed. A bold step forward in rotor design the helicopter makes use of a tri-blade coaxial design. This improves the crafts top speed from the lessening of the dissymmetry of lift effect and removes the need for a vulnerable tail rotor. Designed to be extremely tough the Hēilóng features light armor all around and has it's armor reinforced to medium around the cockpit and engines.
The craft offers a highly flexible weapons load out with a pair of wings mount at about the mid-point of the fuselage each on bearing 2 mounting points. Each one of these four mounting points can hold either a 45mm grenade launcher, a 2x2 rocket pod, a 100kg bomb or a fuel drop pod. In addition the wings improves the crafts speed by generation lift and therefor letting the blades provide more forward thrust(however in accordance with the Geneva convention they will never provide a majority of the lift). For air to air use it comes with a nose mounted turret equipped with twin tun's. The turret has light armor and a electric mount allowing for accurate and rapid fire on priority targets. In combat the pilot in the fuselage is in charge of the wing mounted weapons letting the gunner focus on completely on engage other helicopters or removing ground threats.

Hard Difficulty: 5

The Type-54 'Hēilóng' Attack Helicopter is an innovative new helicopter that makes use of a coaxial tri-blade design that eliminates the need for a tail rotor.  It relies on a pair of our Xi-53b Xìnlài de-series Turbine Engines, making it a remarkably fast aircraft.  This speed is only more pronounced by the use of a set of stubby wings designed to generate a small portion of lift, to allow the rotors to angle more thoroughly forward without a loss in altitude.  The coaxial blades also counteract the roll experienced with high forward speeds due to leading edge lift, making the helicopter more stable at such speeds than previous designs.

The Hēilóng is lightly armored all around, except for the cockpit and engines which make use of Medium armor.  The loadout is a bit heavier than our past helicopter designs, allowing for four hardpoints to which a 100 kg bomb, drop pod, 45 RGL, or 2x2 rocketpod can be mounted.  The nose features a pair of twin-mounted Tun NMG's, which is electrically operated by the gunner.  Fire control can be swapped between the pilot and gunner, depending on the circumstance.  5 Ore, 3 Oil, 1 Cobalt, 1 Aluminum.

Wooo. A proper, good assault helicopter. Now for a rocket diversification program.

[NAV]

The electrically operated Tun NMG is still fired by the operator turning a crank, right?

[evictedSaint]

Yes

[Light forger]

I'm going to suggest we vote for both revisions at the same time so this doesn't take several weeks.

Festival Shell Upgrade
Firework festivals are a traditional part of Toskeshian victory parades our design processing a rather optimistic view of the war used this as inspiration. The upgrade is mainly focused on making new HEAT-DP which is just a HEAT round with a fragmentation jacket encase you need to use it for anti-infantry work. If time permits thermobaric rounds are to be designed as well. All of our explosive rounds can accept the new warheads.

Yuǎn shè Rocket upgrade
Decrying the woeful state of our rockets our designers also decide to upgrade them as well. The main focus of the upgrade is replacing the questionably powerful cordite propellant with new double based version. Not only does with greatly improve the range but, also the accurate when used at it's old effective range(due to both the rocket spinning faster and also taking less time to reach the target). If time permits the fins are to be improved as well.

I don't see the glaring need for a mid-sized rocket with our rgls on the field. I mean it would be nice but, we have more pressing matters.

Festival Shell Upgrade (1): Lightforger
Yuǎn shè Rocket upgrade (1): Lightforger

[Doomblade187]

I don't think we should have a fragmentation jacket. Geneva and all.

[NAV]

They use frag grenades. Its okay,