Libertadores II MBT
by The Grand Commonwealth of Irechium
Produced: N/A
Date: N/A
Batch: A1
Crew: 3
Combat Weight: 59.8 T
Hull Weight: 33.1T
Turret Weight: 23.7T
Gunner Sight: EDC-10/C
Commander Panoramic Sights & Camera: EDC-20 & DCM-0
Engine: CASM Hyperbar Turbofan
Engine Displacement: N/A
Forced Induction Ratio: 6.8
Power Output: 1610 hp at 2500 RPM
Maximum Torque: 4900 Nm at 1700 RPM
Acceleration from 0-32 km/h (0-20 mph): 4.7 Seconds
Transmission: ATMM SPL 200
Suspension System: High-Hardness-Alloy-Torsion Bars With Rotary Shock Absorbers
Tracks: TA 21 (Rubber-Aluminum)
Max Speed: 84 km/h (Backwards 41 km/h)
Fuel Capacity: N/A
Length: 9.8 m
Width: 3.65 m
Height: 3.01 m
Ground Clearance: 0.6 m
Wading Depth Without Snorkel: 1.4 m
Wading Depth With Snorkel: 4.2 m
Trench Pass-Ability: 3.2 m
Climbing Ability: 1.15 m
Empty Weight: 57.7 T
Rotation Time (360*): 9.3 Secs
Turret Rotation Time: 8 Secs (~12 Secs if in manual)
Armament: 1x SovMetal 127mm TK Smoothbore Polygonal Short Barrel Gun x 1x 50.cal machine gun x coax 7.62mm
Libertadores II MBT
The Libertadores is a next generation MBT developed specifically for newly emerging threats on the battlefield. It has breakthrough Honey-Comb armour and many features, aspects and technical designs that help make it the MBT for tomorrow.
The Libertadores II Main Battle Tank was first concepted during the 2000's when a test revealed that there were certain aspects lacking in many tanks, namely the Libertadores I. From here, the Libertadores I got a following 3 upgrades, leading us up to the Libertadores I A3 that was added to the Irechians's inventory in 2016.
The story of the Libertadores series itself goes back to 1976 when Irechium expressed a need for a new main battle tank as the existing Keytimi-63 was simply just a bit to outdated. From here, 10 years later we get the first Libertadores I that enters Irechian service. The K-63 also got a big upgrade as the K-63B.
To date many refer to this MBT as an upgraded K-63. While this is true the MBT itself has several techniques that make it far different from many MBTs. This not only increased cost but to a degree even production.
Going back to the Libertadores II, in 2012 Irechium introduced the 'Nex-Gen MBT' project during the () administration. This project aimed to create a main battle tank that was capable to just about anything... and that's exactly what the Libertadores is strong at. The project created thousands of jobs and was under the supervision of SovMetal, Irechium's military industry lead. The total cost for the project came in at around 3 billion Zects.
After some years SovMetal got several designs. SovMetal allows companies to work together for military components rather than try beat one another. This reduces research and production cost since it's everyone on board. They were 7 designs selected and the 7th one, known as F-Libertadores II.7 (The F stands for [])
However, for such a high cost, especially in regard it's only a main battle tank, the Irechians got perhaps one of the best main battle tanks ever. It's name was the Libertadores II.
The Libertadores II, finished this year will enter production in June of 2024. Irechium has already ordered several of the prototypes.
The Libertadores II Main Battle Tank is a next generation main battle tank with some of the most modern features known to man. The total cost of one of these tanks is around 19 million Zects. Comparing this to other MBTs like the Leclerc or Type-10 and this is miles ahead in terms of cost. That is roughly some ~20.5 million USD in todays currency conversions.
This tank features a 127 millimeter smoothbore cannon known as the TK-27. It also has the supposed and top secret breakthrough armour created by Irechium known as "Honey-Comb" armour. The armour is notoriously top secret but it is claimed to have several composite and ceramic layers, shaped in an inter-locking hexagonal style. The front part of the Libertadores II is stated to resist up to 1700mm of penetration, give or take a number. The tank is also able to be fitted with additional ERA armour package blocks.
The Libertadores II has 3 crewmen, featuring a gunner, driver and commander. Unlike most NATO tanks the Libertadores II has an autoloader. Now, they are many benefits and downsides to having an autoloader, one of which is manpower when repairing the tank. 3 people is much harder to work with than 4. However, Irechium's tank platoons have dealt with this by adding other vehicles to the mix that can help with tank repairs, such as scout cars.
The autoloader is known to be very well made being able to reload in under 4 seconds.
The engine is one of a kind - a turbofan. The turbofan can generate nearly 1700 break horsepower while keeping the tank nearly silent. The turbofan also has better heat credentials than a regular engine while having less weight. The only (notable) downside to this is that engines like these tend to consume a lot of fuel. Examples of tanks that use these kinds of engines are tanks like the Abrams.
[more coming soon].
