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Description

Overview

The AMT-40 was under development and early trials just as the Hulegu made their first attempted planetary raid in the Galatia solar system within Commonwealth space. At the time of the raid armored vehicles or what passed for such were sparse often leaving miners to armor existing vehicles creatively to produce what some called “Savannah Lords”*. These ad-hoc vehicles were better at making noise and breaking down at the worst possible times than fighting off raiders and after a particularly bloody defense of Outpost 49-49 it became apparent to the colonial government that they needed real armored vehicles. The interim solution was to up-armor the AMT-10 a ship-based armored vehicle designed to move heavy anti-boarding weapons through primary corridors and act as a mobile hard point. But this solution proved little better than the Jerry-rigged “Savannah Lords”*. It became undeniably obvious that planetary garrisons needed real vehicles just as badly as the Colonial Marine Forces did. In late 2067, AMT trialed the first working prototypes for what would become the AMT-40 Main Battle Tank.

Capabilities

The AMT-40 is literally precisely what the planetary and naval forces asked for, and is also the first of three models with the ATM-50 and the AMT-60 following suit. The AMT-40 was clearly intended as much to be a work of art as it was a war machine. Sleek lines and rounded hull contours reduce drag but also are carefully arrayed as to deflect shots. Eight tons of armor protects the vehicle giving it more protection than any other 40 ton tank in history. The standard armor type for this tank is a mix of plain armor plate, spaced armor and specialty reactive armor tiles which ensures a good amount of protection for the crew. The noted top speed for this tank on roads under ideal conditions with special provisions for the suspension is said to be roughly 83 miles per hour, however it is likely only the AMT-40 (C) is actually capable of such speed.

On the matter of suspension the AMT-40 features a modular suspension system that allows the tank to be fitted with either tracks, wheels or a hover system. Each model is designated by a letter indicating the method of locomotion. An AMT-40 (A) is a tracked model, the AMT-40 (B) is the wheeled model while the AMT-40 (C) is a hover model. Fortunately the differences between the models other than top speed are negligible which means crews trained in any model can drive the others. It should be noted that the (C) model bears an engineering kit which generally is intended for handling mines, IED’s and other normal travel hazards in a warzone.

In terms of armament, the AMT-40 is armed with DRAIL V-8 as a primary weapon and bears three DRAIL M-12 multipurpose guns as support. Two of the M-12’s are mounted in ball mounts while the third is stowed atop the turret using a pivot mount. The ball-mount guns are positioned with one aimed forward and one aimed to the rear. The primary cannon, is as expected a deadly weapon that has multiple fire modes and is tied into the vehicles sensor suite. The inclusion of an auto loading system as well as a tandem target confirmation system reduces turret crew to two and saves a lot of internal space for an otherwise difficult turret basket arrangement were the gun a conventional ballistic weapon. For reference DRAIL is an acronym for Di-electric Rail Assisted Induction Rifle. The system itself is generally trouble free and because it does not use traditional propellant filled shells there is no need for fume extractors, or hatches in the turret to discard spent shells through. Likewise the munitions take up 40% less space inside the tank allowing for significantly greater munitions stowage. The ammunition is non-reactive and actually acts as passive armor for the tank in the advent of a hull breach. Fire modes for the primary gun include single, short-burst fire (3 shots), medium burst fire (5 shots), long-burst (10 shots), Mobile auto-target and sniper.

As a final note to the design’s capabilities it is also known that this vehicle always features an environmental-protective suite that protects the crew from radiological, chemical, biological as well as the common hazards of operating in a vacuum. Obviously operating in a vacuum would reduce the AMT-40’s operational range and likewise being exposed to cosmic rays and such would have the same effect but the vehicle’s designers realized early on that the Commonwealth might not always have control of where the battle might be.

Deployment (as of 2075)

The AMT-40 is in use just about anywhere there is a planetary garrison. All branches of the military utilize this tank and as a result individual garrisons have localized modifications of the design further increasing the number of variants existing.

** The savannah Lord can be seen here: gratefulreflex.deviantart.com/…

Description

Overview

The AMT-40 was under development and early trials just as the Hulegu made their first attempted planetary raid in the Galatia solar system within Commonwealth space. At the time of the raid armored vehicles or what passed for such were sparse often leaving miners to armor existing vehicles creatively to produce what some called “Savannah Lords”*. These ad-hoc vehicles were better at making noise and breaking down at the worst possible times than fighting off raiders and after a particularly bloody defense of Outpost 49-49 it became apparent to the colonial government that they needed real armored vehicles. The interim solution was to up-armor the AMT-10 a ship-based armored vehicle designed to move heavy anti-boarding weapons through primary corridors and act as a mobile hard point. But this solution proved little better than the Jerry-rigged “Savannah Lords”*. It became undeniably obvious that planetary garrisons needed real vehicles just as badly as the Colonial Marine Forces did. In late 2067, AMT trialed the first working prototypes for what would become the AMT-40 Main Battle Tank.

Capabilities

The AMT-40 is literally precisely what the planetary and naval forces asked for, and is also the first of three models with the ATM-50 and the AMT-60 following suit. The AMT-40 was clearly intended as much to be a work of art as it was a war machine. Sleek lines and rounded hull contours reduce drag but also are carefully arrayed as to deflect shots. Eight tons of armor protects the vehicle giving it more protection than any other 40 ton tank in history. The standard armor type for this tank is a mix of plain armor plate, spaced armor and specialty reactive armor tiles which ensures a good amount of protection for the crew. The noted top speed for this tank on roads under ideal conditions with special provisions for the suspension is said to be roughly 83 miles per hour, however it is likely only the AMT-40 (C) is actually capable of such speed.

On the matter of suspension the AMT-40 features a modular suspension system that allows the tank to be fitted with either tracks, wheels or a hover system. Each model is designated by a letter indicating the method of locomotion. An AMT-40 (A) is a tracked model, the AMT-40 (B) is the wheeled model while the AMT-40 (C) is a hover model. Fortunately the differences between the models other than top speed are negligible which means crews trained in any model can drive the others. It should be noted that the (C) model bears an engineering kit which generally is intended for handling mines, IED’s and other normal travel hazards in a warzone.

In terms of armament, the AMT-40 is armed with DRAIL V-8 as a primary weapon and bears three DRAIL M-12 multipurpose guns as support. Two of the M-12’s are mounted in ball mounts while the third is stowed atop the turret using a pivot mount. The ball-mount guns are positioned with one aimed forward and one aimed to the rear. The primary cannon, is as expected a deadly weapon that has multiple fire modes and is tied into the vehicles sensor suite. The inclusion of an auto loading system as well as a tandem target confirmation system reduces turret crew to two and saves a lot of internal space for an otherwise difficult turret basket arrangement were the gun a conventional ballistic weapon. For reference DRAIL is an acronym for Di-electric Rail Assisted Induction Rifle. The system itself is generally trouble free and because it does not use traditional propellant filled shells there is no need for fume extractors, or hatches in the turret to discard spent shells through. Likewise the munitions take up 40% less space inside the tank allowing for significantly greater munitions stowage. The ammunition is non-reactive and actually acts as passive armor for the tank in the advent of a hull breach. Fire modes for the primary gun include single, short-burst fire (3 shots), medium burst fire (5 shots), long-burst (10 shots), Mobile auto-target and sniper.

As a final note to the design’s capabilities it is also known that this vehicle always features an environmental-protective suite that protects the crew from radiological, chemical, biological as well as the common hazards of operating in a vacuum. Obviously operating in a vacuum would reduce the AMT-40’s operational range and likewise being exposed to cosmic rays and such would have the same effect but the vehicle’s designers realized early on that the Commonwealth might not always have control of where the battle might be.

Deployment (as of 2075)

The AMT-40 is in use just about anywhere there is a planetary garrison. All branches of the military utilize this tank and as a result individual garrisons have localized modifications of the design further increasing the number of variants existing.

** The savannah Lord can be seen here: gratefulreflex.deviantart.com/…