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Description
With their next-generation main battle tank, the Shogunate finally arrived in the modern times. While always thinking outside the box, arming their former tanks with missiles and guns for example, the new Katana -class takes modularity and flexibility very serious.

At first, the Shogunate looked for a highly mobile vehicle on a wheeled chassis with amphibious capabilities, but that project was cancelled and a fire-support version of the Sakura armored personnel carrier was chosen instead.
Rather, with the Commonwealth's Crusader tank, the imperial Wolf and the khanate's Sabutai, the combined command of the Army decided to create a new main battle tank to counter these potential threats. Indeed, with the khanate now exporting many of their designs, the shogunate now adopts a more conventional combat doctrine, a shift from the rapid-respone army they had before.

The Katana is not so much a main battle tank, rather it is a modular armored platform with a common chassis, a front-mounted engine and an interchangable module that can be clipped into the rear of the vehicle. Tank, artillery, tank destroyer and infantry fighting vehicle have been produced so far and an air-defense version as well as a recovery vehicle are supposed to enter service shortly.

Every possible measure to reduce the vehicle's signature was undertaken and Katana is probably the stealthiest vehicle in it's class. It is very quiet with it's air-independent power plant, shows almost no radar echo and has a minimal heat signature.
Katanas are very fast, almost ninety kilometers per hour on roads and can traverse even difficult terrain.
Armor protection is also modular and damaged plates can be exchanged quite quickly. This system also enables the Katana to reduce armor protection for easier transport or add layers of non-explosive reactive armor or energy.abosorbing ablative plates.

The tank variant mounts a remote, lightly-armored turret with a 140mm stealth-coated smoothbore cannon with a coaxial 6.8mm machinegun. Atop the turret, two cupolas are mounted, each holding either a 25mm automatic shotgun, a 12.7mm heavy machinegun or a 40mm automatic-grenade launcher or a short-barrel 20mm gatling gun.

The Shotgun is not only a close-combat infantry killer, it is also a means to engage drones or anti-tank missiles if need be, thanks to the onboard radar and sonic sensors on the turret. Of course, active protection systems are mounted. The gatling is also capable of engaging missiles, as well as combat helicopters, though the main gun can fire end-phase guided projetiles which are much better helicopter killers.
Thanks to the extreme amount of automatic systems and autonomous weapons and sensors, the Katana is crewed by two persons, sitting in an armored capsule within the hull. There is no designation for the crewmembers, but usually one is commander and one the driver. But their stations are interchangable, to the both can switch their work on a moment's notice.

Another module is the artillery system, mounting a 155mm automatic howitzer, linked either to an autonomous fire-control computer or a battery-guidance vehicle, which syncronizes the entire battery. Loading, trajectory calculation and firing are fully-automated processes, the crew just designates a target and the computer will identify it, select the appropriate ammo, programs the adjustible charges and fires until ordered otherwise. This system also makes it possible for the gun to act as long-range missile defense system and engage targets in direct fire mode, depending on the ammunition loaded. This variant is called the Yari.
The Tachi exchanges the tank's turret to a larger, missile-armed variant that can fire directly in indirectly. Missiles are either LOSAT (line of sight anti tank) kinetic kill hypersonic versions or programmable HEAT-DP for indirect or top-attack strikes against armored and semi-armored targets. Four launchers and magazines with eight missiles each allow for staying power and flexible loadout. A missile to attack drones, low-flying aircraft and helicopters is under development.

The Wakizashi is the infantry carrier version, which uses yet another module that is slightly higher to accomodate seven fully-equipped infantrymen, complete with a rear-drop ramp, supplies for the soldier's weapons, basic medical supplies and a small drone to use by the infantry.
A smaller remote turret is armed with the typical 35mm autocannon and the 6.8mm machinegun, as well as a twin anti-tank missile launcher and the two weapons cupolas.

Not yet in service are the air-defense version, which will mount a larger laser for area defense, interacting with external sensors to create a bubble against any threat, from aircraft to artillery shells. Point-defense laser and air-defense missiles will also be added.
A recovery version is worked on, but since the Katana is not a heavy tank, the current recovery vehicles are capable of towing the new vehicle.

Description
With their next-generation main battle tank, the Shogunate finally arrived in the modern times. While always thinking outside the box, arming their former tanks with missiles and guns for example, the new Katana -class takes modularity and flexibility very serious.

At first, the Shogunate looked for a highly mobile vehicle on a wheeled chassis with amphibious capabilities, but that project was cancelled and a fire-support version of the Sakura armored personnel carrier was chosen instead.
Rather, with the Commonwealth's Crusader tank, the imperial Wolf and the khanate's Sabutai, the combined command of the Army decided to create a new main battle tank to counter these potential threats. Indeed, with the khanate now exporting many of their designs, the shogunate now adopts a more conventional combat doctrine, a shift from the rapid-respone army they had before.

The Katana is not so much a main battle tank, rather it is a modular armored platform with a common chassis, a front-mounted engine and an interchangable module that can be clipped into the rear of the vehicle. Tank, artillery, tank destroyer and infantry fighting vehicle have been produced so far and an air-defense version as well as a recovery vehicle are supposed to enter service shortly.

Every possible measure to reduce the vehicle's signature was undertaken and Katana is probably the stealthiest vehicle in it's class. It is very quiet with it's air-independent power plant, shows almost no radar echo and has a minimal heat signature.
Katanas are very fast, almost ninety kilometers per hour on roads and can traverse even difficult terrain.
Armor protection is also modular and damaged plates can be exchanged quite quickly. This system also enables the Katana to reduce armor protection for easier transport or add layers of non-explosive reactive armor or energy.abosorbing ablative plates.

The tank variant mounts a remote, lightly-armored turret with a 140mm stealth-coated smoothbore cannon with a coaxial 6.8mm machinegun. Atop the turret, two cupolas are mounted, each holding either a 25mm automatic shotgun, a 12.7mm heavy machinegun or a 40mm automatic-grenade launcher or a short-barrel 20mm gatling gun.

The Shotgun is not only a close-combat infantry killer, it is also a means to engage drones or anti-tank missiles if need be, thanks to the onboard radar and sonic sensors on the turret. Of course, active protection systems are mounted. The gatling is also capable of engaging missiles, as well as combat helicopters, though the main gun can fire end-phase guided projetiles which are much better helicopter killers.
Thanks to the extreme amount of automatic systems and autonomous weapons and sensors, the Katana is crewed by two persons, sitting in an armored capsule within the hull. There is no designation for the crewmembers, but usually one is commander and one the driver. But their stations are interchangable, to the both can switch their work on a moment's notice.

Another module is the artillery system, mounting a 155mm automatic howitzer, linked either to an autonomous fire-control computer or a battery-guidance vehicle, which syncronizes the entire battery. Loading, trajectory calculation and firing are fully-automated processes, the crew just designates a target and the computer will identify it, select the appropriate ammo, programs the adjustible charges and fires until ordered otherwise. This system also makes it possible for the gun to act as long-range missile defense system and engage targets in direct fire mode, depending on the ammunition loaded. This variant is called the Yari.
The Tachi exchanges the tank's turret to a larger, missile-armed variant that can fire directly in indirectly. Missiles are either LOSAT (line of sight anti tank) kinetic kill hypersonic versions or programmable HEAT-DP for indirect or top-attack strikes against armored and semi-armored targets. Four launchers and magazines with eight missiles each allow for staying power and flexible loadout. A missile to attack drones, low-flying aircraft and helicopters is under development.

The Wakizashi is the infantry carrier version, which uses yet another module that is slightly higher to accomodate seven fully-equipped infantrymen, complete with a rear-drop ramp, supplies for the soldier's weapons, basic medical supplies and a small drone to use by the infantry.
A smaller remote turret is armed with the typical 35mm autocannon and the 6.8mm machinegun, as well as a twin anti-tank missile launcher and the two weapons cupolas.

Not yet in service are the air-defense version, which will mount a larger laser for area defense, interacting with external sensors to create a bubble against any threat, from aircraft to artillery shells. Point-defense laser and air-defense missiles will also be added.
A recovery version is worked on, but since the Katana is not a heavy tank, the current recovery vehicles are capable of towing the new vehicle.