Mark II Main Battle Tank

From Beyond the Frontier
Jump to: navigation, search
Mark II Dragon Main Battle Tank
Overview
Designation: Mark II Main Battle Tank
Manufacturer: Dracar Heavy Industries, The Initiative
Preceded By: Mark I Main Battle Tank
Developed From: Mark I Main Battle Tank
Specifications
Weight: 72 tons (US) / 65 Tons (Metric)
Crew: 2 (Driver, Commander)
Armor: 820mm Composite Armor Plating
Armament: 1x 120mm Plasma Cannon
1x 12.7mm Coaxial Plasma Cannon
2x 12.7mm Remote-Controlled Plasma Cannons
Speed: 55Mph / 88.5Kph
For previous models of tank, see Mark I Main Battle Tank.

The Mark II "Dragon" Main Battle Tank is a prototype successor to the Mark I Main Battle Tank, intended to field energy weapons rather than standard projectile weapons.

History

Development of the Mark II Main Battle Tank began in 2494 CE, but was faced with a number of setbacks. As of 2503 CE, the Mark II Main Battle Tank is still officially considered a prototype with only a few hundred models spread throughout The Initiative's armed forces.

Design

The Mark II Main Battle Tank is derived from the Mark I Main Battle Tank. It is a meter and a half longer, and a meter wider than it's predecessor, to facilitate a larger energy cell. Like it's predecessor, Mark II Main Battle Tank is mounted on a hover chassis loosely based on the M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank of the United States Armed Forces, prior to the Fall of Earth.

The Mark II Main Battle Tank carries a single main gun designed to fire bolts of plasma, with a barrel diameter of 120mm, to reduce the amount of machining required to switch over from it's predecessor. It carries a coaxial plasma gun with a 12.7mm bore, and two remote controlled plasma guns, also of 12.7mm, to provide anti-infantry fire. Like it's predecessor, it's armor contains a layer of anti-personnel shaded charges, but in greater density and number.

The interior contains a larger cargo space between the commander's compartment and the driver's, made possible by the decreased in size of the magazines made possible by converting to plasma weaponry. What magazines that are still present are utilized by discs that provide the raw fuel for the plasma weaponry, in addition to containers of coolant required to cool the barrels between shots. A portion of the cargo space is dedicated to materials to fix the barrels in the event of the barrel beginning to deteriorate under the extreme heat.

The Mark II Main Battle Tank is capable of carrying a reinforced fireteam in it's cargo space, but would have no additional room for materials under such conditions.