Difference between revisions of "Z-34 Bonham Main Battle Tank"

Revision as of 11:39, 28 November 2005

Background

The Z-34 Bonham has been designed to serve as the most advanced domestically produced main battle tank in existence today and has been conceived as a direct competitor with the ST-37 Mekhev main battle tank. While the ST-37 Mekhev has served the Incorporated Sarzonian Army well, Sarzonian army officials realised the logistical problems that came with employing three main battle tanks and chose the Incorporated Ordnance Company to create a successor design that would employ many of the best features of all three designs. Taking additional lessons from the Imperial Praetonian Ordnance’s Hoplite II Phalanx MBT and the Bonham’s predecessor (the Z-33 Jaguar), the Bonham provides the best of all possible worlds to the Incorporated Sarzonian Military. This design instantly assumes its place among the world’s best main battle tanks and one that will shepherd the Incorporated Sarzonian Army into a new era of success on the battlefield.

Armament

With several possible armament choices, from ETC guns to conventional weapons, engineers at Incorporated Ordnance Company debated the various strengths and drawbacks of each available weapon before ultimately deciding upon the 120 mm ETC gun. The decision to use the same size round employed by both the ST-37 and the IPO 145 is a deliberate effort to ease logistics for armoured battalions that operated both tanks. The Bonham employs the Mekhev’s Dynamic Gas Assist to increase range and speed over traditional ETC rounds and also reduce recoil and absorb the energy required to fire the weapon. In addition, Successive Fire Projectile Assist, used to provide an increased rate of fire for short bursts, has been adopted from the Mekhev. The weapon uses the lengthier 58 calibre employed by the Sarzonian-built Z-33 Jaguar MBT to provide additional range.

However, the secondary armament of the Bonham is what sets it apart from other MBTs. A IPO-built 60 mm autocannon has been installed in the cupola turret and is used in lieu of traditional ATGMs with an idea toward making it more difficult for enemy tanks to use “tank CIWS” to counter a ATGM. While the autocannon’s size causes it to have a slower rate of fire than the 30 mm autocannons often used against thinly-armoured or unarmoured units and infantry, it makes up for that lack of speed with greater killing power and better utility against armoured targets. The Bonham also operates a 70 mm mortar which is effective against fortified positions and armoured units and it retains the Jaguar’s successful FN BRG-15 machine gun. The DREAD centrifuge weapon has been retained for CIWS purposes and is considered a last-ditch weapon against missile fire.

The biggest innovation in Sarzonian armoured weaponry developed for the Bonham MBT, however, lies in the brand new Hyperius Kinetic Energy (KE) anti-armour missile. Positioned behind the turret in a twin box launcher, the Hyperius travels at speeds in excess of Mach 7 and has devastating penetration capabilities, highly advanced guidance, and can inflict tremendous damage to just about any tank currently in service. The Hyperius has the capability to penetrate 3,000 mm of RHA thanks partly to the specially designed box launcher that serves as a slingshot to allow the missile to remain a manageable size for operation on the Bonham.

Protection

The well conceived, highly versatile protection schemes employed by Imperial Praetonian Ordnance for the IPO 145 Hoplite II Phalanx made a favourable impression upon designers of the Bonham. As a result, the protection scheme borrows many of the best ideas from the Phalanx, though engineers chose to create a simplified armour scheme for greater ease in repair. Despite this effort at greater simplicity, the protection scheme employed by the Bonham is still one of the best designed and well protected such schemes extant today.

The first layer, of Momentum Transfer Armour (MTA), fires a metal bar at an incoming projectile and reduces the effectiveness of KE attacks by knocking such projectiles off course or forcing the weapon to hit the tank at an angle and blunting its impact. The second layer employs Non-Explosive Reactive Armour (NxRA) to reduce the effectiveness of HEAT rounds and is used instead of ERA to reduce the risk of casualties to friendly infantry. Bracing that layer is a Chobham armour scheme over a titanium honeycomb frame, providing effective protection against nearly all types of weapons. Ballistic ceramics make up the fourth layer and are effective against HEAT and KE rounds. A dense fifth layer of depleted uranium is an extremely dense material designed to absorb kinetic energy rounds. To protect against nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) weapons, the sixth and seventh layers have been designed to serve an anti-radiation role. Boronated polycarbons provide a sturdy round of protection and serve as an excellent first line of defence against radiation, while the seventh layer’s protections against spalling are made of rubber and spectra fibre, which is several times stronger than the kevlar employed by the Phalanx.

With the two main competitors to the Bonham, Soviet Bloc’s Mekhev adopting a non-modular armour scheme for greater strength, and Praetonia’s Phalanx’s modular scheme promoting ease of repair, the two approaches presented a dilemma to the Bonham’s designers. The Phalanx’s modular armour scheme permits greater ease of repair in the event of damage to the vehicle, but the Mekhev’s non-modular armour scheme removes some of the weaknesses of modular armour schemes. The Bonham’s engineers eventually chose to make the armour non-modular in an effort to promote greater survivability from a sturdier armour.

One of the greatest areas of concern for tank commanders is the need to protect tanks from anti-tank mines, and the Bonham is no exception. To ensure this protection, the Bonham’s engineers drew inspiration from the venerable Leopard 2A6 and have designed advanced generation vision systems to allow improved sighting of mines, and new plate under the tank floor allows the tank to survive a mine attack without injuring its crew members.

RHA values:

• Front: 2,075 mm (KE)/2,975 mm (HEAT)
• Sides: 1,025 mm (KE)/1,250 mm (HEAT)
• Rear: 770 mm (KE)/980 mm (HEAT)
• Top: 500 mm (KE)/675 mm (HEAT)

Electronics

Taking into account the advanced electronics of the Mekhev, the designers of the Bonham realized that their own product had to have an electronics suite that was advanced enough to make the tank a true equal. To accomplish this, a major upgrade of the Jaguar’s electronics suite wasn’t just a suggestion: It was a requirement. To accomplish this feat, the Bonham turned to the other forefather of this design, the Phalanx MBT for some inspiration.

The Bonham comes equipped with a PERI-Z A1 periscope from Windham & Green Defence Industries and ClaireOps Optronics Corporation. The PERI-Z A1 is a stabilized panoramic periscope sight designed for day/night operation and target identification and works seamlessly with the Next Generation Panorama battlefield survey and target acquisition software in the Bonham. It provides an all around view with a 360 degree traverse. Thermal imaging from infared sensors that work in the event millimetric wave radar is considered by the tank commander to be too great of a risk to be detected provide the thermal imaging for the onboard computer monitors. The image from the commander’s thermal sights can also be switched to the video image on the monitor used by the gunner.

The gunner’s station includes a new Panorama Defence Electronics Corporation quadruple magnification stablised primary sight with an integrated laser range finder and a ClareOps Optronics Corporation thermal sight linked to the fire control computer. The thermal sight uses a next generation CMT infared detector array cooled by a closed cycle engine. It is also fitted with a solid state laser range finder from ClaireOps that can provide up to five range values in four seconds. It then transmits the range data to the fire control computer and is used to calculate firing algorithms. The information is transmitted directly into the gunner’s primary sight, thus allowing the gunner to read the digital range measurement directly. The maximum range of the unit is 15,000 m and is accurate to within 10 m. The fire control computer also utilises a satellite linkup with GPS birds or army UAVs to ensure accuracy. The GPS software also integrates with advanced ADC mapping software to ensure accuracy.

Finally, the Bonham’s designers drew from the Phalanx’s bevy of auxiliary systems for the autoloading system employed by the Bonham. It is described by Windham & Green as a semi-automatic loading system. The system allows for quick conversion to manual loading in the event the computer systems are knocked out. A reserve battery also allows the autoloader to fire an actively loaded shell in the event the computer systems are knocked out.

Propulsion

The 2,100 hp Secretariat hybrid diesel-electric engine has been field tested on the Jaguar and served the Bonham’s predecessor well, so the same engine has been adopted. It has also surrounded with a thermal insulation that inhibits detection and reduces noise from the tank’s engines when they operate at full speed. The tank has been field tested to a maximum speed of 60 km/hr in road tests, though this speed is only recommended for short bursts in optimal conditions. The engine has been field tested in larger models so it can handle the added weight of the Bonham without a major loss in speed that might accompany a larger tank. A 500 hp inboard electric engine can provide emergency propulsion to get a Bonham out of a battle in the event the primary engine is knocked out. The Bonham’s top speed has been field tested at 10 km./hr. with this emergency engine powering it.

Specifications

• Length: 9.6 metres (hull); 14.9 m (including gun facing forward)
• Width: 4.4 metres
• Height: 3.4 metres (cupola turret roof)
• Weight: 78,700 kg
• Ground Clearance: 0.7 m
• Complement: Four (Commander; Gunner; Driver; Loader)
• Primary Armament: 1 x 120 mm ETC gun with Dynamic Gas Assist and Successive Fire Projectile Assist.
• Main Armament Storage: 40 x 120 mm rounds
• Secondary Armaments: 1 x 60 mm autocannon; 1 x 70 mm mortar; 1 x FN BRG-15 machine gun (cupola turret); 1 x dual box Hyperius missile launcher; 2 z DREAD CIWS; 6 x smoke grenade launchers (two fore; two rear; two sides).
• Secondary Armament Storage: 500 15 mm rounds; 450 60 mm rounds; 100 70 mm rounds; 6 Hyperius missiles
• Propulsion: 1 x Windham & Green Secretariat turbo diesel-electric hybrid engine (2,100 hp)
• Speed: 60 km/hr. (road); 35 km/hr. (cross-country); 5 km/hr. (snorkel)
• Operational Range: 550 km