Saracen MBT

M-12A Main Battle Tank (click to enlarge, prototype M-12 and desert pattern M-12A shown).

The M-12 Saracen was a unique but ultimately unsuccessful Freethinker Main Battle Tank design manufactured by FDI Land Systems, famous for being the first full production tank design in the country to mount a 155mm ETC cannon as its principle armament. Around two hundred and forty Saracen M-12As are still in service, equipping two armoured battalions in both the Freethinker Royal Army and the Freethinker Ground Defence Force. The chassis has also been reused for the highly successful A-41 Scarab Self-Propelled 205mm Mortar.

Statistics

Dimensions

Length

11.5 Metres (Including Gun), 9.3 Metres (Hull only)

Width

3.9 Metres

Height

2.15 Metres (Excluding modular weapon system)

Weight

76 Tons

Crew Complement

3 (Commander, Driver, Gunner)

Armament

Main Gun

1 x Ballistics International M3A 155mm/37 Smoothbore ETC (EMR) Cannon (52 rounds)

Secondary Weaponry

Mk.2 Armour Modular Weapon Point (Can carry 6-cell Silent Break ATGM launcher, 25mm Autocannon, or 8-cell Skyfire CADM Launcher)

Self Defence

2 x 12.7mm GPMG (1 Co-axial, 1 Commander's hatch), 1 x 7.62mm GPMG (Gunner's hatch)

Electronics

Fire Control

Targetting systems

Electronic Warfare

2 x Falltech Mk.5 Quad Smoke Grenade dispensors

Propulsion

Engine

Thompson Engineering D520B (1,600Hp) Diesel Engine

Performance

55 km/h (on road), 40 km/h (cross country), fording depth of 1.8 metres (without preperation)

Maximum Range

500 km (on road)

Armour

Basic Composition

Armour Ratings

Production

Program

The original M-12 Saracen was born from an intention by the Freethinker military as a technological leapfrog of its military competitors in the late 1970's, introducing in an age of ever increasingly powerful weaponry and armour a MBT mounting a 155mm gun and nigh invulnurable front armour, gained at the expense of raising the weight limit for the tank from 60 to 80 tons. Intended to be a replacement for the excellent M-11 Scimitar MBT, the M-12 design and manufacture bid was won by FDI Land Systems and work began in earnest at the end of 1980. the project was headed by legendary tank designer Henry Watkinson, the man responsible for the design of the Scimitar (and the future Spitfire MBT).

The radical design did boast a number of strong advantages:

• With the heavy sloping and high weight investment in armour, the frontal RHA rating of nearly 2,000mm was revolutionary, nearly double the value of its nearest counterparts, although the rating for side and rear protection was considered decent but standard in terms of its competitors.
• The main cannon had few equals on the battlefield, allowing the Saracen to engage its opponents at much farther ranges than they could effectively retaliate from.
• The Mk.1 Modular Weapon Point was warmly recieved, allowing field commanders to provide tactical capability adjustment and removing some of the vulnurability of the fixed position of the main gun.

However, as the first deliveries were made and the first exercises were conducted, some glaring errors began to be exposed:

• The Thompson Engineering D500A 1,100Hp engine allowed for a top speed barely approaching 40km/h on the road, allowing the tank to be more easily outmanouvered by its rivals and exposing its weaker flanks to direct enemy fire.
• The main weapon, though extremely powerful, had an extremely limited firing arc (+12 to -5 degrees vertical and +/- 7 degrees horizontal) unless the entire tank was rotated. This prevented the tank from engaging enemies on its flanks and, more importantly, stopped the vehicle from engaging enemies whilst on the move, especially in the case of a retreat, leaving the tank horrendously exposed.

Upgrade

The M-12A upgrade, successfully trialled in 1990, tried to eliminate or at least alleviate the glaring problems of the original design with mixed success. The following improvements were carried out:

• The original M1 155mm ETC gun was replaced by the brand new M3 cannon, a matured weapon design that fixed many of the problems of the previous weapon in terms of reliability, replacing the complex systems of electric motors with a simpler set of computer controlled hydraulics and providing a greater (though still limited) firing range (+ 20 to -5 degrees vertical and +/-12 degrees horizontally). Other reliability issues in the firing mechanism and autoloader were also corrected.
• New electronics were added, including an enhance laser rangefinder, new element sensors and a brand new digital fire control computer.
• The armour packs were upgraded to included a thicker TVA mesh and brand new NeRA, upgrading most of the armour values by 40% or more.
• The modular weapon point was upgraded to allow new weapon systems to be fitted, including for the first time the brand-new Silent Break ATGM, providing an all-round armour engagement capability outside of the gun's limited firing arc.

Nonetheless, the basic flaws of the design were still proving difficult to overcome, and full scale introduction of the design never fully occurred, a full active force total of 360 units was the largest force level maintained, and this was gradually dropped down to present force levels.

Manufacture

A total of 420 M-12 and 120 M-12As were manufactured at the FDI Land Systems Trentbridge Plant. All original M-12s have been upgraded to M-12A standard. Minor improvements have been made over the course of the following decade including improvements to the electronics and main weapon, though it should be noted these upgrades are not universally implemented across the board given the limited funds avaliable. The most upgraded machines are generally in service with the Freethinker Royal Army battalions.

Currently, 120 M-12As are in service with both the Freethinker Royal Army and the Freethinker Ground Defence Force for an active total of 240 operational vehicles. There is a shared engineering pool of 62 M-12As for spares and attrition supply, and a further 80 vehicles are also held in the Stategic Reserve Stock. Around 10-20 scrapped and cannibalised M-12s are used for target practise and testing every year.

The M-12A has not been deployed in combat.

Other Users

Other nations which use this design: None

Other nations which use a modified version of this design: None