Viper Main Battle Tank

SE-12 Viper

History

During the last few conflicts, it has been noted that the ageing Predator tanks need a replacement. Thus began the Viper Program. After ten years, and nearly ten billion dollars worth of R&D, the prototype was unveiled at Snake Eater's primary R&D centre, The Icarus Testing Grounds. With revolutionary technology behind this tank, Snake Eaters is poised to become a force to be reckoned with.

Primary Statistics

Crew: - Four (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)

Weight: - 55,000 kg

Overall Length (Gun Forward): - 11.5 metres

Width: - 3.5 metres

Height: - 2.5 metres

Max Speed: 60km/h (On road), 45 km/h (Off-road)

Max Range: 550 km (On Road), 400 km (Off-road)

Price per Unit: $25 million

Construction

Thanks to the titanium body construction, the Viper has reduced levels of vibration and noise within the main crew compartment, which has been designed for maximum efficiency by installing air purification filters, to reduce the amount of recycled air being passed through the tank inner. The titanium structure also allows for weight reduction on the Predator, reducing the overall weight by nearly 10,000 kilograms. This increases fuel economy, and therefore increases maximum operational range.

The Viper makes use of the William Cook Defence T60DP heavy-duty tank tracks. These include such features as: low wear; anti-chunking; quick pad changing; high durability rubber bushing, fixed for life "deadlock" end connectors; a winged end connector option and easy to fit crampons for extra traction. These tracks have been seen on other tanks such as the Challenger Mk.2E and the Leopard 1 and 2. These are complemented by a suspension system from Kinetics, allowing the tank to maintain a steady speed across rough terrain, whilst allowing for accurate, level fire. Such features include linear shock absorbers, heavy-duty hydraulic struts and enhanced torsion bars. This allows an increase in endurance, reducing maintenance costs on the vehicle. The increase is anywhere between 300-350% increased smoothness.

Command and Control

The Viper makes use of the latest version of the Joint Tactical Information Distribution Network (JTIDN), a system currently being installed in all Snake Eater military vehicles, allowing the commander to actively share information on targets or terrain with the others in his group, whilst maintaining near radio silence. By installing a low-power broadband network, the units can remain in communication without compromising the tanks locations to direction-finding (DF'ing) equipment to a large degree. This system is capable of identifying up to fifty separate targets at once, and assigning each a threat index, ranging from 0 to a maximum of 10.

Should radio contact be required, the Viper is fitted with a number of communication systems. However, the primary system is a combined VHF/GPS antenna system, which is supplied by Comrod. This system allows the tank commander to know the location of his vehicle to within ten square metres, whilst allowing for VHF radio communication. Neither of these systems is affected by the use of the other. The Viper is also fitted with an UHF antenna, in case of failure of the VHF system, along with its back up. As a final resort, a miniature HF antenna is fitted, although the range is extremely limited. There is also capacity for satellite communications, which can be routed through the GPS system in order to maximise functionality and reduce costs

Armament

The Viper is fitted a 120mm rifled main gun, supplied by Snake Eaters Arms Development specifically for this tank. The rifling has the same effect as in a normal weapon, spinning the round as it flies through the air, increasing stability and thus accuracy and range are increased also. Made from Electro-refined slag, and insulated with a thermal sleeve, the turret is capable of 360o of rotation, and has an elevation window of –10o to + 20o. There is capacity within the tank for fifty rounds of ammunition, which can be increased if the loader is replaced with an auto-loader. This is rare however, so the fifty round limit is widely accepted. These rounds include: armour piercing fin-stabilised discarding sabot (APFSDS), high explosive squash head (HESH) or smoke rounds. There is also a capacity to fire Depleted Uranium (DU) rounds, but these are rarely used following research to indicate that they do affect the well being of the crew. Weapon control is co-ordinated via the JITDN, which acts as the primary target identification program. However, the final commander is given by the Commander, who will then tell the Gunner to engage a certain target. The turret is manufactured by Giat Industries, and is the 120mm LECLERC. This is a MBT two-man turret with ammunition autoloader operating in the hunter-killer role. It allows firing at successive targets in very short space of time whilst moving at high speed. The auto-loader is normally only used in the hunter-killer role, whilst the loader crewmember is used for more conventional operations. The turret is powered by the HR Textron Weapon Turret Drive and Stabilisation System, which isolates the gun platform from the disorienting effects of the vehicle pitch, roll and yaw. The drive system is also from HR Textron, and is the Motor Drive Unit (MDU), and is capable of rotating the turret through 360o in less than twenty seconds

In order to enhance the Viper’s capabilities even further, it is also fitted with 7.62mm chaingun, in order to increase its anti-personnel capacity. It is also equipped with a 7.62mm GPMG L37A2 anti-air machine gun, commonly crewed by the loader.

Fire Control and Navigation

The commander has a panoramic VS 580-10 gyrostabilised sight. A laser rangefinder is incorporated into an intermediate assembly. Elevation range is +35° to -35°. The commander's station is equipped with eight periscopes which provide 360° vision.

The Thermal Observation and Gunnery Sight II (TOGS II), from Snake Optronics, provides night vision. The sensor is based on TICM 2 common modules. The thermal image, with magnification x 4 and x 11.5 is displayed in the gunner's and commander's sights and monitors. The gunner has a Thales Optronics stabilised Gunner's Primary Sight, consisting of visual channel, 4Hz laser rangefinder and display. The laser rangefinder has a range of 200m to 10km.

The driver is equipped with an image intensifying Passive Driving Periscope (PDP) from Thales Optronics, for night driving.

Self-Protection

Given the increased use of High Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT) rounds and other such devices, the Viper uses third-generation Chobham armour, first seen on the Challenger. Chobham is a lightweight matrix of ceramics and thermoplasts and metals that resists HEAT and APDS with much more protection than the average armour. Underneath this is 50mm of steel/titanium hull-mounted armour, providing protection from a wide variety of small arms whilst optimising the weight/power ratio. In order to prevent missiles coming into contact with the armour in the first place, explosive reactive panels are installed along the flanks, front and rear ends, and the turret of the tank, in order to deter incoming threats

The Viper is also equipped with Rheinmetall Waffe Munition MASKE smoke grenades. Capable of deploying in less than two seconds, the smokescreen is guaranteed to last forty seconds and provides cover from the ultraviolet through to the far infrared wavelength, as well as decoys against electro optically guided missiles

The Viper is equipped with the latest camouflage systems in order to optimise combat survivability. A SSZ TN95 camouflage system is installed in order to reduce the tank visibility in all of the following: visual spectrum, near infrared spectrum, thermal (MIR), RADAR and millimetre wavelengths. These systems allow the heat from the tank to be dissipated safely in order to deny heat-seeking missiles, whilst the RADAR and millimetre system is able to defeat SAR homing warheads whilst diminishing the detection range on ground-based radar.

Finally, all electrical sub-systems within the tank are EMP shielded, and are provided with redundant back-ups in case of system wide cascade failure

Propulsion

The Viper carries a 1500hp SnakePack, which consists of a transversely mounted MTU 883 diesel engine coupled to Renk HSWL 295TM automatic transmission. This small but powerful engine is included to increase the fuel storage capacity, allowing the maximum range to be increased to an impressive 550km.