M40 Champion

Overview
The M40 Champion is planned to be the Altarian military's next generation main battle tank. It is intended to replace the aging M60 Patton and M1 Abrams tanks currently in service.

Primary
The M40's primary armament is the newly designed 140mm M524 Rifled Cannon. It is a marked improvement over the 120mm smoothbore cannon utlized by the M1 Abrams and M60A3 Patton tanks currently used by the Altarian military. The weapon has a 30% increase in lethality and a better range. The Champion utilizes an advanced stabilization and fire control system that allows it to fire on the move accurately at a maximum effective range of over 5000 meters. The M524 tank gun is capable of utilizing a wide variety of munitions. The main rounds used would be SABOT and HEAT rounds for use against other armored vehicles. It is also capable of using HESH and canister rounds. Currently there is a gun/missile round being developed that would provide a weapon with a range in excess of 8000 meters and the lethality of a heavy ATGM.

Secondary
The M40 also has a formidable array of secondary weapons as well. The 25mm autocannon has a firing rate of 280 rounds per minute and has a dual feed system that allows it to fire armor piercing and high explosive incendiary rounds. It is mounted in a smaller secondary turret on the top of the tank and contains a total of 800 rounds. Also available are two M2 Browning HMGs and two M240 MMGs. One each are used on the tank's coaxial mount and they are also used on pintle mounts for the top hatches of the commander and gunner.

Armor
The Chariot's primary armor is an advanced version of Chobham armor that utilizes new steel alloys, ceramics and composites to improve on the original armor's capabilities. Even though this is the basic armor the M40 is designed to also have an outer armor of depleted uranium to provide additional and effective protection. With a full armor setup the M40 can take multiple hits to its frontal armor and remain functional, the side armor protects against most ATGMs and some tank rounds.

Countermeasures
The M40 utilizes a variety of passive countermeasures to survive on the battlefield. One of the more obvious methods is the utilization of next generation reactive armor that has been proven effective against SABOT rounds as well as HEAT warheads. The M920 Smoke Grenade Launch System uses a combination of smoke and phosphorous to provide visual and thermal interference at ground level as well as from the air. The M629 Countermeasures System is a full passive countermeasure suite. It uses radar recieving and laser detection equipment to detect hostile targeting systems and warn the crew. It is also capable of intefering with hostile targeting systems using a laser blinder.

Active Defense
Active defense against ATGMs is provided by the M793 Steel Curtain Active Protection System. It is based on CIWS weaponry used on naval vessels, it is a 20mm minigun linked to an advanced land based radar system that detects inbound missiles and rockets. It fires high explosive rounds with radar fuses to explode incoming ordnance before it hits the tank. The Steel Curtain provides all round 360 degree protection as well as full 180 degree overhead protection.

Survivability
The Champion was designed with maximum survivability in mind for the tank and crew. In addition to the outer armor the inside is lined with a kevlar mesh alloy to prevent the crew from being armed by spall damage. In addition to the normal hatches for the driver, commander and gunner there is an escape hatch on the bottom of the tank for the crew as well. Ammunition and fuel storage has also been given considerable thought. Normally 44 rounds are contained in the ammunition storage compartment and that poses a high risk of cooking off if hit. As a result the ammunition compartment is specially armored to protect the crew in the event of a cook off and it also has blowout panels to direct damage away from the crew compartment. The fuel tank is surrounded by self sealing foam and the fuel lines are located away from vital areas when possible.

Tactical
The M40 Champion possesses excellent cross country speed and mobility. Capable of reaching speeds of 68 mph off road. The AVE-1 Turbine Engine provides 2700 hp while maintaining decent fuel efficiency. The AVE-1 is capable of using a variety of fuel but it's fuel efficiency and mechanical reliability suffer unless it uses jet fuel or diesel.

Strategic
The M40's strategic mobility capabilities are more or less along the lines of the M1 Abrams. Being a heavy MBT it is difficult to airlift a number of them without massive airlift capabilities. The main mobility advantage it has over the Abrams is that it has a notably improved operational range.