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Specific Information

The M3A1, M3A2, and M90 Scorpion are fairly similar to the Abrams in material composition, engine design, electronics and safety system, except for the following.


General Information
The Armor of the vehicle is similar in style and capabilities when compared to the M1 Abrams tank. The turret is completely detached from the crew, capable of 360 motion, and sits on top of the vehicle, providing protection from the crew below, which are in the middle of the tank. The turret possess nearly all the ammunition for the vehicle, which is fed with an autoloader and aimed with automatic processes. Despite possessing the potential for manual loading, it rarely is, as this would unnecessarily expose the crew.

There is no troop hatch, on top of the vehicle, as with most tanks. Also unlike most tanks, the top armor of the vehicle is just as thick as the rest of the armor, and provides even more protection to the crew who is not on top of the vehicle. All of the weapons are controlled electronically, although they share commonality with most typical weapons, and can generally be fired by hand if removed.

The troop hatch is on the side of the weapon, which utilizes several chains and 3 hydraulic lifters, powered by the tanks power reserves to open or close. The door opens down, to reveal a ramp, which also allows for the door to be opened even if the power is down, or to escape the vehicle quickly. Due to the thickness of the door, it provides similar protection, and due to the design can be opened quickly, however entering the vehicle takes some time, and the fastest the door can be closed is some 30 seconds, generally taking roughly 2 minutes to open or close, although it can be opened faster if necessary.

Unlike many tanks, the living quarters is relatively small. The chairs can provide a 45 degree rest, for the opportune method to lay down while still operating the vehicle, while also being able to rotate to 90 degrees in either direction, or form a chair. For the opportune design, it uses orthopedic, back brace and other designs, to become one of the most comfortable chairs in existence. Food and water can be accessed in storage containers, and the vehicle can store up to 500 gallons of water, and 2 tons worth of food. It is also possible to link these things through the helmet and into the mouth, for easy access.

While there is the possibility for a sleep quarters, it is also possible to rest in the seat.

The tank, despite using similar armor, is only 27.6 tons, as compared to the 67.6 tons of the M1 Abrams. This is in large part due to the separation of the turret with the crew, which doesn't have to house a person like in the manual loading version, the reduced size since the vehicle only needs to accommodate two individuals, the lack of a need for an actual outside view, the low profile of the tank as compared to it's higher profile, and the removal of lots of open space that previously housed crew members. Despite being some 3 times smaller, the vehicle still has to account for the fixed weight of ammunition, food, fuel, and people which can not be removed or reduced. The vehicle also uses cameras, some fixed point panoramic 32 ALON covered cameras, to provide a view for the vehicle, in addition to 8 movable cameras and several cameras on individual weapons, including four for the cannon.

The armor of the tank crew shares commonality with the infantry, particularly in the helmet, although the armor can be specific to the tank (and the helmets are designed to absorb impacts and energy, from the increased gel from the impact gel and other sources).

The crew typically carries a typical load out in case infantry fighting is necessary.

The track design of the vehicle is awkward and broken up into several pieces. Because it is powered electrically, this is realistically possible without too many parts, and individual motors exist in addition to the primary crankshaft which moves the vehicle. While this slows the vehicle down somewhat, it's lightweight and hybrid design not experience signification problems. The vehicle does however gain better terrain performance, especially with having such a low profile, and can scale many strange obstacles.

Hybrid Electric Engine

The vehicle uses the same conventional diesel engine that is present on the M1 Abrams series of tanks. This engine, however, is used to power a very large battery and several capacitors, which in turn is used to power the entire vehicle. Essentially the vehicle is a hybrid powered vehicle, essentially using it's engine as a generator to produce electricity. Producing electrical energy from the motor, rather than converting it straight to mechanical energy, so as the engine can run at maximum efficiency without concerns of speed or acceleration issues, as in most Hybrid vehicles, vastly increases it's efficiency, and therefore total energy output per unit of fuel. The engine, essentially a generator, allows the vehicle to potentially consume 70% less fuel, or allow it to be over 3 times more efficient. However, a small portion of this (about 6-7%) is used to power the vehicles extensive electrical network, including communication applications, computers, wireless transmitters, and drone pods, in addition to the vehicle's "MAC" cannon.

The Tank uses it's generator to power it's main weapon and it's capacitor, which is a Magnetic Assisted Cannon. The capacitor in the tank is capable of storing enough energy for roughly 6 shots, and takes about 10-30 minutes to recharge. It can only fire this in a period of a minute (or over a period of a few minutes), however, due to overheating problems and problems with the magnetic coils carry latent electrical and magnetic energy (which interferes with the primary charge) this is rarely done. The Cannon is capable of using conventional ammunition and even nonmagnetic assisted depleted uranium rounds.

Regenerative Braking
The electric motor applies resistance to the drivetrain causing the wheels to slow down. In return, the energy from the wheels turns the motor, which functions as a generator, converting energy normally wasted during coasting and braking into electricity, which is stored in a battery until needed by the electric motor.

Electric Motor Drive/Assist
The electric motor provides additional power to assist the engine in accelerating, passing, or hill climbing. This allows a smaller, more efficient engine to be used. In some vehicles, the motor alone provides power for low-speed driving conditions where internal combustion engines are least efficient.

Idling
As the Tank is idling, is it essentially taking this energy that its usually wasted and transforming it into electrical energy, in which it is stored more efficiently. The Battery is roughly capable of storing 10% of the energy of the motor. Obviously, if the battery is "Full" then idling still wastes energy that could otherwise have been generated by the motor.

Turret

The Turret, unlike the one on the M1 Abrams series, is completely electronically controlled and is entirely separate from the individuals inside. The turret can rotate on a 360 degree plane, and as well the tank can use reverse track "peddling" to change directions in a rather quick, and even stationary manner. The main gun, .50 caliber machine gun, 7.62mm x 51mm NATO machine gun, and 40mm Grenade launcher are on the turret and typically are mounted on a coaxial turret that is controlled internally, electrically. These weaponry can move independently with 360 degrees of movement.

The primary cannon contains an autoloader, and the machine guns are capable of using ordinary 500 rounds boxes or 3000-5000 round internal boxes which feed into the 500 round boxes. The automatic Grenade Launcher still uses 50 round externally placed boxes, however like the machine guns the amount of 40mm grenades capable of being attached are potentially limitless, and as such the weapon generally carries 300-500 rounds in a standard load.

The directions of the coaxial attached weapons of course, are controlled by electric information being fed to an electronic "Translator" that in turn tells the electric motor which direction to move. The coaxial mounts have 180 degrees of lateral movement and 140 degrees of vertical climb. While potentially higher, they are usually limited to these degrees so that the weapons don't collide with the turret or extend beyond their breaking point. The turret operates the same way, however, it has no actual vertical movement capabilities and can only move laterally with 360 degrees of movement (powered by electric motors).

The actual MAC gun is capable of roughly 60 degrees of vertical movement, which equates to 30 degrees left or right from it's standard position. Still, it allows for some degree and level of controllability; it also possess 15 degrees for left or right movement.

The tank is capable of storing up to 90 rounds in the turret, which are fed into the weapon using an autoloader. However, due to the variations in rounds fired, individual rounds have trouble being loaded into the weapon, making selecting rounds relatively difficult. As a result, only 30 rounds of any type are capable of being loaded into the auto-loader, although the mechanism allows for for roughly 6 different round types (for 15 rounds per unit).

Electronics

Targeting System

The M3A1 is equipped with a ballistic fire-control computer that uses user and system-supplied data from a variety of sources, to compute, display, and incorporate the three components of a ballistic solution - lead angle, ammunition type, and range to the target, to accurately fire the tank (The same as in the M1A2). These three components are determined using a YAG rod laser rangefinder, crosswind sensor, a pendulum static cant sensor, data concerning performance and flight characteristics of each specific type of round, tank-specific boresight alignment data, ammunition temperature, air temperature, barometric pressure, a muzzle reference system (MRS) that determines and compensates for barrel droop at the muzzle due to gravitational pull and barrel heating due to firing or sunlight, and target speed determined by tracking rate tachometers in the Gunner's or Commander's Controls Handles. All of these factors are computed into a ballistic solution and updated 30 times per second. The updated solution is displayed in the Gunner's or Tank Commander's field of view in the form of a reticle in both day and Thermal modes. The ballistic computer manipulates the turret and a complex arrangement of mirrors and cameras so that all one has to do is keep the reticle on the target and fire to achieve a hit. Proper lead and gun tube elevation are applied to the turret by the computer, greatly simplifying the job of the Gunner.

The fire-control system uses these data to compute a firing solution for the gunner. The ballistic solution generated ensures a hit percentage greater than 95 percent at nominal ranges. Either the commander or gunner can fire the main gun. Additionally, the Commander's Independent Thermal Viewer (CITV) on the tank can be used to locate targets and pass them on for the gunner to engage while the commander scans for new targets. In the event of a malfunction or damage to the primary sight system, the main and coaxial weapons can be manually aimed using a telescopic scope boresighted to the main gun known as the Gunner's Auxiliary Sight (GAS). The GAS has two interchangeable reticles; one for HEAT and MPAT (MultiPurpose AntiTank) rounds and one for APFSDS and STAFF (Smart Target-Activated Fire and Forget) ammunition. Turret traverse and main gun elevation can be accomplished with manual handles and cranks in the event of a Fire Control System or Hydraulic System failure. The commander's M2 .50 caliber machine gun uses either the machine gun's own iron sights, or a remote aiming system such as the CROWS system when used as part of the TUSK (Tank Urban Survival Kit). The loader's M240 machine gun is aimed either with the built-in iron sights or with a thermal scope mounted on the machine gun.

It also uses the Northrop Grumman millimetre-wave Longbow radar; or the same targeting system in the AH-64 Apache Helicopter. The Longbow fire control radar incorporates an integrated radar frequency interferometer for passive location and identification of radar-emitting threats. An advantage of millimetre wave is that it performs under poor-visibility conditions and is less sensitive to ground clutter. The short wavelength allows a very narrow beamwidth, which is resistant to countermeasures.

The Longbow allows the tank to effect an attack in 30 seconds. The radar dome is unmasked for a single radar scan and then remasked. The processors determine the location, speed and direction of travel of a maximum of 256 targets.

The target acquisition designation sight, TADS (AN/ASQ-170), and the pilot night vision sensor, PNVS (AN/AAQ-11), were developed by Lockheed Martin. The turret-mounted TADS provides direct-view optics, television and three-fields-of-view forward-looking infrared (FLIR) to carry out search, detection and recognition, and Litton laser rangefinder / designator. PNVS consists of a FLIR in a rotating turret located on the nose above the TADS. The image from the PNVS is displayed in the monocular eyepiece of the Honeywell integrated helmet And display sighting system, IHADSS, worn by the pilot and copilot / gunner.

Lockheed Martin has developed a new targeting and night vision system for the Apache, using second-generation long-wave infrared sensors with improved range and resolution. The new system is called Arrowhead and has a targeting FLIR with three fields of view, a dual field-of-view pilotage FLIR, a CCD TV camera, electronic zoom, target tracker and auto-boresight.


Computer

Each tank comes with a variety of computer applications, ranging from standard radar, micro wave communication devices, standard personal hand-held radios, and a 50 terabyte sever capable of computing all the needs of the tank. These serves are kept relatively cool using an ethanol based cooling system and are in a vacuum. While not super cooled, it allows for improved performance and accuracy in nearly any environment.

The computers may be accessed as if regular computers or used to power and store DATA for the various software and hardware electronically integrated devices within the vehicle.


UAV Sentry Drones

The Drones are equipped with Ultrasonar, Infrared, Thermal Cameras, MICRODAR, and GPS'es which actively survey and relay information of the ground around them back to the Tank, essentially recording the Topography of the land around them and sending this information back to the Tanks- or really, to the Network of Tanks. All the information received by the Drones are transferred to every tank, and mapping out an entire region's current position is possible. Of course, this provides many views, including movement detection with Sonar, Geographical Relay and Weather pattern information, Sonar with the ability to view through minimal obstructions, 3D rendering of the environment, and straight pictures and videos of the environment. The Drones give a constant update of all the information and relay the information to the Tanks, whom relay the information to other Tanks and Central Command Stations.

The drones essentially give an extended, quickly updated view of the surrounding world in many viewpoints which is seen by every Tank, Central Command Controllers, and any unit with access to the information; this being updated roughly 1/24 times a second in the Camera, and once a second for the rest of the applications. The Drones have a maximum observation radius of 250 miles and can sustain flight for roughly 8 hours before they need recharging. They also are directly compatible with other tanks, easily being "Shared" by various tanks so that the 8 hours flight time doesn't require a trip back to the original tank. They have a maximum altitude of roughly 30,000 feet, although they are usually stationed at 10,000 feet.

The drones give a constant update and feed of all the surrounding territories and can provide information such as troop movement, position, and attack method. This, coupled with the Tanks own sensors, give the all the Tanks an enormous amount of time to respond to threats, and provide constant update of enemy movements and actions for all units.

While these tanks do not carry drone modules, they can essentially use the ones afforded to them by larger tanks or forgo them all together.

The tanks are also integrated with the land warrior system, allowing troops to be aware of their, other tanks and infantry positions at all times, in an effort to both reduce friendly fire and update the current understanding of the battlenetwork.

Armor

The armor is essentially a Chobham Armor Composite with a Rolled Homogeneous Steel covering mixed with depleted uranium and kevlar mesh plating.

Steel for armour plate must be strong, hard, and tough (does not shatter when struck with a fast, hard blow). Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size and then rolling them into plates of required thickness. Rolling and forging (hammering the steel when it is red hot) irons out the grain structure in the steel, removing imperfections which would reduce the strength of the steel. Rolling also elongates the grain structure in the steel to form long lines, which enable the stress the steel is placed under when loaded to flow throughout the metal, and not be concentrated in one area.

RHA is called homogeneous armour because its structure and composition is uniform throughout its section. The opposite of homogeneous steel plate is face-hardened steel plate, where the face of the steel is composed differently to the substrate. The face of the steel, which starts as an RHA plate, is hardened by a heat-treatment process.

The armor is sloped, slanted, and carries SLAT, or caged armor. Reactive armor, similar to that found on the Bradley, can be added as well.

Behind the First layer of steel is Chobham Armor. Although the exact construction details of the Chobham Common Armour remain a secret, it essentially armor being composed of ceramic tiles encased within a metal matrix and bonded to a backing plate and several elastic layers. Due to the extreme hardness of the ceramics used, they offer superior resistance against shaped charges such as high explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds and they shatter kinetic energy penetrators.

The armor uses Silicon Carbide ceramic tiles which are roughly four by four inches wide and rounded in shape to fit the production of the over-all armor. These Ceramic Tiles are suspended in a metal Matrix of the same type of Steel used by the external Rolled Armor, that increases the stiffness, strength, and resistance of the Ceramic Tiles.The Metal Matrix also allows the Ceramic Tiles to be "Separated", that is they do not touch each other, this being important due to Ceramics typical brittle nature. While each Tile can withstand repeated attacks from most threats, including Anti-Tank munitions and in some cases even Kinetic Energy penetrators (which have been known to "Shatter" on impact"), they are in effect at some point expected to be broken and expected to be replaced when broken. They are also, in effect, capable of pulverizing Kinetic Energy Penetrators should they "Shatter" a tile, this pulverized ceramic being extremely hard and abrasive eroding most of the projectile rather quickly. While extremely resistant against most types of attacks, and capable of stopping all known Tank Ammunition, their usefulness lacks in the term that it is essentially "Breakable" Armor. Large, elastic rubber inserts behind the tiles have demonstrated superior qualities in allowing the armor to withstand repeated attacks and to resist against cracking, this ability known as "crack deflection". Still, the armor provides unprecedented protection against most Munitions, and due to it's likelihood to suffer quick destruction, the tiles are placed behind Rolled Steel that is capable of stopping most minute threats.

Behind this Ceramic Metal Matrix Armor is more Rolled Steel. This again is to serve as material to keep the Ceramic rigid, and to provide a decent "Base" for the Ceramics to work off of. It also serves as the next material to act as a large buffer area to store large quantities of depleted uranium armor; all of course, in the same sloped shape as to provide increase armor and protection effects.

Rather than use straight Perforated Armor, or armor with space between the sheets to increase their ability at resisting projectiles, instead the Armor uses and utilizes extraordinarily resilient materials as a spacer for the two pieces of armor; although this material tends to be stronger than the armor slabs themselves, in many respects. This material is known as Depleted Uranium. It is primarily composed of Uranium 238, a very low radioactive by product as a result of "Farming" Uranium 235. Because of the excessive by products of Uranium 238, the application of Depleted Uranium becomes something that is relatively inexpensive to do. Uranium is mostly useful because of it's extraordinarily high density, being 19.1 grams per cubic cm, or 1.67 times a dense as lead and 2.45 times as dense as steel. Because of it's extreme density, it is an extremely hard and resilient material, that provides many protective properties (such as being hard, large, and heavy). Sandwiched between high hardness Steel, the composite Depleted Uranium mesh serves as a very effective means of support for all the previous sheets of armor, and acts a very protective piece of armor itself.