Welcome to Gaia! ::

General Overview

The vehicle is essentially based off of the EFV, although it is lighter, using a more powerful primary weapon, is somewhat more protected, and moves more slowly in water. The weapon sports a 40mm bofors chain gun with approximately 200 rpm, chobham armor and perforated explosive reactor armor, and a number of improved lightweight materials to reduce the weight and increase the strength of the vehicle.

Because the vehicle is amphibious, it is not capable of using typical sloped armor to deflect the explosive power of an anti-tank mine. Thus, more powerful, flat armor is utilized to reduce the weight of the vehicle; a flat bottom is essential for hydroplaning over water to produce the high speed and low drag necessitated by the amphibious craft. With the EFV, this increased the weight substantially, and necessitated the use of an overly powerful and costly engine. By utilizing more effective armor system, the weight of the armor could be significantly reduced while remaining flat, thus allowing it's reasonable use. This decreased weight also increases it's range and decreases fuel consumption.

The hybrid electric engine is also more efficient, consuming up to 70% less fuel than it's original counterpart. This, coupled with the lighter weight, helps to reduce fuel loads substantially, and increase it's operational range not only on land, but in water. Theoretically, the speed could also be increased, as well.

The armor protects from anti-tank rounds, tandem explosive warheads, and rounds up to 40mm bofors. It is also very effective against RPG's. It is capable of a maximum speed of 28 mph over water, but typically travels at a more relaxed 20 mph. Additionally, it can carry up 15 troops, or several medical bays. The 40mm bofors is capable of penetrating most armored personnel carries and light tanks, such as T-54's and T-55's, and even potentially Stryker or Bradley vehicles, while the AGM-114 missiles are capable of taking down vehicles such as the M1 abrams. While for tactical use only, these missiles greatly increase the first strike capabilities of the AAV, and greatly increase it's life expectancies in these scenarios. It is also capable of launching both mortar and smoke grenade rounds.

The vehicle also makes extensive use of electronic controls. This helps to reduce it's size somewhat and the exposure of the troops to direct fire. Cameras are utilized to provide 360 degrees of vision, and are covered in high strength ballistic resistant ALON. Additionally, boomerang sniper and other systems allows for acoustic confirmation of range spotting. Other targeting systems, including radar and infrared based systems can help identify tanks; an internal satellite based GPS system can help identify friendly tanks, but are hard to access except for units outside the military.


Chobham Armor
The vehicle uses Chobham armor, similiar to the armor in the Abrams, although significantly weaker. Utilizing an aluminum matrix, instead of a steel one, the matrix for the armor is 2.9 times lighter weight than a similiar steel one, although significantly weaker.

Due to the improved ceramics and armor of the Advanced Modular Armor Protection, the vehicle has substantially more armor for a lighter weight and size than in the MEXAS system. However, the vehicle simply utilizes the same amount of armor, in terms of weight, to achieve an even higher degree of protection; this armor is utilized in the Chobham design, increasing it's effectiveness.

The rubber backing for the material in order to prevent crack deflection, is similiar to the same material used on the M1 Abrams. This armor, by itself, is powerful enough to deflect 40mm bofors rounds, as well as the rounds beneath it.


Reactive Armor
Unlike the reactive armor on the Bradley, the reactive armor on the CV90 is beneath the outer layer of homogenous rolled steel. While this armor can defeat light arms, such as standard NATO rounds and 14.5mm x 114mm Russian, rounds that can pierce this outer layer meet the reactive armor beneath.

This helps prevents the reactive armor from being set off by lighter rounds. This also protects the armor from tandem charges, which often times carry a significantly smaller charge intended on setting off the single use reactive armor.

This armor is perforated, that is has a small space between the rolled homogenous armor and the reactive armor, helping to further defeat HEAT rounds, and providing even more protection by destabilizing rounds that may enter, in addition to reducing energy transfer to the high explosive armor.Beneath this reactive armor is the rest of the rolled homogenous steel and the chobham armor.

The vehicle also has a Kevlar Spall liner to further protect from armor piercing tandem charges. However, the tandem rounds must defeat the outer layer of armor in order to detonate the reactive armor, which usually detonates the initial round. In addition, the open space in the perforated armor prevents spalling and allows for the gas to expand within the armor, reducing it's impact.


Automated Weapons Systems
The vehicle uses almost entirely automated weapons systems. The electronic systems are designed to remove people from a direct line of fire without armored protection. Lacking a troop hatch or a window, the vehicle also reduces the over-all space required to house the troops, and removes them from harms way. Both cameras and periscopes allow for visual confirmation of targets, as well as various acoustic devices. These cameras are protected by ALON, which provides extreme protection against shrapnel and even .50 caliber rounds.

The vehicle also possess 8 electronically fired 120mm mortars, with 4 rounds each, each breech loaded, capable of providing both smoke screens and direct action capabilities. They are capable of using all 120mm and 81mm mortar rounds.


40mm cannon
The CT40 cannon provides a substantial weight reduction over the traditional 40mm bofors cannon. The chain gun is incredibly reliable, rarely jamming due to it's signfigiantly more reliable electronic system, and utilizes lighter weight, shortened telescopic 40mm cases.

The vehicle usually uses two twin 40mm bofors canons, operating at roughly 200 RPM each, and carries roughly 2000 rounds, or 1000 rounds each. This equates to 5.5 tons for the entire weapons system, or about the same as the L70 it replaces. The rounds of based off of swedish 870 gram rounds, capable of piercing light armor systems normally capable of resisting less powerful 30mm x 173mm rounds, such as found in the A-10. Additionally, the rounds are anti-aircraft capable, allowing for target acquisition of helicopters and other aircraft. The rounds have programmable burst functions, and thus can be utilized as air burst rounds.

The vehicle is also capable of using the AMOS 120mm mortar firing system.

Hybrid Electric Engine

The vehicle uses a very powerful and efficient conventional diesel engine designed to produce high efficiency and operate at low RPM's. While this would ordinary require extensive fuel injector use and a relatively low acceleration, this engine 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 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.

Additionally, the hybrid systems powers the vehicles entire electronic system; thus, an additional form of power is not required, as the diesel fuel can be utilized to power the vehicles electronic systems.

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.

Amphibious
The critical electronic components are covered in a water resistant film, such as the battery and other electronic parts; the seal over-all protects water from entering the vehicle. The engines are electric, and thus the system differs significantly from the over-all design of the EFV. Due to the lighter weight, less fuel consumption is necessary; however, the hybrid engine helps increase the fuel efficiency substantially. More importantly, the hybrid design allows the engine to operate at maximum efficiency without many changes in RPM, speed, or fuel consumption. Thus the engine does not need to be overly stressed or meet the RPM necessary for the output in the water; torque can be converted to horsepower with the electric drive train engine. Thus, the horsepower is much lower, but the power output is relatively the same, without stressing the engine. This reduces the requirements on the engine and makes it more efficient, as well as cheaper. Although it could travel at relatively the same speed, it typically operates slightly slower to reduce stress on the vehicle. The electric engines are powered via a lithium ion capacitor, and lithium titanate battery. The lithium titanate battery has over 20 times the cycle of life of lithium ion and can be recharged 30-120 times faster. Thus, it serves a form of intermediate power to the over-all power system of the vehicle, and can be charged and discharged rapidly without degrading.

The engine is placed in front of the vehicle, while the battery and capacitors are beneath the drivers and occupants. This helps to provide the most protection possible to the crew and troops. This also helps distribute the weight better and reduce the size somewhat.