[Affinity] A36E 'Antera 2' Main Battle Tank by MikePrivalis on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

This artwork depicts a military vehicle which is a part of my sci-fi world's lore. Do not copy the design, use it in your own artworks, or claim it as your own!

Lore and Description:

A36E "Antera 2" is the most advanced main battle tank deployed by the Istarian Union during the Global War. Recent Istarian breakthrough in power storage technology allowed this tank to be packed with cutting-edge technology by getting rid of the conventional engine/turbine and replacing it with a revolutionary nanolayer battery pack. The battery pack is the heart of the tank and powers all its systems. The vehicle is propelled by two electric motors, each powering one track with the equivalent of roughly 800 HP (1600 HP in total). This ensures excellent power to weight ratio and fast acceleration while also making the tank very smooth to drive and turn.

All weapons of the tank are installed in its unmanned turret. The main armament is an AR7I 112 mm EM-assisted smoothbore cannon - essentially a combination of a regular tank gun and a railgun. Against armored targets, the tank fires kinetic penetrator saboted rounds, which are further accelerated by a strong electromagnetic field while traveling through the barrel. This causes the rounds to travel with unmatched speeds and allows for superior penetration while using smaller-than-usual caliber rounds, allowing for more ammunition to be carried. The gun can also fire high explosive shells of various types - magnetic acceleration is not used for these. The cannon is loaded by an autoloader. The main gun is paired with a coaxial 12.8mm machine gun. The tank is also equipped with a two-layer hard-kill active protection system, which consists of several separate devices: A radar which detects incoming threats, including tank rounds, missiles and drones; A pair of countermunition launchers, one on each side of the turret, and a pulse laser turret installed on the back of the main turret. The laser turret can destroy slower threats, like missiles and drones, while the countermunition launchers are used against kinetic penetrators and other fast moving projectiles. The turret also features a state-of-the-art Independent Universal Viewer, more about its capabilities later.

As mentioned previously, the turret is unmanned and the entire crew sits in the front of the hull. The crew consists of two or three members - a driver and a gunner are always present, while the commander can either sit inside the tank with them, or communicate with the crew from afar while having access to all their data, sensors and being able to see what they see in real time, thanks to the power of networking. The tank can also be entirely controlled remotely, however, this is rarely used as having actual crew in the vehicle is still considered a superior option, allowing for increased situational awareness. The crew compartment is physically separated from the compartment which holds the autoloader with ammunition, for increased safety. All crew members have access to a wide variety of sensors and other tools, the most important of which is the aforementioned Independent Universal Viewer. This device continuously captures the entire 360° view of the tank's surroundings. Any crew member or remote operator can access IUV's data stream at any time and look in any direction, zoom in or use thermal imaging and other modes of enhanced view. Using a device similar to virtual reality goggles, it is even possible to look in all directions just by turning one's head, however, it is more common to just view the image on a screen. The IUV also includes other useful features, such as laser warning receivers, which warn the crew when the tank is being targeted and shows the direction from which the enemy targeting system is looking. Apart from the IUV, the gunner has their own sight mounted on the turret, parralel to the main gun. In case the IUV gets damaged or destroyed, a set of backup periscopes and sensors can be used to still operate the tank, albeit with most of the fancy features of IUV not available.

The tank is armored with a classified type of composite armor providing excellent protection, especially from the front. Many pieces of armor, especially side armor, consist of easily replaceable modules, so a damaged tank can be quickly brought back into the action. Thanks to its all-electric drive, no fuel is carried onboard, reducing the risk of fire (the battery pack is based on a classified nanolayer technology and compared to real-life batteries, it is very resistant to catching fire and burning). Explosive ammunition is still carried, but it is buried deep within the tank, separate from the crew, so ammunition detonation rarely leads to crew loss.

When the tank was deployed in the second half of the Global War against Rotharn, it decimated all opponents with ease, as even the most advanced Rotharnian armor was technologically inferior. However, it was only produced in small numbers, because even for the technologically advanced Istarian Union, it was very difficult and expensive to produce, using many sophisticated pieces of technology never used before. A simpler version of the tank, the C36I, was developed alongside the Antera 2 and built in much grater numbers. This version had similar protection to the C36E, but it was powered by a more conventional diesel-electric engine, armed with an ETC gun instead of an EM-assisted cannon, lacking the laser turret, replacing it with a light autocannon turret instead, and having a simpler version of the IUV with less functions. It was mainly used by Istarian Self Defense Force to stop Rotharnian armor breakthroughs, but it also served in the Expeditionary Force alongside its more advanced brother.

**Inspiration and Background Information:**I looked at several contemporary real-life tank designs when creating this vehicle. Some influence was drawn from KF-51 Panther, EMBT, K2, PL-01 and the AMX-56 Leclerc.

Used Software: Affinity Designer

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