- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #120
I would suggest the ERC 25 Lanza also known as ERC TTB125
the ERC 25 Lanza is a technology demonstrator for the TTB 125 turret. revealed in 1983 during story IX, the ERC 25 Lanza shows some very good performance and features. the turret was designed to offer a wide range of roles for any light armored vehicles tracked or wheeled. this turret offered at the same time, anti-armor capacity, anti-helicopter capacity, light direct fire support, reconnaissance capacity, and urban adaptation. The Panhard ERC was used for his chassis. the ERC introduced in services in 1980 was at the time quite new and considered very good. the vehicle was initially offered as an export venture as the successor of the AML 90 but the main used turned out to be France itself who took the fancy of this vehicle (ERC 90) for their use. the ERC 90 in France was only retired recently. it was natural for SAMM, who produced the TTB 125 turret to present the turret with the ERC chassis in 1983. the vehicle was perfectly capable of carrying the turret and used it in the role it was intended for. this choice probably improved the chance to export the turret but no buyer was found.
Firepower
The main armament for the ERC 25 is not the usual French auto-cannon. this one is carrying the American Hugues chaingun 25mm M242. this auto-cannon had only the M791 APDS and M792 HEI rounds available as the M910 APFSDS was only introduced in 1996 and the characteristic and development was only approved in 1986. that means the ERC 25 never had access to those rounds. the gun is extremely swift. 160 rounds are ready in the turret in 2 belts, and an additional 80 rounds are stored in the turret for a total of 240 rounds. this ammo loaded is not much but with a rate of fire of 200 rounds per minute, this is enough. the gun can elevate at -8° to +50° at the very great speed of 30°/sec. the turret can turn at 360° at a good speed of 60°/sec. this is not a proper anti-aircraft vehicle but it was designed to be capable of fighting helicopters and in the game, it would also be capable of engaging some airplanes. the sight offers a zoom of 7x which is not great for long-range engagement but this is not a vehicle for long-range engagement anyway. the vehicles also feature night vision for a night engagement. but the most exceptional, since it’s France, this vehicle has a gyro-stabilizer for the gun and optic to allow engagement in movement while turning the turret.
- Auto-cannon
- Night vision
- Dual commander/gunner control
- Two plane stabilizer
- Zoom 1x-7x (4x-7x with NVG)
Mobility
the vehicle will have great mobility. the weight is not stated anywhere (at least not in a reliable source) but we can estimate it to be 7.7 tons (ERC 90 with TS 90 is 8.3 tons, the TS 90 is 2.4 tonnes. The TTB 125 is 1.8 tonnes. by subtraction and addition we can guess the weight). the vehicles have a Peugeot V-6 Petrol engine providing 145 hp at 5500 rpm. this should give a power weight of 18.83 hp/ton. each of the 6 wheels is powered. the front and rear wheels are sprung by single coil springs with concentric telescopic hydraulic dampers while the center wheels can be retracted for road drive and are sprung by hydropneumatic units. the gearbox offers 6 forward speeds and 1 reverse. the vehicle can reach a speed of 95 km/h, making it rather fast. this vehicle is also amphibious which gives it a tactical advantage. in the water, it can reach a speed of 7.2 km/h
Protection
the chassis is protected against LMG and Shardnel. the armor is 10mm everywhere and has a good slope at the front. there is also a lot of structural armor on the side that can add a bit to the survivability of the vehicle but it will be far from changing anything in most situations. the turret is more protected a bit. with 20mm of armour at the front with a 20° which would be enough against 12.7mm. the side is offering 10mm and the rear 8mm. the crew is made of 3 men of which 2 are in the turret. 8 smoke is supposed to be included, but I can’t see it anywhere on the pictures.
Sources
Catalogue Materiels Français de defense terrestre
TTB 125
SAMM pamphlet
Spoiler
