- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #201
i would like to suggest an interesting vehicle for France, the LOHR VPX 5000 MTC Milan
the VPX 5000 was an extremely light tank destroyer developed by LOHR in the end of 70s. revealed for the first time in 1981, 10 vehicles were built until 1989 for test and trial & marketing purposes. the tank was an extremely small and light tank that could carry a large selection of light armament. Lohr offering a large selection of good vehicles in the early 80s was aiming for the international markets and tried to make a name for themselves. mainly offering light vehicles, they put their hope on the lightness of their vehicles and their high mobility to earn some contracts. the VPX 5000 was a family of tanks that offered high mobility for a compact vehicle. close to the concept of the German Wiesel, this tank can carry different weapons and do different missions. the version that we are suggesting here is the Milan launcher. a light tank destroyer featuring the Milan MTC turret. but most importantly, it looks much cooler than its predecessor, the VPX 110M
Sadly no orders came up for the VPX 5000 and the vehicle was no longer offered in the 90s.
Firepower
the MTC turret offers a better performance than the launcher pod. not only does it feature 2 missiles, it also provides the operator full protection and an improved optic which allows it to fire at longer distances. the turret can turn at 360° manually which might be a bit slow. probably around 15°/sec. the elevation and depression are also limited at ±15°. this is not the best but it’s not bad at all and allows the player to be fairly comfortable in all situations. it is also possible to improve the elevation with the controlled suspension which can add to the front 9° of elevation or 4° depression. there are 2 missiles ready in the turret, and 6 additional missiles are carried inside the vehicles bringing a total of 8 missiles. it’s not a lot but quite enough for a battle. the optic allows a zoom of 7x which is pretty decent.
Mobility
the VPX 5000 is extremely light. even lighter than the wheeled RPX 6000. featuring a pretty decent 180 hp engine, it will offer extremely good mobility that would allow it to outspend even the latest and fastest MBT. weighting about 4.9 tonnes loaded, the VPX 5000 will have a power/weight ratio of 36.73 which shall allow it to get an extremely high speed even off-road. the maximal speed of 80 km/h on the road would be pretty easy to reach. capable of going all-terrain, it would also fare well in soft ground and snow.
protection
the armour of this vehicles is not specified in any way. only said to be made of all-welded steel which allows us to guess, from the lightweight, that it only offered protection against small arms. that can be translated to a thickness of 8 to 10mm. this makes the VPX 5000 an extremely vulnerable vehicle who shall keep his distance from the enemy. the crew of 2 men is pretty small as well. there is also no evidence of smoke or any sort of active defence
sources
Jane's Light Tanks And Armoured Cars
Jane's Armoured Fighting Vehicle Retrofit Systems 1993 94
Jane's Armour and Artillery 85-86
