Mars 15 T.25, light auto-cannon tank

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caid’s suggestion #121

I would suggest the Mars 15 with T.25 turret

The Mars 15 was a light tank developed by Creusot-Loire industry and revealed in 1990 during Satory 90. The tank was intended to be the successor of the long-life AMX 13. Featuring high standardization, the Mars 15 was a modular tank that could easily be used in a wide choice of roles. Depending on his role, the rear part of the chassis could be changed to a different one to be a light tank, an APC, a reconnaissance vehicle, a fire-support vehicle, commanding vehicles, Radar vehicles, IFV, SPAA, and pretty much every single existing role you can give to a tank. The one we suggest here is the AFV version mounting the Creusot-Loire T.25 turret. This version was presented in 1992 during Satory and was the 2nd version of the Mars 15 ever presented. Featuring the tall chassis module with a 25mm armed turret, this tank was more adapted to reconnaissance roles and urban combat. This vehicle could also provide fire support against low-flying aircraft. Sadly, with the Fall of the USSR in 1991, the budget for new vehicles was cut about everywhere around the world and the market was flooded with cheap IFV/AFV from the world’s superpower who reduced their inventory significantly. This led the Mars 15 to be doomed to failure. the program was already founded so Creusot-Loire still went on with their trial, only there was next to no chance for export or production.

Firepower
The main armament of this tank is the 25mm M242 Bushmaster. this is an auto-cannon notably used on the M3 Bradley. This one could almost have access to the M910 APFSDS rounds as this round was introduced in 1996 but this tank was built in 1992. Sadly it was cancelled before 1996 which makes it unlikely to have access to this round, but I would not lose my mind if Gaijin decides to add it. The turret has an elevation of -8 to +55 at the speed of 30°/sec (0.524 rad/s) and the turret can turn on 360 at the speed of 50°/sec (0.873 rad/s). this makes the turret capable of tracking down low-flying aircraft such as helicopters and can fight in urban environments. there is 260 rounds carried in the turret and the chassis is capable of carrying a lot more (unspecified number) which would allow the player to sustain a long engagement. the fire rate of the gun is 200 rounds in minutes which may seem easy to deplete the ammunition but in fact, there will be almost no situation where a player will have to just hold the trigger for 75 sec straight which is the time it will take to empty the ammo carried in the turret. The sight have a zoom of 4x and the commander has a 6.8 zoom. the turret comes with a night vision and the commander has an override control. A 7.62mm MAG-FN with 200 rounds magazine is placed as coaxial.

  • Night vision
  • Commander override


Mobility
The tank has good mobility. The Baudouin GF12SRY diesel engine offers 420 hp. The turret is 1 tonnes lighter than the Mars 15 C90 we have in-game which allows us to know the weight of the tank to be around 15 tonnes. This will improve a fair bit the acceleration of the tank but it would still keep it pretty mobile. the Renk HSWL 106 transmission offering 6-speed with an inverter allows the tank to go at 75 km/h with a power weight of 26.67 hp/ton. this is a much smoother mobility than the AMX 13.

protection
The protection of this tank is light. The tank was built entirely in High Hardness MARS 240 steel which is what gave it its name (MARS steel of 15-tonne class) the steel offers complete protection against LMG fire and shrapnel. While sometimes it would be enough to block 12.7mm, it would not be safe to believe it would be safe to expose themselves in this fire. Anything above 12.7mm of the modern era would barely notice this vehicle is armored. the tank is small and mobile which Is the main feature that keeps it alive. 8x smoke launcher are placed at the rear corner of the turret to provide cover. The crew includes 3 men but depending on his role, one or two extra men could work in the rear compartment as field officers or radio operators or such, only those there because this vehicle is also used as a mobile work station in some configurations.

Sources

Catalogue de materiel Français de l'arme terrestre

Janes IDF

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+1 big need for these kind of vehicles in the French tree

1 Like
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From the sources I have read this tank should have 420 HP 6 forward and 3 reverse gears. "Vehicles were powered by French Baudouin GF12SRY supercharged diesel engines, developing 420 hp. Engine was mated to a German Renk HSWL 106 automatic transmission with 6 forward and 3 reverse speeds. " - MARS 15 Main Battle tank | World Defense

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Secondary sources, especially private forums like that website, are unreliable.

I happen to have a primary source and it turns out you are about right.
The engine is a Baudouin 6F12SRY and not a GF12SRY (they probably mistook the 6 for a G) and offers 420 hp gross power or 400 hp net power