Seraphim and variants Union MBT

Seraphim Union of Worlds Main Battle Tank:

Overview:

The battle tanks of the early 21st century were extremely advanced, boasting the best armour weapons and electronic warfare capabilities they were a force to be reckoned with. Alas the world policies of combat rapidly changed to the strike first yet remain unseen tactic and many questioned the armoured tanks role in future warfare. With the tanks future uncertain the third world war soon saw that the world was reduced to ash. What evolved after were wars of rapid dominance and the tank resurrected from the old world played major parts in the wars of unification. The coalition forces needed a tank which would prove effective in combat and so looked to the pre-war Abram’s and Challenger tanks, deciding to combine the two awesome designs into one. They dubbed it the Seraphim and so the Unions MBT starts here. The seraphim performed incredibly well, both against the pre-war tanks of prophet Xing and the Tripod robot walkers of the AI AC110. The seraphim then went to the stars and was at the for front of campaigns and assaults. Fighting from the heart of the empire all the way out to the outer rim the Seraphim is renowned for its capabilities, robustness and history throughout the Union. The Seraphim is the mainstay of the Union armoured brigades and the rapid Blitzkrieg doctrine of the Unions army makes the Seraphim’s role well embedded in warfare. Many a time have Seraphim outperformed other tanks from races and empires beyond the Unions borders. The Seraphim has proved its worth against Draken devastators, Phantom Sypders and many more, and the tank itself is loved by the crew. Though advanced the Seraphim is easy to use and all Union tank crews love the tank for its interface systems are user friendly and provide much comfort to the crew. Crew comfort is also a good point here as crews may be forced to stay in their tanks for a long while due to airless environments or harsh atmospheres, even in these conditions the Seraphim’s duty will not be denied.

Capabilities:

Armament wise the Seraphim boats a 150mm Rail gun which has an effective range of many miles, its accuracy is also tremendous and thanks to the near instant contact of the accelerated slug the target is hit where the gunner aims. Using an auto stabilised turret the tank can easily engage enemies and has multiple ammo types available. AP needle rounds, HE concussive rounds or Frag rounds. Each one capable of handling different scenarios, the tank has an auto loader feature and along with Nano assemblers allow the Seraphim an unprecedented rate of fire of around 10 rounds a minute more than capable of destroying enemy tanks and armoured columns on its own. The Seraphim is also equipped with 2 Cascade cannons mounted either side of the main gun as co-axial weapons. These heavy machine guns fire up to 10,000 rounds a minute and thanks to Nano assemblers and void cooling these guns can fire indefinitely to combat infantry, cupola mounted versions can also be installed for added 360 defence. The tank carried around 50 shells which due to the 3D printer nature of the Nano assemblers allow it to choose which type of round as it loads. Preventing the run out of a particular shell. As for secondary systems the Cascade cannons carry around 6000 rounds each and are mainly used in bursts.

Defensive measures and armour wise the Seraphim are a very safe vehicle. Able to withstand huge amounts of fire and still work the Seraphim’s main armour is one meter thick quantum ceramic plate with limited nano repair ability.

Quantum Lattice plate is an advanced form of Union armour which incorporates a unique two way ERA defence. Using the Unions void cooling systems which link up to the armour the armour can 'absorb' energy weapons or the like and store energy in capacitors, when a kinetic target or even a bolt energy one the capacitors can empty in a 'flashfry' manoeuvre which vaporises or destabilises the incoming projectile and defending the tank. Giving an incredible defence. In worst case scenarios the tanks own fusion reactor can 'overdrive' itself to create power for a flashfry even though no energy weapons are being absorbed. This however causes the tanks reactor to drain fuel quicker than usual. As also a secondary factor the capacitors can also be released to create a form of 'plasma shield' on a limited target area, to intercept and destroy incoming projectiles while the other active armour or defences engage other targets.

Along with the Quantum Lattice plate additional armours are sandwiched between the plates constituting a multi layer defence. Behind the main armour plates lie a layer of Violar Nano Lathe which can harden with impact and disperse kinetic energy effectively, constituting the main defence against kinetic weaponry, this also gives the tank its nano repair capabilities and can passively heal damage in combat.

Frag Launchers: Studded across the hull are reactive frag launchers, working in concert with the flashfry and mainly used in place of to save energy these launchers fire of high velocity flechettes which destroy incoming rounds or missiles, or knocks them off target.

Cascade Cannons: Remotely computer targeted cascade cannons allow the Seraphim to engage enemy munitions before they impact the tank, firing off 50 round bursts the Cascade cannons function as CIWS for the tank and provide it with its primary active defence abilities.

Electronic abilities wise the Seraphim carries a AI capable of taking over much of the tanks systems if an emergency is called for, it also allows rapid lock on full spectrum sensor suite detection and also an enemy lock warning system. This sophisticated array of electronics is now operated by the loader. The tanks crew consists of a driver, gunner, commander, electronics operator and radio officer. Together they benefit from the electronics suite and thanks to failsafe’s and firewalls ECM can be broken through or ignored all together by the tank.

ECM systems: The Seraphim also comes with battlefield ECM systems, capable of hacking into enemy guided munitions and stopping them from locking into the tank or cutting the link so they go dud. As well as this the ECM system can screw with enemy lock on and sensor systems preventing an accurate target. In addition a laser dazzler system is installed to combat guided munitions either by destroying their guiding equipment or by dazzling their sensors so they cannot effectively target or lock on. All of which are controlled by the Seraphims on board computer.

Speed wise the Seraphim is average for the tank speed, around 50mph is the maximum its compact fusion engine will allow it to go, and the engine is very small and powers the tank while allowing for added crew space and Nano assembler space. This tank is all terrain and can function in any warzone thanks to its deployment it is loved by all.

Variants:

Demo variant: this variant is designed for siege or urban warfare where the Rail gun is replaced with a Shockwave cannon which uses pulsed energy concussive blasts to obliterate any building or fortification in its way and pulverises infantry by the sheer overpressure of the blast. Even tanks are crushed or damaged heavily by the blast though the slow charge time of the gun means it isn’t a great choice for AT battles, it is also relatively short ranged. But to compensate for this the tanks armour has been significantly upgraded to around 2 meters of armour plating reducing speed greatly but allowing it to survive urban environments.

Flame variant: armed with a giant flamethrower this tank is designed for urban warfare or use against swarms where its main weapon can douse swathes of infantry or buildings in a liquid jelly type substance that burn variously, the flames also cannot be put out with water or conventional ways meaning the enemy will always burn to death if caught. This tank s are rarely used and are very susceptible to fire into their fuel tanks, the crew of which are very pyromaniac and infantry refuse to go near the tank. But the sheer fear factor of these machines and the fact they can reduce a city to a giant conflagilation in minutes is well appreciated.

Sniper variant: used to pick off enemy commanders at miles away and destroy armoured divisions before they get in range the sniper tank carries a long barrelled rail gun which can hit its target almost instantly, it is also aided by a magnetic tunnel which stops the projectile veering off course so a guaranteed hit will be made every time. These tanks carry less armour in place for an extensive ECM and electronics suite, this means the sensor range of these tanks are incredible and they mainly function as Intel as well. The armour of this tank is also covered with a substance called Ghostanium, it is inert when left in its natural state but when a current is run through it refracts light, heat and any other spectrum rendering the tank invisible and allowing ambushes to take place.

Viper AA variant: used as the mainstay of Union air defence the Rapier is armed with 4 heavy cascade cannons can reduce the sky to a choking place of flak in seconds give it the nickname ‘widow maker’ for once the tank has you in its sites you are as good as doomed. The AI on board tracks its targets and uses calculations to predict the targets movements allowing a kill ratio above all others to be attained. This tank can also be used against ground targets destroying infantry and light armour with ease. All those who have faced the Union have stories to tell about the Viper and its incredible enforcement of a No fly zone.

Hellfire AA variant: used alongside the Viper but a lot rarer the Hellfire amounts a Hellfire ML which uses Nano assemblers to achieve a high rate of fire, in minutes the sky is filled with homing missiles which are hard to evade. When used in combination with the Viper the sky is a death trap to all. Unfortunately the Hellfire’s missiles cannot be fired at ground targets and so the Viper seems to be a better choice than this old tank, it is slowly being phased out but many still insist it is useful.

Drone variant: A new variant to the Venerable Seraphim, the Drone variant is completely unmanned and mounts a more sophisticated AI bundle which can operate the tank with ease, groups of these tanks can even operate without guidance pooling their collective porcessing power into one massive virtual AI, groups of these tanks have been known to fight solo wars with the enemy even after the Union prescence on a planet has been defeated.

Command Tank Variant: this variant mounts improved coms and a upgraded battle field uplink hosting AI. This allows the commander to co ordinate his forces with greater accuracy, another way this tank can be used is to use it as a Drone Hub tank controlling any unmanned drone tanks in the area. This variant rarely sees combat due to its hang back and command role.

Heavy defence variant: Equipped with extra Quantum lattice plate and Missile cages this variant is designed to be used in either urban combat or siege assault where it can easily take punishment, it is also equipped with a additional mounted AI controlled cascade cannon which can shoot down incoming missiles, these tanks are fairly rare in the Union and highly specialised.


Nano Repair variant: The Unions purpose built repair tank in its dome contain billions of Nanites which self-replicate and swarm over the battlefield repairing damage and returning wrecked tanks to function in short order, they can also be used as a shield in some way and can protect the repair tank as well as be used to destroy enemy vehicles and eat away infantry but sanction must be granted for it to be used in this way.

Mobile shield generator variant: Mounting a mark 3 Crenelated Shield generator this variant cannot directly defend itself but can protect everything in a mile radius from artillery and direct fire, units can however move through the shield. These are frequently seen throughout the Union forces. This can however be mounted with a defensive Cascade cannon if needed.

Mobile stealth field generator: Mounting a full displacement stealth field projector this tank is used if certain areas or moving forces need to be concealed, both from visual and scanner detection. Often seen used in the artillery and AA companies these are also found alongside any sort of flanking forces or when things need to be hidden. This can however be mounted with a defensive Cascade cannon if needed.

Plasma cannon variant: More of an experiment in incorporating Violar Plasma Fusil technology into Seraphim MBTs, equipped with a short range heavy plasma cannon this tank can create large AOE blasts effective against entrenched infantry and close up vehicles, alas its short range puts it at a disadvantage however the power of the gun more than makes up for it.

Meson Laser Variant: Another experiment the Meson Laser variant was made to be an effective long range anti tank and stop gap AA vehicle, however the tank suffers from no AOE and so can only engage one enemy target at a time, however the power of the Meson laser can punch through enemy armour and also aircraft, making this tank a more regularly seen variant.




Seraphim and variants plus Union of Worlds belong to me

(Current Update! Seraphim MBT designed by All other variants and glow effects were created by me, a very excellent joint project with fantastic results, love the new look thanks victor!)

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