Polar Star Manufacturing Leopard Medium Tank:


Nobody actually knows that much about Polar Star Manufacturing. There are a variety of rumors with one of the most persistent being that the company was formed by a number of escaped engineers from Iron Heart Armament. It is possible although there designs are quite different from Iron Heart designs. Of course that might be explainable as to keep them below the Coalition's radar. Rumor is also that their facilities are somewhere in the North West, perhaps in the lands of what was once Canada. Perhaps they found an intact Pre-Rifts manufacturing facility. The company only produces a handful of designs although unlike companies such as Iron Armor and Alamo Armory, they produce more than just ground vehicles.


One of the best selling designs is the Leopard Tank. It appears to be based on Pre-Rifts designs for the old Leopard II tank which the Canadian military operated. With the wearing out of Iron Heart vehicles, this tank is becoming quite popular. It is a bit heavier than the Iron Fist although serves a similar role. Cost is on par with the Iron Fist as well. As such, the tank is a fraction of the cost of most robot vehicles.


Quality of Polar Star vehicles is good but not outstanding. Quality is similar to that of Alamo Armory although the two companies seem quite different in most respects. The Leopard can withstand more damage than the Iron Fist although is not as tough as the Iron Hammer. The Leopard is a little light in the armor compared to most tanks of its weight class although not horribly so.


Top speed of the Leopard is slightly inferior to the Iron Fist with a top speed on roads of around one hundred kilometers per hour and slightly less when operating off road. The Leopard is available with one of three different power plants. It has an available hybrid diesel and electric system. Iron Heart Armament designs run gas turbines which makes them far less efficient. Still, special caution had to be made due to the quality of fuels available on Rift Earth. The Leopard has a range of about twelve hundred kilometers with its hybrid propulsion system. The second is doing away completely with liquid fuel and instead a pure battery powered version. This has similar range and needs to be recharged periodically. The final is fusion powered. This gives effective unlimited range but is by far the most expensive option. It also appears as if Polar Star does not have the facilities to manufacture their own fusion plants but instead adapt fusion plants to their designs.


Most weapon system mounted on Polar Star designs are manufactured by other companies with Wellington Industries being quite popular. Main gun of the Leopard is a 120 mm cannon which the tank carries fifty-five round standard. Part of the additional ammunition able to be carried is due to the fact than an automatic loader replaces a human loader. A variety of different ammunition types available with armor piecing sabot rounds being popular when dealing with enemy armor. Coaxial to the 120 mm cannon is a heavy plasma weapon. This is the NG-E12 plasma ejector and can be highly effective. Power in the non fusion models of the Leopard are provided by a high capacity storage cell. The commander of the vehicle has combination mount which has both a second NG-E12 plasma ejector and a Wellington automatic grenade launcher. The grenade launcher has eight hundred rounds normally carried. The weapon mount can be operated remotely from inside of the turret.


While not standard, most crews mount missile launchers on either side of the turret. A pair of Wellington four tube mini-missile launchers can be mounted for a total of eight mini-missiles. There is no provisions to carry a large number of mini-missiles internally. Some crews have carried a box or two of missiles externally although creates extreme risks. For defense against attack, the tank carries a pair of smoke grenade dispensers. Each launcher has twelve grenades for a total of twenty four grenades. Mostly smoke is carried but decoy and prismatic aerosol types can be used as well. There is consideration to mounting Wellington “Super Claymore” systems for defense against attacking infantry.


The tank lacks full life support systems although does have an excellent filtration system and a sophisticated air conditioning / heating system. Most crews, when operating in hostile situations, wear full environmental body armor, which limits exposure anyway. The tank does have an advance fire control computer as well as periscopes to see over most terrain. The tank also has night vision and thermal imaging equipment.


Model Type: Polar Star Leopard Main Battle Tank
Vehicle Type: Main Battle Tank
Crew: Three (Driver, Commander, and Gunner)


M.D.C. by Location:

[1] Tractor Treads (2):100 each
Commander Remote Weapon Station100
[2] WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher (Commander):40
[2] NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector (Commander):30
Weapon Turret:280
Wellington 120 mm Smooth-Bore Gun (Turret):120
[2] NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector (Turret - Coaxial):30
WI-25 Four Tube Mini-Missile Launchers - Optional (2, turret):30 each
[2] Smoke / Gas Dispensers (2):20 each
[3] Main Body:600


Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the tank until it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the inexperienced. Changing the tread is only advisable when the vehicle is not under attack.
[2] These are small and difficult targets to strike, requiring the attacker to make a “called shot,” but even then the attacker is -4 to strike.
[3] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is completely shut down and is unsalvageable.


Speed:
Ground: Cruising speed on land is 62.14 mph (100 kph) on roads and 57.17 mph ( 92.0 kph) off road maximum. The vehicle is designed to traverse virtually all terrain and can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a much slower speed (About 10% of maximum road speed). It can also climb barriers and ford trenches. The vehicle can also handle side slopes of up to 30%.
Underwater: Can be equipped with snorkel to run underwater down to 16.4 feet (5.0 meters)
Maximum Range: Conventional Hybrid or Pure Electric: 745.65 miles (1,200 kilometers). Nuclear: Effectively Unlimited (10 year life)


Statistical Data:
Height: 9.84 feet (3.0 meters)
Width: 12.30 feet (3.75 meters)
Length: Main Body: 25.23 feet (7.69 meters) and with Gun Forward: 32.71 feet (9.97 meters).
Weight: 66.1 tons (60 metric tons)
Power Source: Three versions: Conventional, Diesel / Electric Hybrid, Pure Electric, or Fusion Powered with 10 year life span. Each developed around 1,600 horsepower.
Cargo Capacity: Minimal, enough for equipment with crew. Usually each crew carries a pistol, light carbine, and usually the tank carries a rocket launcher for defense against other armor if the crew is forced to evacuate the tank.
Black Market Cost: Conventional Hybrid: 2.8 Million Credits, Pure Electrical: 3.4 Million Credits, and Fusion Powered: 25 Million Credits (life span of 10 years). Four Shot Mini-Missile Box Launchers cost 65,000 Credits for a pair of launchers.


Weapon Systems

  1. Wellington 120 mm L55 Smooth Bore Gun: Very similar to the Iron Fist's main cannon and unlike the original Leopard II main battle tank, the Polar Star Leopard mounts an auto loader. The gun can fire a wide variety of loads, including high-explosive (HE), high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT), armor-piercing explosive (AP),and armor piercing sabot-discarding solids (APSD). The turret can rotate 360 degrees and the gun can elevate 20 degrees and depress 10 degrees. Fired by the main gunner.
    Maximum Effective Range: 11,500 feet (3,500 meters) for direct fire with discarding sabot round, 6,000 feet (1828 meters) for direct fire with all other rounds, and indirect fire range of 26,250 feet (8,000 meters).
    Mega-Damage: High Explosive: 1D6x10 with a blast radius of 20 feet (6.1 meters). High Explosive Anti-Tank: 2D6x10, blast radius of 10 feet (3.05 meters). Armor Piercing: 2D4x10. Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot: 3D4x10 (optional rule is that cannon gets a critical on a natural 18, 19, or 20 due to its high penetration)
    Rate of Fire: A Maximum of three (3) attacks per melee.
    Payload: 55 rounds.
    Bonuses: Has a special fire control computer that helps to aim the cannon. Gives +2 to strike with cannon and vehicle does not have minuses to fire when tank is moving.
  2. Coaxial NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector: Powerful secondary weapon which fires a blast of plasma. Coaxial weapon points wherever the main gun points and has the same limitations. In fusion models, power is pulled directly from the power plant although conventional and pure electric models much use a high capacity battery to power the coaxial weapon system.
    Maximum Effective Range: 2,000 feet (610 meters)
    Mega Damage: 1D6x10 per plasma blast
    Rate of Fire: Equal to the gunner's hand to hand attacks.
    Payload: Conventional Hybrid / Pure Electric: 42 blasts from the main battery. Can plug in E-Clips for addition blasts (6 shots short E-Clip, 12 Shots each long E-Clip). Fusion: Effectively Unlimited.
  3. Commander Remote Weapon Station: The remote weapon station is designed to be controlled from inside the tank so that the commander is protected. The weapon station combines a plasma ejector with an automatic grenade launcher. The weapon mount combines a Wellington WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher and a Northern Gun NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector. Conventional and Pure Electically powered models use a high capacity battery to power the plasma ejector while fusion powered models pull power directly off the reactor. The grenade launcher is extremely effective against troops while the plasma ejor is better against fast moving targets.
    Maximum Effective Range: NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector: 2,000 feet (610 meters). WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher: 3,000 feet (914 meters)
    Mega Damage: NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector: 1D6x10 per plasma blast. WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher: 4D6 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 12 feet (3.6 meters) and 1D4x10 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 3 feet (0.9 meter), burst of 10 rounds does 2D6x10 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 40 feet (12 meters) and 3D6x10 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 8 feet (2.4 meters.)
    Rate of Fire: Both Weapons: Equal to the gunner's hand to hand attacks.
    Payload: NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector, Conventional Hybrid / Pure Electric: 42 blasts from the main battery. Can plug in E-Clips for addition blasts (6 shots short E-Clip, 12 Shots each long E-Clip). NG-E12 Heavy Plasma Ejector, Fusion: Effectively Unlimited. WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher: 800 Rounds.
  4. Two (2) WI-25 Four Tube Mini-Missile Launchers (Optional): Mounted on either side of the vehicle's turret, these launchers are lightweight but add greatly to the potential firepower of the vehicle. Controlled by the gunner, each one has four tubes than can be fired individually or all four in each may be fired at the same time. The weapon has to be manually reloaded although the tank is not designed to carry reloads. As such, no reloads are usually carried although some crews have been known to carry them externally.
    Maximum Effective Range: Varies by mini-missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
    Mega-Damage: Varies by mini-missile type (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
    Rate of Fire: Single shot or all four mini-missiles only (Both launchers cannot be combined)
    Payload: 8 total (4 each), takes 15 seconds (one melee) to reload each launcher.
  5. Smoke Dispenser (2): Mounted on either side of the tank and launches smoke grenades. While other types of grenades can be used, they have been rarely carried. Recently, there has been consideration for the use of prismatic aerosol and decoy grenades to help protect the vehicle against lasers and other weaponry.
    Effect: Creates a cloud of smoke 40 ft (12 m) in diameter. Other special effects per grenade type
    Rate of Fire: Two per melee
    Range: 1,200 feet (365 m)
    Payload: Carries 12 smoke grenades per launcher (24 total.)


Sensory Equipment:



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Writeup by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).


Copyright © 2010, Kitsune. All rights reserved.


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