Before the Introduction:

Seems like Alopix is officially my platinum celebration build, so yeah. Many, many thanks to everyone who has assisted me in getting me to this point, after almost 6 years lol.

Introduction:

The M42E4X Super Alopix II Enhanced Main Battle Tank - Next Generation (EMBT-NG) is a 70.5-ton twenty-first century main battle designed and developed by United Arsenal for the Grand Army of the Republic of Aurum to replace the obsolete M21 Alopix I. Alopix is built to be able to handle any challenges the 21st century will throw at it throughout the course of its service career. The MBT has a variety of protection kits available, each one tailored for different combat environments and scenarios. The Alopix portrayed in this build is the M42E4X Super Alopix II EMBT “Money Shot”, Unit 69 of the 1st Heavy Armor Brigade of the Spartan Tank Division of the Grand Army of the Republic of Aurum. It is fitted with a pair of custom 2000W Speaker/Subwoofer sound systems.

Development:

Prior to the introduction of the M42 Alopix II, the Grand Army of the Republic had been using the M21 Alopix I Main Battle Tank. The Alopix I had been developed in the mid 50s, entering production and service by the beginning of the 60s; by the mid/late-80s it was quite clear to the Armed Forces High Command that the M21 was vastly outdated and was no longer capable of handling current threats. With this, a requirement for a new MBT was established in 1982, which called for “an Enhanced Main Battle Tank capable of holding its own against current threats as well as possess the ability to be upgraded in the future to hold its own against the threats of the future.” The initial attempt at a replacement for the M21 was a joint MBT development project between the Republic of Aurum and the Federal Republic of Quare. The project quickly became very costly, and ended up in an MBT with only somewhat improved capabilities compared to the M21 at a significantly greater cost. The project was terminated in 1988. 6 years later, in 1994, the GARA returned to the requirement it had put out in 1982 and made another attempt at a replacement, albeit this time the program was entirely domestic. Several United Arsenal divisions worked on the project, with West Star Land Systems developing the chassis, Kerlonceaux Motorworks providing the powerplant and transmission, as well as the modularized powerpack, Gold Wind Gunworks providing the newly developed G28 L55 smoothbore autoloader, Republic Dynamics providing the turret as well as designing the Worcestershire armor used in the tank, and Quantum Electronics Ltd. providing all of the electronic systems in conjunction with Republic Dynamics. With this, several prototypes were developed and tested and the M42 Alopix II came out as the victor. The first M42E1 rolled off of the production line in early 1997, although it was rapidly replaced by the M42E2 by 1999 due to numerous design issues corrected in all models E2 and beyond, which have seen significant upgrades including an almost entirely digital interior for all three members, an addition found standard in all E3B models (introduced mid-2010) and beyond, as well as in E2 models kept in service and refitted to E3B standard. All E3B through E3C models were refitted to E3E (equivalent to E4X) standard starting in 2019 and finishing in 202; the E3D export model was discontinued and replaced with the E2F export model. Weight of the tank increased significantly with the E4X standard, notably with the introduction of Worcestershire X composite ceramic armor modules, bringing it up to around 68-70.5 tons, depending on specific equipment fitted.

Armament:

The main armament of the Alopix consists of a fully stabilized Gold Wind Gunworks G28 125mm L55 autoloading smoothbore. The G28, coupled with sophisticated all-digital fire control systems can fire a variety of ammunition, including Armor-Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding-Sabot, High Explosive Anti-Tank Fin-Stabilized, Gun-Launched Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, as well as Canister (anti-personnel round) and White Phosphorus.

The standard secondary armament of the E4X Alopix consists of a .50 coaxial Heavy Machine Gun, another two M84HB .50 HMGs on mounts for the commander and gunner, one each. A GAU-19 Remote Operated Weapons System developed by Republic Dynamics and Gold Wind Gunworks is also present although the mounting can be replaced with other weapons, including 12.7mm HMGs, 20mm autocannons, or even a 50mm Remote Automatic Mortar System.

The M42E4X has a very sophisticated, next-generation multi-mode F600 Fire Control System, which is standard on all E4X production models and retrofitted to all E3E models. Export models are restricted from using the F600 and instead use the less advanced F500 FCS, equivalent to that used by the M1A2. The advanced F600 FCS makes use of an AI to aid in target tracking, and allows the MBT to keep the gun on stationary and moving targets, and uses data from the various sensor systems, including a crosswind sensor, temperature sensors, Muzzle Reference Sensor to calculate barrel drop, and various other systems to automatically lead the target to ease the gunner’s workload. The AI is also capable of taking in data from the periscopes, which are fully digital CCTV systems with built-in thermal capability, and spotting targets while also alerting the crew to the detection of a target. IFF information can also be used in determining whether a contact is friendly or hostile.

125mm Ammunition:
-M731E2 Depleted Uranium APFSDS
-M831E1 Tungsten APFSDS
-M457 HEAT-FS
-M510E5 HESH-FS
-M609 MPAT
-M370 Scythe GL-ATGM
-M999 Canister
-M202 White Phosphorus (Phased out of GARA service in 2003 although supplies kept in storage)
Note: M731E2 is functionally equivalent to M829A4

Protection:

Armor:
Alopix’s main armor protection consists of a modular Worcestershire composite armor system. Worcestershire consists of a pair of steel plates between which multiple layers of Silicon Carbide tiles are sandwiched within a metal framework and elastic layers, similarly to Chobham armor. Worcestershire X, which incorporates Depleted Uranium in the armor matrix, is used on M42E3E and M42E4X MBTs. Armor thickness is equivalent to an M1 Abrams although with an additional 100mm of protection in the turret face.

Active Protection System:
Alopix possesses a triple-layer APS consisting of the Roundhouse, Uppercase, and Balzac hardkill systems. Other options for APS are available as well, including an AMAP-ADS as well as various softkill systems, notably multi-purpose smoke grenade launchers and infrared dazzlers.

Powerpack:

The M42 was originally driven by a Kerlonceaux Motorworks T600 multifuel gas turbine able to produce 1750 shaft horsepower at 3300rpm and 6250 N·m of torque at 1000rpm. The transmission was a sixteen-speed automatic with ten forward gears and 6 reverse gears.

The M42E4X and M42E3E use a 40.2L D1025WX W24 twin-supercharged multifuel diesel engine generating 2025hp and 6750 N·m of torque at 2000rpm. It is mated with an A100C Hydraulic Mechanical Continuously Variable Transmission. Remaining M42E2 and M42E3 units in service have been refitted with this powerpack.

In addition, the M42E4X possesses a Power Distribution Management System which handles the distribution of power from the APU or alternators to the various systems present in the tank. It is designed to maximize the available power.

Sensors and Optics:

The M42E4X has access to a variety of sensor systems. The commander has access to a sophisticated panoramic sight which contains both an Nd:YAG laser rangefinder as well as a ×2.5, ×5, ×10, x15, x25, x50, x75 magnification direct day channel and a ×2.5, ×7.5, ×15, x20, and x25,x 50, x75 magnification video channel on top of a night vision mode for the electronic channel. The gunner has a sight with a ×2.5 and ×10, x15, x25, x50, x75 direct day channel and a ×2.5, ×5 and ×10, x15, x25, x50, x75 video channel with night vision mode. A pair of AN/FPS-32 AESAs are present as part of the Bulwark APS suite. All periscopes on the tank are fully digital; all three crew also have fifth-generation thermals incorporated into their digital periscopes.

Variants:

M42E1 - Officially the initial test batch, completely retired within 2 years and rebuilt as E2A models.

M42E2(A) - Official initial service model.

M42E2B - 2005 update, most E2A tanks not refitted to this standard.

M42E3A - 2008 prototype, batch of 10 units used for testing new systems.

M42E3B - Official production version of E3A model.

M42E3C - 2012 update including new thermals and the F500 FCS.

M42E3D - E3C models downgraded to E2B standard for export.

M42E3F - M42E3C-standard units including former E3D models.

M42E3E - 2019-2020 refit of E3B and E3C service models to E4X standard and to further standardize designations. Banned from export due to the 1990 High Technology Export Restriction Act.

M42E4X - Major overhaul introduced in 2019 which included a vast number of changes and improvements. Banned from export due to the 1990 High Technology Export Restriction Act.

Controls:

VTOL - Throttle
Yaw - Steering
Roll - Horizontal Drive Control
Pitch - Vertical Drive Control
Trim - Nothing
LandingGear - Mirrors

Action Group 1 - Toggle Main Gun and Turret
Action Group 2 - Toggle Commander’s HMG
Action Group 3 - Toggle Gunner’s HMG
Action Group 4 - Toggle Remote Operated Weapon System
Action Group 5 - Nothing
Action Group 6 - Toggle Roundhouse Active Protection System
Action Group 7 - Toggle Headlights
Action Group 8 - Toggle NVD
Action Group 1 + Action Group 5 - Activate the Automatic Hunter-Killer Mode

Images:

Courtesy of One2

Credits:

-One2 for the Yin-Yang with fox paws as well as the thumbnail screenshot.
-edensk and Trotsky for help with some FT code, with Trotsky providing the final code used for the GAU-19 bootleg.
-DarDragon for providing the turret control code.
-Snow for the LRF display used in the gunsight reticle.
-NumbersNumbersTheMan for dedragging the whole thing (the gains in PC performance are insane lmao).
-Anio for helping me get the M84HB finished as well as giving me the idea for the fire selector system.
-Shirakami for the idea of giving my own MBT a fully stabilized gunsight.
-Fwippos for helping with the Greek translation of the name.