High Survivability Test Vehicle - Lightweight

"lightweight, or it lights, like a candle"

• The High Survivability Test Vehicle (Lightweight) (HSTV(L)) was a U.S. Army light tank manufactured by AAI Corporation. It was developed under the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM) Armored Combat Vehicle Technology (ACVT) program.

• In early 1977 the Army selected proposals from AAI and Pacific Car and Foundry for HSTV(L) concept feasibility analysis. In December 1977, the Army awarded the HSTV(L) fabrication contract to AAI. One reported early challenge was meeting the HSTV(L)'s weight target. As of September 1981, no significant problems were reported with the HSTV(L).

• Martin Marietta expressed interest in a joint venture with the AAI Corporation to enter a version of the HSTV-L into the U.S. Army's Armored Gun System competition. The corporation apparently decided that the technology was not sufficiently advanced to proceed with radical changes in the HSTV-L to meet the new AGS requirements, therefore, they did not bid on the program.

• The AAI HSTV(L) is powered by a Avco Lycomming 650hp gas turbine (derived from the LTS101). It is connected to an automatic 4-speed X-300 transmission made by Detroit Diesel Allison, the turbine being placed behind the transmission. It used a fixed height hydro-pneumatic suspension system and tracks modified from those used on the M551 Sheridan.

• The main armament consisted of an Ares Incorporated XM274 75 mm CTA autocannon with 2-axis stabilization capable of firing Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot and high-explosive. Secondary armament consisted of a coaxial 7.62 mm M240 machine gun and a commander's M240. AAI had originally planned to place a .50 caliber (12.7 mm) heavy machine gun at the commander's hatch.

• The AAI HSTV(L) had an unconventional crew layout, with the commander located in the turret, and the driver and gunner being located in the hull. The commander had access to a 2-axis stabilized hunter sight produced by Texas Instruments that was independent of the turret and allowed him to freely locate targets, and then slave the turret to his sight. The gunner would then engage the target while the commander looked for the next target. Both the gunner's sight and commander's hunter-killer sight were 2-axis stabilized, had both direct vision and FLIR optics, and with the gunner's sight having access to a CO2 eye safe laser rangefinder made by Raytheon. Any crewmember could use the armament as both the hunter-killer sight and gunner's primary sight were available through a tv screen mounted at each crew station, but only the gunner and driver could drive. there was also a fixed rear view tv camera to help with reversing.
  

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Note:

• Testbed for advanced FCS that I made by myself (its just a bunch of codes put together)

• No interior for this build, this is just a stop-gap build just so yall know that im still "alive" and not "dead"

• Damn who knows FT wizardy could be very hard to master, i have trouble fixing the FCS for about four hours

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Controls:

(FCS information available in game instructions)

Trim/Yaw: Tank Control
Pitch/Roll: Turret Control
VTOL: Adjust Ride Height

AG1: FLIR
AG2: Precision Mode
AG3: Slave turret to TC sight
AG4: Ammo Switch (APFSDS-HE)
AG5: Override FCS
AG7: Headlights
AG8: Lock Turret Controls

Armaments:

75mm ARES XM274 Autocannon
- 60x rounds
- 30x XM885 APFSDS-T
- 30x XM886 HE-VT

1x .308 cal M240
- 2500x rounds

1x .50 cal M2HB Browning
- 600x rounds

lol