Someone suggested a lighter version of the Reynard with a fuel cell powerplant. I decided to take that idea and run with it, hence the Red Fox.
Red Fox Medium Tank
Mass: 45 tons
Tech Base: Inner Sphere
Motive Type: Tracked
Rules Level: Advanced Rules
Era: Clan Invasion
Tech Rating/Era Availability: E/X-X-F-A
Production Year: 0
Cost: 1,867,963 C-Bills
Battle Value: 799
Power Plant: Omni 225 Fuel Cell Engine
Cruise Speed: 54.0 km/h
Flanking Speed: 86.4 km/h
Armor: StarGuard HFR Heavy Ferro-Fibrous
Armament:
2 Mydron Snakekiller Light AC/5s
1 Federated Streak SRM-2
1 ChisComp 39 Small Laser
Manufacturer: Corean Enterprises
Primary Factory: New Avalon
Communications System: Corean Transband X
Targeting and Tracking System: Corean B-Tech
Overview:
The Red Fox medium tank project grew out of the Reynard heavy tank.
Looking to expand on the success of their previous armored vehicle, Corean took
longer to try and make a faster medium tank based on the same chassis. The
primary consideration was to replace the efficient but bulky Cummins ICE
powerplant with the Omni fuel-cell powerplant that promised to be smaller yet
more powerful and efficient. The Corean engineers found this to be a bigger
challenge than they had thought, as the Reynard chassis was designed around the
previous powerplant. Finally they decided to start over from scratch with a
new chassis and work from there. What they came up with was a faster tank
than the Reynard but had comparable firepower and protection. The Red Fox was
soon put into production as quickly as possible.
Capabilities:
The core of the Red Fox is the new Omni 220 fuel-cell powerplant. The
fuel-cell concept is simple enough in theory but to make it a viable power
plant for a combat vehicle took longer than anticipated due to the need for it
to be reliable under combat conditions. The new system has shown itself to be
all that, and remarkable compact for its power output. What the new
powerplant lacks, though, is the endurance of both older ICE powerplants or
more expensive fusion one. In spite of the lack of range, the Omni gives the
Red Fox comparable speeds to most medium tanks.
The firepower of the Red Fox is based almost directly on the preceeding
Reynard. The primary firepower is based on the twin Mydron Snakekiller light
autocannons in a low-profile turret with enough elevation to act as an
enti-aircraft tank if needed. With three tons of ammunition providing a
variety of ammunition types that the gunner can switch between, the autocannons
provide one of the most flexible weapon systems on a combat vehicle. A single
Federated Streak SRM launcher provides accurate anti-vehicle firepower at close
range, while a single ChisComp 39 small laser under the control of the driver
provides infantry defense as well as being effective against unarmored vehicles.
The Transband X communications system is a very flexible and powerful
system, enabling the Red Fox to work as a heavy armored cavalry tank by being
powerful enough to cut through most known electronic jamming and interference.
It also has a tightbeam mode capable of reaching low orbit without the need of
a dedicated dish antenna. The Corean B-Tech targeting system was carried over
from the Reynard, as it is well suited to the flexibility of the twin
autocannons.
Deployment:
The Red Fox is starting to become more common is the AFFS armored units,
both as a dedicated heavy cavalry tank as well as supporting armored infantry
units. The tank is also starting to be seen as a lighter anti-aircraft
platform in some units that may not have the need for a slower tank such as the
Partisan. The only thing that holds the tank back from being more widely seen
is the fuel-cell powerplant that limits its range as a cavalry unit, trying it
more closely to fuel supplies than other tanks.
Variants:
There are two known variants of the Red Fox. One involves replacing the
two autocannons with a single Holly Ballista-20 LRM launcher, turniong the tank
into a faster support unit. The other version is more extreme, as it involves
replacing the SRM launcher with a large infantry compartment capable of
carrying a squad of powered-armor infantry or a reinforced heavy squad of leg
infantry. This turns the Red Fox into an APC that is better able to work with
the AFFS's other tracked IFV, the Goblin.
================================================================================
Equipment Type Rating Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Internal Structure: Standard 25 points 4.50
Engine: Fuel-Cell Engine 225 12.00
Cruise MP: 5
Flank MP: 8
Heat Sinks: Single Heat Sink 1 0.00
Control Equipment: 2.50
Lift Equipment: 0.00
Power Amplifiers: 0.50
Turret: 1.50
Armor: Heavy Ferro-Fibrous AV - 158 8.00
Armor
Factor
Front 39
Left/Right 31/31
Turret 32
Rear 25
================================================================================
Equipment Location Heat Spaces Mass
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Small Laser FR 1 1 0.50
2 Light AC/5s T 2 2 10.00
Streak SRM-2 T 2 1 1.50
@Light AC/5 (20) BD - 0 1.00
@Light AC/5 (Flak) (20) BD - 0 1.00
@LAC/5 (AP) (10) BD - 0 1.00
@Streak SRM-2 (50) BD - 0 1.00
BattleForce Statistics
MV S (+0) M (+2) L (+4) E (+6) Wt. Ov Armor: 5 Points: 8
5t 2 2 0 0 2 0 Structure: 3
Special Abilities: EE, TUR(2/2/0, AC 1/1/0), AC 1/1/0
