ALT-76 Jockey Light Tank

Author's note: Okay, I kinda did the Jockey recently because I thought the Gregory or the 'Pudding-basin Tanks' don't look advanced at all and also I kinda had the concept of a tank with mortar at its side for quite a few days and I said to myself "Why not?". So there you go, the Jockey is born. And those scribbles on the building and the tank are actually graffiti from the local freedom fighters fighting back for Japan's sovereignty and some decals done by the tank crew stationed in Area 01 respectively.
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Advanced Light Tank-76 'Jockey'
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Manufacturer: H&Z (Himmler and Zimbawe) Industries (Original Concept), TRD Facilities (Secondary Design) and several military war factories as well as some licensed private military industries.

Armor: Tryomite-C Composite coated with Reflectium Energy-Repellent Layers.

Weight: 34 Tons.

Power Plant: Dual Cell Etherium Generator

Engine: Etherium-powered Motors provide the ALT-76 Jockey with top speeds of 120 KPH on rough terrain and 150 KPH on smooth consistent terrain.

Armament: M95ALT-J 90mm Electromagnetic-Force Assisted Cannon, 70mm Mortar Launcher mounted on each side of the turret, 12.7mm Co-axial HMG, 12.7mm HMG mounted at the front, GPMG mounted on top.

Ammunition Capacity (in order stated above): 60 Rounds, 200 Mortar Warheads per launcher, 1000 rounds, 1000 rounds, 200 rounds per box magazine.

Crew number: 1 Driver (operating the Main gun controls as well as the co-axial machine gun controls), 1 Vehicle Commander (operating the Communication Arrays), 1 Engineer (operating the Mortar Launcher controls), 1 Co-Commander (operating the Navigation Systems), 1 Co-Engineer (operating the front machine gun), 1 gunner for the top GPMG. Maximum Crew Number: 6. At least three personnel that can fill in the roles of Driver, Vehicle Commander and Engineer are needed to run the vehicle effectively.
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Background: In the spring of 2058, the newly formed Interstellar Republic of Singapore was establishing a heavy military presence at Area-01 (former japan) to quarantine the whole country and make a steel grip on the region and its people. As the first conflicts occur between the IRS and the Nippon Freedom Fighters (NFF), Gregory Light Tanks were utilized immediately counter the NFF Type 92 Shogun MBTs that were used once by the former Imperial Army. The Gregory Tanks however, suffered heavy losses against the japanese due to their weak armor and only won the battles due to their numerical superiority and heavy firepower as well as abundant air support. Not willing to lose more than enough men, the commissioner of GEN-Ops, Commissioner Nautilus, and General Zahir requested an advanced new light tank that would replace, if not, serve as the Gregory's compensation of its weaknesses. Two chaps known as Himmler and Zimbawe took up the offer and worked on it, eventually coming up with the concepts that led to the ATL-76 Jockey. Their suggestion, known as XLT-01, was presented to the top-ranking commanders of Central Command and the Autarch himself. Even though the concept was excellent, the XLT-01 was too expensive and advanced to make for the industrial and technological capability of the IRS at that time. However, fortunately, the design and idea was much approved within the Central Command commanders and after much discussion, it was decided that the XLT-01's data was to be kept and safeguarded until it could be used again. While then, the Gregory underwent heavy refit programs to upgrade their armor and equipment while the Mobiliser MBTs were shipped to Area-01 to fill in the void left by the Chinese tanks and the Gregory's withdrawal. Eventually, with the help of the Kroot Empire and the discovery of several Mystican artifacts and Etherium, the technological and industrial prowess of the IRS drastically improved and advanced. The Autarch, not forgetting the long hidden away XLT-01, ordered the refinement of its design to fit the army of the 2070s. In 2073, TRD Facilities completed the refinement of the XLT-01 design with the help of its original designers, Himmler and Zimbawe. Two years later, the production of a few prototypes were built for testing on Camp Orion. It passed the trials with flying colours and the order for mass production was immediately issued to all war factories and some private military industries. When some batches were successfully ready in Africa, it was immediately shipped to Area-01 for its first engagements. It did well and managed to stand up against the NFF tanks and took damage pretty well. Their mortar launchers were the real killers as their GPS-guided mortars bring down NFF rebels hiding on rooftops or in the windows destructively. The NFF's morale plummeted immediately. After its success in Area-01, the ALT-76 went on serving on other worlds, serving in fast hit and run attacks against the Monarch and the Chasa Dominion armies. During the Nagron War, the ALT-76 Jockey served in ambushes against Nagron tanks and infantry, putting off the heat from the IRS forces in defensive positions. It served on against rebel forces, especially the recent Seperatists.

Armament: The ALT-76 Jockey sports M95ALT-J 90mm Electromagnetic-Force Assisted Cannon, which uses the assistance of controlled electromagnetic forces to propel the shell at long distances, at fast velocity and high penetration power. The relatively small 90mm shell may not do much but it is sufficient for the fast rapid ambush hit and run attacks to harass the enemy vehicle formations. The M95ALT-J however has a good firing rate, able to 30 rounds per minute since it has a semi-automatic firing mechanism. This firing rate makes up for the Jockey's weak power and enables them to execute fast cycling punishing blows on the enemy. The pinnacle of their design, the 70mm Mortar Launchers which are mounted on each side of the turret, serve as the tank's long-range weapons for bombardment on hostile infantry groups, vehicle formations and even structures. This not only makes them potent in a wide open battlefield but extremely deadly in urban areas where they can pound enemy units to suppression and total destruction. The GPS-guidance system implanted in the mortar warheads allows them to be guided to the target with deadly precision, especially when the target is moving. The co-axial machine gun which is automated and under the control of the Driver allows the tank to effectively take down enemy infantry and disable lightly-armored vehicles with ease. When the front and the top machine guns are mounted, the tank gains additional help to ensure that no sneaky ninjas flank and ambush the tank.

Armor: The Tryomite Composite armor gives the tank effective all round protection from small arms, heavy caliber weapons, rockets, shaped charges while the Reflectium Energy-Repellent layers which are coated on the armor plates provides defence against lasers, plasma and decent amount of anti-matter. The Tryomite Armor Composite can also handle a lot of shockwave hence it can take several beating from crashes and the power of railguns before breaking and collapsing. Hence, the Jockey fulfils the need for armor and protection to continue surviving to execute the tank offensive methods which the IRS is fond of.

Mobility: The Jockey is unexpectedly very fast and mobile in combat and is capable to reach top speeds of 120 KPH on rough uneven terrain and 150 KPH on smooth terrain. It can totally outrun its rivals as well as other types of vehicles and also effectively evade enemy fire. It's great speed enables it to quickly stalk its targets or executing rapid sudden strikes against the enemy. Also, due to its relatively small size, it can move in tight spaces, making it great for urban engagements. The Jockey definitely satisfy the criteria for speed and mobility that is required by tanks.

Sensory equipment: The ALT-76 sports advanced electronics and is able to communicate with its allies to form a Intergrated Grid, piecing up infomation from the others as well as its own to form the current battlefield situation. Basically the tank may exchange infomation with one another to know what is the current cituation such as the location and movement of enemy forces. For maximum efficiency, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) drone accompanies the tanks in its operations to recon enemy positions, movements and such so that the battle group can plan ahead and execute it with a high percentage of success. The Jockey also sports thermal imaging cameras to distinguish the enemy from its surroundings, night vision to enable night-time operations, laser range finders and a Etherium Pulse Sensor device to de-stealth cloaked units in its vicinity. It uses the current targeting system OS and the additional features included in the OS are motion trackers and a faster processing rate compared to its predecessors. The new OS covers the control of radio communications and channels.

Defensive Measures: An 'Iron Dome' Minigun Automated Turret may be placed at the expense of the GPMG at the top. It is able to detect incoming projectiles and will immediately spray hails of bullets in the efforts to stop the incoming projectile, making the Jockey harder to kill. Smoke canisters are placed at the sides and can be launched to make the tank concealed from sight while it can retreat. At the same time, the canisters fire infared decoys to distract any missiles away from the tank. This gives the ALT-76's armor and survivability a bonus mark.

The IRS is fond of versatility thus by now there are alternate weapon modules for the ALT-76 Jockey for different mission requirements and scenarios. One such development for its chassis is the AAT Haelstorm, which basically replaces the cannon with a quad 50mm Rapid-firing cannon and the Mortars with LYNX multipurpose missiles.