SPAA M2 Haelstorm

Author's note: I know the turret's elevation is a bit awkward but hey, I'll think up of something.
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Self Propelled Anti Aircraft Vehicle M2 'Haelstorm'
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Manufacturer: TRD Facilities (Design and Manufacturing) and several military war factories and some private military industries.

Armor: Tryomite Composite coated with Energy Repellent Layers.

Weight: 35 Tons.

Power Plant: Etherium Dual Cell Generator.

Engine: TRD Facilities HS-IM Model-3A Electric-powered Motors provide the M2 with top speeds of 100 KPH on smooth consistent terrain and 90 KPH on rough terrain.

Armament: Q90-Mod2 25mm Electromagnetic-Force Assisted Rapid-Firing Quad Cannons, LYNX Systems 'Haelstorm' Surface-to-Air Missiles, front-mounted 12.7mm HMG.

Ammunition Capacity (In order stated above): 6000 Rounds, Total of 32 Missiles, 16 in each of the two Launchers, maximum of 8 in each salvo of each launcher, 600 Rounds.

Crew Number: 1 Driver (operating the Quad Cannon and the LYNX Launcher firing controls as well), 1 Vehicle Commander (operating the computer interfaces), 1 Sensory Equipment Officer (handling the Sensory Equipment as well as some computer interfaces as well), 1 Engineer, 1 Co-Commander (operating the Front Machine Gun). Maximum Crew: 5. At the very least the Driver, Vehicle Commander, SEO and Engineer must be present to run the vehicle.
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Background: After its official recognition as a sovereign nation, the newly formed African Union realized that it's military was lacking compared to other nations, especially the superpower and organizations such as China, NATO, Russia and the West European Force which was made up of several western european countries. One of the key components the African Union lacked to become a superpower or at least a nation capable of defending itself was a proper up-to-date mobile Anti-Aircraft vehicle or SPAAs (Self Propelled Anti-Aircraft). The AU only had fleets of ageing Russian Tunguskas, trucks mounted with low-tech Flaks and a few rare precious captured ATO SPAAs, which by the 2030s was only worthy of being recycled into scrap, and in no time the AU Ministry of Defence hurriedly made several detailed proposals to update the AU military equipment and sent them to the Autarch and his council of War-Chiefs. The Autarch approved of their proposals and requests and gave them the required amount of budget and resources to immediately start the programme. First, before replacing the current mobile AA vehicles, they needed to design a new SPAA. TRD Facilities, with the personal help of the Autarch from time to time, took up the offer and completed the design of the M2 Haelstorm in 2036. Prototypes were built immediately after and the stringent trials began in 2037 in the large deserts of the Sahara Expeditionary Outpost. After the Haelstorm showed off its capabilities in the field, the observers expressed positive reviews of the M2 Haelstorm and the Autarch approved it to become the next SPAA of the African Union forces. Orders for mass production came shortly after the trials and the demand was high. Eventually, after the large amount of hard work and effort, enough numbers of the M2 Haelstorm was produced in the year 2048 to fully replace all other SPAAs and mobile AA vehicles in the AU inventory. It was first displayed to the public masses during the 2049 Independence Day and the people showed a large amount of interest and enthusiasm in the M2 Haelstorm. The Haelstorm was finally sent for real combat during the U.N War where it was first deployed to the battlefields of Japan to massacre American and Japanese multi-role fighters. The Japanese pilots nicknamed it the 'Akuma O Furu Garagara' or the 'Rattleshake Demon' for its rattling sound it makes when it fires and also for its large amount of firepower which slaughtered the japanese air force with ease. After Japan was out of the game, the M2s were also sent to Western Europe and then finally the United States where the war was eventually concluded. It received a few upgrades such as a new Quad cannon and a few new sensory equipment before being deployed off-world on other planets. The M2 performed well still and managed to prove a threat to the advanced human faction STIG during the War for Krajj and also easily murdered the aircraft squadrons of the alien Monarch and then the Chasa Dominion. The M2 needed a Quad Cannon that can offer a longer range and speed. Luckily for the M2, the 2080s was the era of electromagnetic force assisted weapons or simply dubbed the 'Railgun' weapons. Central Command was able to devise a railgun version of the 25mm Quad Cannon that the M2 used in time before the Nagron War. When the refitted M2 was deployed in the war zones against the metallic arcane armies of the Nagrons, it did fairly well in shooting down the Nagron Horus fighters though it suffered heavy losses due to the Nagron anti-vehicle Trolls and Hovertanks. After the disastrous conflict has ended with the death of Sukhai, the Haelstorms were immediately rearmed with a new Quad Cannon that has a more advanced and sophisticated railgun system allowing for more power, velocity and a faster firing rate as well as a new LYNX Haelstorm SAM launcher which wielded more powerful warheads and more advanced targetting systems than its predecessors. It's relatively flimsy armor platings were replaced with a stronger and more durable Trymoite Composite Armor which was coated with Energy Repellent Layers. The M2 Haelstorm continues to serve as the main SPAA of the Interstellar Republic of Singapore and is now fighting against recent enemies such as the Separatist forces.

Armament: The Quad Cannon, which consists of 4 25mm Electromagnetic Force-Assisted Rapid-firing Cannons, gives the Haelstorm a powerful capability to quickly shoot down masses of enemy aircraft. It large amount of firepower is derived from its Electromagnetic Force-Assisted cannons which uses strong electromagnetic plates in the barrel to propell the shells at extreme speeds and velocity, giving it the ability to penetrate through most material. The Quad Cannon's fast firing rate ensures a constant barrage against of bullets at the enemy, tearing apart their armor one bit at a time until the whole aircraft is devoured by the anti-aircraft fire of the M2 Haelstorm. Countless number and types of aircraft, be it helicopters, fighter planes and bombers of human rebel forces or swift interceptors of alien races, all fell to the mighty rapid-firing cannons of the Haelstorm. Other than that, the LYNX Systems 'Haelstorm' SAM Missile Launchers complements the AA capability of the M2 Haelstorm. Carrying a total of 16 missiles in each of the launcher which is mounted at each side of the M2 turret, the Missile Launcher can fire up to a total of 8 missiles at once. The LYNX SAM uses a TH Sensor which utilizes a combination of infrared, GPS positionning, motion tracking and laser guiding to lock-on on multiple enemy aircraft. The LYNX is lethal as after lock-on, the missiles cannot be evaded without using extreme dangerous manoevures and also, the warheads of the missiles pack a lot of high explosives and even if the targetted aircraft survives a few hits of the LYNX missiles, it will be unstable in motion due to the high amount of blast present in each detonation of the warheads. The front-mounted 12.7mm gives the M2 anti-infantry capability at the front. However, since it has no weapons that can give the M2 Haelstorm 360 Degrees protection against flanking infantry, the M2 has to be escorted in order to survive.

Armor: The Tryomite Composite armor gives the M2 full protection from small arms fire, heavy caliber weapons, large projectiles, rockets and decent amount of railgun fire while the Energy-Repellent Layers defend the Haelstorm from energy-based attacks such as plasma and lasers. It can also even withstand some amount of anti-matter such as nagion. The M2's surprisingly strong and durable armor keeps the M2 fighting in battle for longer periods and an extra minute that the M2 can survive has been shown to turn the tide of war as exampled in the later days of the Nagron War.

Mobility: The first models created in 2048 sported slow top speeds of around 60 to 70 KPH due to the immense weight of the guns added on by the relatively weak horsepower of it's first engines. However as technology advanced, the M2 got faster top speeds not only because of the larger amount of horsepower the newer engines could offer but also because the M2s by the 2060s were remade with Tryomite, which was lighter yet stronger and more heat-resistant than steel and tungsten or metal ceramic composites. The more advanced Electric-powered TRD Facilities HS-IM Model2A Motors provide the M2 with top speeds of 100 KPh on smooth terrain and 90 KPH on rough terrain. This allows the M2 to just not only move quickly from one location to another in a matter of minutes, it also enables to immediately chase fast-moving helicopters and jets and if the situation calls for, evading enemy air support and retreating to a safer location. This makes the M2 a worthy predator and a hard-to-catch prey at the same time.

Sensory Equipment: Like other IRS military vehicles, the M2 sports a wide array of advanced electronics and interface hardware that the IRS can offer. Sporting an ATMOS-Mk6 Pulse Sensor, everything in its range will be detected, cloaked or otherwise. The M2's advanced communication and interface systems allow it to receive and broadcast battlefield information with its equalivents or allies ranging from other M2s to ground vehicles to UAVs and recon aircraft to allied infantry squads to form the Intergrated Intelligience Network. This network periodically receives, updates and transmits battlefield information such as GPS location, terrain details, current enemy and allied positions as well as the whole map the units are deployed in to all units that are connected to this network. This allows for IRS commanders to plan ahead and carefully strategize and coordinate their attacks on the enemy to achieve a swift and efficient victory. The M2 also houses a signal jammer device to interfere with their target's communication and detection systems and to make its job easier, an onboard AI is installed in the M2 to attempt to hack the hostile's equipment and gain control of it or simply disrupt it. The AI can also divert any incoming guided rockets if possible from the M2. At times where human control of the gun proves to be uneffective, the AI can take over the main gun controls and has the capability to target and take down targets at speeds and effectiveness beyond normal human capability. However time after time human instinct has been proven to be stronger than machine sensors in certain situations and the AI can immediately relinquish control to the human operators when the order is given. For combat, the M2 has the TH sensor to highlight and track targets using infrared, GPS positionning, motion tracking and laser guidance. After locking on to targets, these various information is then transferred to the missiles ready for firing and then used for the missiles to track and follow the targetted hostiles. Flares and infrared decoys cannot divert the missiles as the missiles can rely on using laser guiding or other methods. Only by taking over the missiles by hacking or simply doging them by utilizing dangerous manoevures will spare you from the LYNX's horrible firepower.

Defensive Measures: Like stated above, the onboard AI installed in the M2's systems can assist the crew in diverting guided projectiles away from the M2 by taking over their systems and rendering them useless. There are other measures however such as smoke decoys which not only visually blocks the M2 from sight but also releases infrared decoys in the air to divert guided projectiles away from the M2. The M2, however, unlike most vehicles, cannot have a Iron Dome minigun turret to be placed and have the risk of being vulnerable to RPG or unguided projectile attacks.

The IRS Military recognizes the need for versatility and has prepared various weapon modules and packages for the M2 to use in certain combat situations where they are best used.