Taurus Infantry Fighting Vehicle
T-8 Taurus Infantry Fighting Vehicle | |
---|---|
Type | Armored Personnel Carrier |
Place of origin | Follandan Republic |
Service history | |
In service | 10 years. |
Used by | Folland, Kuyrut |
Wars | Operation Desert Mace |
Production history | |
Designer | Syndicated Defense Industries |
Designed | 1994 |
Manufacturer | S.D.I. Land Systems |
Unit cost | f4.65 Million Follar |
Produced | 2004 |
Number built | 1,570 |
Variants | T-8A1, T-8A2, T-8A3 |
Specifications | |
Weight | 18 Tons |
Length | 27 ft. (8.22 m) |
Width | 10 ft. 10 in. (3.15 m) |
Height | 8 ft. 10 in.(2.6 m) |
Crew | 3 |
Passengers | 8 |
| |
Armor | 25 mm Laminate Aluminum, Kevlar Plating |
Main armament |
.50 Caliber Machine Gun, or 25 mm Autocannon, or 100 mm Rifled Gun |
Secondary armament |
none |
The Type-8A1, Type-8, or T-8 Taurus is an Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicle, or IFV, and is in service with the Follandan Armed Forces Armored Corps. The T-8 Taurus was designed and built by Syndicated Defense Industries under a Government contract for a designated Infantry Fighting Vehicle for the Follandan Military, and first entered service in late 2004, though never saw combat until the Summer of 2012 during Operation Desert Mace. During the following two years only two Taurus IFVs were rendered inoperable by hostile attack and could not be recovered. To this day Folland maintains 1,570 Taurus IFVs, with more being produced.
Design
The Taurus IFV was developed as a replacement for Folland's aging M11-B Ram, which entered service in 1956 after the end of the Great Adonian War. The M11-B remained relatively the same for decades, and eventually fell behind in technological relevance when the Type-6 120 Main Battle Tank entered service in 1985, and then the Type-7 Monnard in 2011, ushering a new era of Armored Vehicle technology. The Taurus was the answer to the M11-B, and was demanded to be more powerful and agile in order to keep up with Folland's advanced MBT.
Armament
The Type-8A1 Taurus IFV comes standard with a .50 Caliber Machine Gun for it's main armament. The 8A2 variant has a turret mounted with a 30mm Autocannon and is loaded with 10 round magazines with an additional 800 rounds in reserve. The Type-8A3 Taurus Variant comes with the same turret as the 8A2 but is mounted with a 100 mm Rifled Anti-tank gun.
Countermeasures
The decision to use Aluminum as the base armor material was initially opposed due to it's weaker nature, however it was needed in order to keep the vehicle lightweight and maneuverable. To offset the weaker armor the Aluminum was laminated and reinforced with additional Reactive Plating. In 2012 the Type-8A1 series received a standardized upgrade to include the recently developed RPG Defense Fencing that is mounted around the vehicle's hull and turret that forces incoming ordinance to detonate prematurely.
The Taurus has forward facing grenade launchers capable of deploying defensive smoke screens.
Mobility
The main focus of the Taurus IFV was to give the Military a fast and maneuverable Armored Vehicle to complement Folland's Mechanized Infantry Divisions and Main Battle Tanks. Due to it's Laminated Aluminum armor the Taurus is very sufficient in open terrain such as deserts, fields and plains. In more rough and hilly terrain the mobility takes a hit but is still capable of keeping pace with the Monnard MBT.
Earlier versions of the Taurus were susceptible to breakdown in rough, muddy terrain after debris would get clogged in the tracks.
History
Development
In 1998, Syndicated Defense Industries, which developed and built the Type-5 Drake MBT and later the Type-7 Monnard MBT, received a contract from the Follandan Armed Forces to design and build a prototype Infantry Fighting Vehicle to eventually replace the aging M11-B Ram. The prototype IFV was to be designed as a modern fighting vehicle capable of supporting, at the time, the Type-5 Drake MBT. Major requirements was a top speed of at least 40mph and offensive capabilities to combat Infantry and Enemy Tanks. The IFV spent four years in development before the first prototype, designated the X-108 was built in 2002, with the final design being built in 2004 as the Type-8 Taurus.
Trials
The first prototype was built in 2002 as the X-108 and entered trials the following months. Initially showing great promise complications arose. It was discovered that earlier iterations of the X-108 were susceptible to breaking down due to getting debris from rough, loose terrain clogged in the tracks and suspension. The X-108 was then redesigned not as a tracked tank but instead utilized 8x8 wheels. In 2004 the first final iterations, renamed as the Type-8 Taurus were built and scored high marks in field trials, proving to be maneuverable and successful as a multi-role vehicle.
Variants
T-8A1
The 7A1 Variant was the standard design of the T-8 Taurus and featured a .50 Caliber automated machine gun, supplemented with frontal and side Reactive Armor Plating. However the 8A1 variant was not built with an effective Anti-Tank weapon. The vehicle was purpose built as a reliable Armored Personnel Carrier
T-8A2
The 8A2 variant was designed with an actual rotating turret armed with a 25 mm Autocannon with explosive rounds. The additional weight slightly reduced the vehicles mobility but increased it's effectiveness against other armored targets.
T-8A3
The 8A3 variant is a dedicated Anti-tank model, using the 8A2's turret, the 8A3 is mounted with a 100 mm Rifled Gun for use against lightly to moderately armored enemy Main Battle Tanks. The 8A3 still has a carrying capacity for additional passengers but is reduced from the standard 8 to just 4 due to limited space being taken up by the turret and ammunition storage.
Export
Kuyrut
In late May of 2014 the Follandan Government offered a number of used Taurus A1 models to the Kuyrutian Military. Kuyrut instead placed an order for 25 T-8A2 variant and 75 T-8A3 variant vehicles brand new, rejecting the offer of the used vehicles due to Kuyrut wanting to replace their own older Armored Personnel Carriers with newer vehicles.
Okaiken
In early 2014 the Follandan Government offered to export a number of Taurus A1 models to the Okaiken Self Defense Forces, however Okaiken rejected the offer even though Okaiken operates several Follandan Type-7A1 Monnard Main Battle Tanks.