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Russian Army branch of service collar insignia
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Vehicle History
Description
Vehicle Data (GURPS)
Conversion guidelines from GURPS to 2300AD
Vehicle Data (2300AD)
Notes on using GURPS Vehicles, 2nd Edition
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BT-94B's design dates back to the difficult days of the Central Asian War. This conflict demonstrated general obsolescence of much of Russian Army's equipment, largely old French hand-me-down weapons. Unable to rely on France for supplies of modern equipment, Russia launched a domestic rearmament drive which eventually produced such advanced weapons as the AS-89 assault rifle, Uran/Silka stutterwarp missile and Novik missile destroyer. The BT-94B and vehicles based on its chassis are but another example of Russia's technological and engineering prowess.
BT-94B's "childhood" was far from troubled, however. A vocal faction within the Armored Forces Main Directorate preferred an outright purchase of LkPz IX hovertanks, complete with production rights, from Germany. To settle this dispute, a small number of these vehicles (together with older LkPz VIIIs) was actually purchased and/or leased from the German military and cobbled together into a simulated brigade, which faced a BT-94B "brigade" in mobility trials which carried out in various terrain types.
Trials' results surprised even BT-94B's proponents. It was clear from them that while hovertank-equipped units have a considerable edge in mobility over slow tracked tank units, this edge practically disappeared when facing the agile BT-94B. Even on the relatively flat steppe, the LkPz IX was unable to reach its claimed top speed of 220 kph or even cruising speed of 180 kph for any length of time without risking "bottoming out" and suffering severe damage. While still faster than its tracked competitor's cross country speed of 130 kph, its advantage was not as pronounced as over heavy 20+ ton tanks only half as fast. In tactical terms, it meant that the hovertank unit was not only unable to outmaneuver its tracked opponent, but could not practice the hit-and-run tactics its high speed permitted and low endurance virtually demanded. The 24 vs. 6 hour endurance superiority of the Russian tank (superiority which could further be extended by attaching external fuel tanks), combined with a near-parity in mobility, meant that the LkPz IX unit could not disengage for long enough to refuel when being engaged by the fast Russian tanks. The BT-94B unit commander quickly found out that he could outmaneuver his supposedly more maneuverable adversary simply by outlasting him through applying aggressive maneuver which forced the LkPz IX commander to constantly react and gradually run out of fuel. To make matters worse, the fourfold endurance advantage on paper translated into an even greater advantage on the ground, as hovertanks had to run their powerplants at near full capacity even during low-speed maneuvers just to keep the skirt inflated, whereas the tracked tanks suffered from no such handicap. What's more, the BT-94B could further reduce its fuel consumption by running on only a single fuel cell, doubling its endurance. The LkPz IX commander attempted to solve this problem by rotating his companies out of line to refuel, but this approach only reduced his combat power and tactical agility, and forced his hovertanks to burn even more fuel while they traveled between their unit and the mobile refueling column. In more mountainous terrain, the BT-94B won hands down. It displayed mountain goat-like mobility, traversing terrain its hoverborne competitor could only cross using "jump jets", which reduced its already limited endurance even further. The "track vs. skirt" controversy was decided firmly in track's favor, and the way for BT-94B to enter production was clear.
BT-94B is armed with three mutually complementing weapon systems. Its key anti-armor weapon is the Kinzhal hypervelocity missile, capable of penetrating most heavy tanks. It has 8 missiles ready to fire on the two 4-tube launchers mounted on the sides of the main gun, plus 16 in the two autoloaders below. Both launchers may be reloaded simultaneously, with loading time of 4 seconds per missile. The turret must face directly forward for reloading. The missile's weight and volume mean only 24 of these weapons are carried, drawbacks which are more than outweighed by its armor penetration ability, high level of accuracy at extreme ranges, and near-immunity to point defense systems. Adoption of the Kinzhal was a departure from design norms prevailing worldwide which assigned the mission of tackling heavy tanks, armored to withstand lighter tanks' mass driver cannon, to fire-and-forget missiles with selectable attack profiles. Such missiles are, however, vulnerable to point defense systems and their relatively long flight time gives the prospective victim some time to return fire or employ countermeasures. Adoption of a hypervelocity, kinetic energy missile would do away with this drawback.
In addition to the Kinzhal system, the BT-94B also has an autoloaded 56mm electromagnetic cannon which fires APFSDSDU rounds capable of dealing with lighter armor, including APCs and walkers (though its penetration is high enough to penetrate side armor of most tanks), leaving the heavy, scarce, and expensive Kinzhals to deal with the most dangerous threats. The 56mm weapon also fires HE and beehive rounds.
Rounding off the tank's weaponry is the 6-barreled 23mm electromagnetic grenade launcher. In addition to anti-infantry role, it also functions as a point defense system. It fires three basic types of ammunition: flechette/shrapnel, blackout smoke, and chaff. Blackout smoke and chaff are usually fired together to shield the tank from observation, target designation and guidance sensors by creating a smoke/chaff screen which covers the entire EM spectrum. In contrast to fixed countermeasures grenade launchers, the 23mm Gatling can create an instantaneous screen in front of, to the side of, or even above the vehicle, and create it at variable distances. Having several hundred countermeasure rounds in its magazine, a BT-94B can traverse a piece of clear terrain under enemy observation by creating an long screen ahead of and to the side of itself. It can also blanket enemy positions with such grenades, blinding their sensors. Flechette rounds are used both against infantry and incoming ATGMs. In contrast with most contemporary PD systems which attempt to hit a missile with a high-speed Gauss projectile, the 23mm weapon fires 10-20 round bursts of flechette grenades fused to detonate just ahead of the missile's predicted position, forcing it to fly through a cloud of flechettes. 360-degree sensors of the BT-94B usually detect incoming missiles early enough to fire at least one burst of flechette rounds and, if the missile is not destroyed, shroud the tank with a screen of blackout smoke and chaff.
All of these weapons are controlled by a sophisticated fire control system allied to a powerful array of sensors. Vehicle's gunner, assisted by a heads-up display with a pupil scanner, only needs to designate target and hand off its engagement to the FCS which, using Gunner and Vehicle Recognition software, will complete the target's destruction. This feature is particularly useful when using the Kinzhal missile against numerically superior foes. Given the missile's high speed of flight and duplicate missile target designators, this technique allows the vehicle to engage enemy tanks at a rate of virtually one per second, much faster than cannon-armed tanks. The eight ready-to-fire missiles help maintain the high rate of fire.
Russian designers, inspired by the crew layout pioneered by the LkPz IX, reduced BT-94B's crew to only two. During non-combat movement, vehicle commander usually leaves the driving to the vehicle operator, while himself concentrating on the tactical situation. In combat, however, the commander usually takes over the driving functions, leaving the vehicle operator to operate weapon systems, an arrangement pioneered by 20th century attack helicopters. Vehicle commander still has the means to indicate targets to the operator and can, if necessary, control all vehicle functions himself, albeit with some loss of efficiency.
The vehicle's design places high premium on survivability through redundancy of key systems. It has two 600kW HC fuel cells, both located in front of the hull and separated by an armored bulkhead. They power two 600 kW tracked powertrains, each with one track per side, in tandem. This ensures that the vehicle will be able to retain some mobility as long as at one track per side remains operational. Even if both fuel cells are rendered inoperative, the tank can still extricate itself from a tight spot using its power cell banks which, when fully charged, can power the tank for 30 minutes.
BT-94B also differs from many of its contemporaries in not using a hydrogen-powered powerplant. This is a conscious design choice, motivated by the unenviable task of supplying a mobile task force deep in roadless, trackless terrain of Central Asia with difficult to handle hydrogen. Decision to reject highly volatile hydrogen was also motivated by crew survival considerations.
For protection, the BT-94B relies more on speed and stealth than on armor protection. Given the lethality of contemporary weapons, not even heavy tanks can enjoy complete immunity, and heavy armor protection is not an option when designing a lightweight, agile, air-transportable tank designed to operate with minimal logistical support. BT-94B's already small signature is further reduced by extensive signature and emission reduction measures and by the instant chameleon camouflage coating, which constantly adjusts itself to surrounding terrain.
BT-94B Fast Tank
This vehicle is designed using GURPS Vehicles, 2nd Edition (V2e), with special armor slope rules and variant powerplants from Vehicles Additions at GURPSNet Archive.
Subassemblies: Tracks, Turret.
Body Features: Slope and Body and Turret: Front 80 deg..
Propulsion: Two Tracked Drivetrains with 600 kW motive power each (total motive power 1.2 MW)
Weaponry: 56mm electromagnetic cannon, Turret. 23mm electromagnetic Gatling Grenade Launcher, Turret. Two 4-tube 151mm Kinzhal missile launchers, Turret. 300 rounds for 56mm, 1000 rounds for 23mm, 8+16 Kinzhal missiles.
Weapon Accessories: 56mm gun and Kinzhal launchers are linked. Anti-blast magazine for Kinzhal missiles. Extra-fine stabilization (+4) for 56mm gun, 23mm AGL.
Instruments and Electronics: Two laser designators (for Kinzhal missiles), two medium range radio communicators (1000 miles) with scramblers; 1 short-range (200 mile) laser communicator;
5 2-mile PESA (Passive Electromagnetic Sensor Array) scanners ( facing forward, left, right, rear, up)( body) (Scan 13); 5 2-mile LLTVs (Scan 13), 2 10-mile PESAs (Scan 17) (turret); 1 10-mile (Scan 17) high-res imaging radar; 1 10-mile (scan 17) ladar; 1 laser rangefinder; Inertial Nav System; Military GPS System; IFF.
2 HUDWACs with Pupil Scanners, 2 datalinked, compact, hardened Minicomputers, 2 terminals. Software: Targeting (Complexity 4, +4 to hit), Gunner, Vehicle Operation, Damage Control, Datalink, Counterbattery, Global Navigation Chart Database, Vehicle Recognition Database
Miscellaneous: Fire Suppression System. 4 plumbed external hardpoints for extra fuel tanks.
Controls: Computerized duplicate controls.
Crew Stations: 2 normal crew stations, "Driver" and "Gunner". Each crew station is equipped to handle all vehicle operation functions, including driving, sensor operation, communications, and weapon operation.
Occupancy: Short. Passengers: None. Environmental System: Limited Life System, 3 man-days.
Power: Two 600 kW Hydrocarbon Fuel Cells, 384 gallons of fuel (2304 lbs or 1044 kg) (HC fuel cell runs on diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, distilled alcohol, you name it), sufficient of 8 hours of operation at full power. Self-sealing fuel tank for 384 gallons. Rechargeable power cells for 2400 MW, sufficient to run the vehicle at full power for 30 minutes, or 342 shots from 56mm cannon.
Structure: Heavy, Expensive materials
Hit Points: 750
Structural Options: Heavy Compartmentalization, Improved Suspension
Armor: Advanced Laminate. Front: DR 2380 (PD 6), Sides: DR 560 (PD 4), Suspension, Bottom and Rear: DR 280 (PD 4), Top: 560 (PD 4)
Defensive Surface Features: Radical Stealth, Radical Emission Cloaking, Instant Chameleon, Radiation Shielding, Sealed, Waterproof.
Statistics: Loaded Weight: 40,100 lbs. Volume: 659 cu ft. Surface Area: 500 cu ft. Size Modifier: +4.
Ground Performance: Max speed 101 mph/162 kph. gAccel: 6.2 mph/s. gDecel: 20 mph/s. gMR: .75, gSR: 7. Ground Pressure: Very Low, 4/5 off-road speed.
Max Speed on single fuel cell: 71 mph/115 kph. Endurance is doubled when operating on single fuel cell.
Water Performance: Max speed 8 mph/12 kph.
Weapons Data:
2E91 56mm, Electromag, Very Short Barrel, Normal Power, Fast Autoloader Cannon
Damage: 6d6 x 34 (armor divisor 3) when firing APFSDSDU rounds (2300AD DP: 77)
½ D Range (2300AD Aimed Fire Range): 3100 yds (4600 for APFSDSDU) Max Range: 12,000 yds
Acc: 17, Snap Shot: 25, Weight: 490 lbs, ROF: 1 (2300AD: 7)
Weight per Shot (APFSDSDU): 3.3 lbs; Volume per Shot: .03 cu ft
Power: 7,000 kW/shot
HE round: 1/2D range: 3100 yds, Damage:6d6*16, EP=10. Other stats as above.
Beehive round: as HE round, but damage (per flechette) 22d, or DP of 3, area fire value of 4.
6P63 Kinzhal-A Hypervelocity Anti-Armor Missile
Warhead: 151mm Huge APDU
Damage: 6d6 x 125 (3) 2300AD DP: 280
Guidance: Laser Command Guided (Beam-rider)
Speed: 3600 yards per second
Endurance: 3.0 seconds
Range: 10,800 yds
Weight per Shot: 140 lbs
Volume per Shot:2.8 cu. ft.
Kinzhal launcher: 4-tube, slow autoloader. Reloading time: 4 seconds per missile per launcher.
3Ya14 23mm, electromag, 6-barrel gatling, very short barrel, extra low power grenade launcher
Damage: 6d for a beehive round (DP of .7), area fire value 2
1/2D range: 490 yds, Max Range: 3100 yds.
Weight: 1.2 lbs, SS: 11, ROF: 80
WPS: .33 lbs, Power: 2500kW for a 1-second burst.
Conversion from GURPS to 2300AD
Mass
Yes, you'll need to convert mass from GURPS to 2300AD, since it is all but impossible to design a vehicle at GURPS TL9 which would come even close in terms of capabilities to its 2300AD counterpart in the same weight class. Therefore, to obtain 2300AD mass, divide GURPS mass by 2. In other words, if you want a 10-ton 2300AD vehicle, design a 20-ton vehicle using V2e. However, performance figures must be calculated before this division..
Armor and Damage
1 point of 2300AD Armor Value or Damage Points is equivalent to 28 GURPS DR. For weapons, to convert GURPS damage for the 56mm cannon listed above its damage rating of 6d6 * 34 (3) becomes 21*34*3/28=76.5 or 77. By the same token, BT-94B's frontal armor of DR 2380 becomes 2380/28=85. However, when designing weapons with HEAT warheads, keep in mind that most vehicles in 2300AD use laminate armor, which halves HEAT penetration. Therefore, when converting GURPS damage to 2300AD, divide HEAT weapon damage by 56, not 28. For converting explosive damage to EP, take the square root of GURPS damage dice.
Aimed Fire Range:
Technically speaking, to conform with 2300AD, one should divide 1/2D range by two to obtain Aimed Fire Range. However, I feel 2300AD ranges are grossly understated, so I advocate leaving 1/2D range as is, and multiplying all existing 2300AD ranges by 2.
Rate of Fire
While GURPS uses 1-second turns, 2300AD resolves combat in 30-second turns, which would give the 56mm cannon a ROF of 30! For rate of fire, we can assume each "shot" for large-caliber weapons represents 4 actual rounds (this convention was actually used in some GDW wargames). Therefore, calculate the number of shots per minute, then divide it by 8, which will give you ROF for a 30-sec 2300AD turn. For automatic weapons, (assault rifles, machine guns, etc.) 2300AD ROF is GURPS ROF/5.
Signature
To convert GURPS Size modifier to 2300AD, add 5 to the former. Since, for detection purposes, Size is modified by degree of stealthing and emission cloaking, these modifiers should also be taken into account. For example, the BT-94B has Size modifier of +4, as well as Radical Stealth and Radical Emission Cloaking, each of which has a modifier of -7 to detection (according to more realistic Vehicles Additions–Vehicles gives Radical Stealth at TL9 a -10). The average of these modifiers is, naturally, 7, which gives a 2300AD signature of: 4 (GURPS Size) -7 (average of size modifiers) +5 (conversion modifier), giving a Signature of 2.
Sensors
Use the longest-range sensor to determine sensor range. If the vehicle has several sensor types capable of reaching out to the same range, each sensor after the first one counts as a +1 modifier. PESAs count as two sensor types. The BT-94B has a 10-mile PESA, a 10-mile imaging radar, and a 10-mile ladar, for a total of 4 different sensor types, or a Sensor Range of 16 kilometers with a +3 modifier.
Endurance
2300AD vehicles' fuel consumption is three times lower than ones designed using V2e. Therefore, 2300AD endurance is V2e endurance times three, and the 8 hours of BT-94B's endurance become 24.
Evasion
Still working on it. It is probably a function of speed and/or maneuverability. Provisionally, use aMR or gMR (air or ground Maneuver Ratings, respectively) to obtain Evasion. This will actually give lower results than found in 2300AD, ranging between 2 and 5, while giving tracked and wheeled vehicles at most 1. For aircraft, multiply aMR by 4. Chameleon and Instant Chameleon camouflage treatments also have a significant to-hit modifier, so perhaps they should be somehow factored in as well.
Homing Value
Missile Homing Value is the same as GURPS Skill, which depends on the guidance system, etc. Use the two values interchangeably. The only exception are command-guided missiles, which instead of Skill based on guidance system are fired as normal projectile weapons using firer's appropriate skill, modified by fire control/targeting modifiers and target size, but not by range.
BT-94B
Type: Fast Tracked Tank
Crew: Driver, Gunner
Weight: 10,000 kg
Armor: Front: 85, Sides and Top: 20, Bottom, Rear and Suspension: 10
Armament: 1 56mm Mass Driver Cannon (DP 77 w/APFSDSDU, EP of 10 for HE, DP of 3 and AFV of 4 for beehive , ROF 7, Aimed Fire Range: 4600 for APFSDSDU, 3100 other types of ammunition, 300 rounds total)
2 4-tube Kinzhal missile launchers (DP 280, Max Range 10800m, 16 reloads carried internally),
1 23mm gatling AGL (ROF 16, DP of .4 for Beehive round, Area Fire 2)
Signature: 2
Evasion: 1 (plus chameleon camouflage bonus?)
Sensor Range: 16 km (+3)
Max Road Speed: 162 kph
Off-road Speed: 130 kph
Fuel Capacity: 1044 kg hydrocarbon fuels
Power Plant: Two 600 kW HC fuel cells
Fuel Consumption:43.5 kg/hr
Endurance: 24 hrs
Price: ???
Notes on Using GURPS Vehicles, 2nd Edition
GURPS V2e is a well-realized, thoroughly tested design system. When used in conjunction with conversion rules outlined above, at TL9 (or TL8 for Kafer and older Human designs) it will produce vehicles comparable with designs contained in 2300AD sourcebooks. But be warned–it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to design a V2e vehicle vastly superior to equivalent "official" 2300AD vehicles. In my view, it is as it should be. 2300AD sourcebooks, most notably the Ground Vehicle Guide (GVG) which covers the 2300AD timeline out to and including Invasion, have broadly indicated the limits of performance for the various vehicle types. The AC-12 and LkPz IX (no heavier than 12 tons) are consistently referred to as the "state of the art" in hovertanks, and as the competitors for the title of "best hovertank". We should assume that those vehicles are using the finest materials available to Humanity (advanced composites and the like...) have at least Basic stealth and boast state of the art sensors and weapons. A hovertank design superior to them across the board would be quite implausible, since no advanced Earth nation has a clear-cut technological advantage over another. Individual designs may have superior performance in one area, but only at the cost of decreased performance in another. By the same token, GVG explicitly tells us that no human hovertank as of the time of Invasion has Armor Value of 120 or greater. Heavy tracked tanks, in 20-40 ton range (40-80 GURPS tons), the "King Tigers" of 2300AD, have frontal armor no thicker than 250-260. If you wish to design tracked or hover tanks which are heavier, faster, more thickly armored than 2300AD's "state of the art", they should be treated as experimental or limited-production models, not as general-issue vehicles.
It should also be possible to use other design systems to come up with plausible 2300AD vehicles. BTRC's Vehicle Design System (2300AD is roughly TL13) or 2300AD's own Technical Architecture (to name but two possibilities) should be up to this task as well, with some conversion work. My personal opinion is that V2e does the job of designing plausible, "fun" vehicles better than the other two systems. Whichever design tool you decide to use, I would caution against mixing different design systems. Given their different assumptions, the resulting vehicles could be way out of tune with 2300AD realities, which are outlined above. This is one reason why V2e should not be used, for example, to design spacecraft in lieu of Naval Architect's Manual or Technical Architecture. On the one hand, material and armor masses tend to be lower in Tech Arch than in V2e (V2e armor is heavy) but on the other hand V2e powerplants are an order of magnitude (at least!) lower than in NAM, and using them would produce spacecraft with warp efficiency well in excess of 5 or even 6.