M-3 Railgun Tank
EDF Railgun Tank (EDF designation XM-3)
Cost: 1600
Armor: Heavy
Speed: Medium
Weapon:1 90mm Railgun
Range: Medium-Long
Airforce Command Tech, Tier-2 Anti-Surface Tank
The XM-3 Railgun Tank is a experimental combat vehicle based off of the several decades of research on magnetic accelerators. The Allies first delved into the science of Railguns in the Second War, in search of a replacement for the Prism Tank. While this research resulted in little more than data on computers and paper, it served as a critical foundation for the XM-3. In the 1990s, several breakthroughs in magnetic acceleration, and consequentially, railguns, were made. In a sudden revival of the program, the US military had put in requests for three types of Railguns to be developed.
The first was a railgun suitable for a light tank or modified APC, the second a railgun suitable for a MBT, and the third, a very large, coastal defense weapon for use against warships and other sea based targets. The candidates for the first two were the M50 75mm and M52 90mm railguns. By 2002, the XM-3, armed with the M50 75mm railgun, was ready for testing. While it passed with flying colors at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, US Army commanders deemed it to have an impressive muzzle velocity and reliability, but lacked the piercing power to destroy modern Russian MBTS, such as the Apocalypse Mark II. The M52 was refitted on the tank instead; this change silenced most critics, as it was shown to be radically effective against all armored and unarmored targets on the battlefield. The US Army, later the EDF, adopted it for mainstream deployment.
The M52 is a sophisticated weapon; the gunner has a lot of responsibilities to take with the operation of the weapon. In addition to locking the target, the gunner must also confirm the range; should no range be specified, the 90mm rail-slugs will not be programmed with a range limiter. The function of the range limiter is similar to that of the proximity fuse on a flak shell- it forces the destruction of the shell at the specified distance. This means, theoretically, the slug's range is limited by how strong the obstacles are in the path of the shot.
A designer of the XM-3 was quoted to of said "No armor can withstand a direct hit from its weapon." It is a true statement for the most part, with tests showing it capable of piercing even the thick armor of the Apocalypse Mark II. However, while most shots pierce, not all will hit a part of the vehicle that is critical or guarantee destruction.
Variants:
X-class vehicles, being experimental, do not have different sub-designations for different versions. Should the vehicle leave "experimental", the following would be:
M-3- Evaluation version, equipped with the M50 Railgun.
M-3A Final version, equipped with the M52 Railgun.
Shown Above: M-3A
Voxel Notes
The black line running down the tank is from an unknown cause. It will be fixed, however.
The ingame shot is old- the proper color scheme is shown in the profile view.
