Hetairos
| Hetairos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin | Syara |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Syara |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 2015-Present |
| No. built | ~650 built, 1,200 ordered |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 51 tonnes |
| Length | 7.075 m (23 ft 2.5 in) |
| Width | 3.400 m (11 ft 1.9 in) |
| Height | 2.800 m (9 ft 2.2 in) |
| Crew | 3 |
| Armor | Spara armor package |
Main armament | 125mm smoothbore main cannon, 46 rounds |
Secondary armament | 1 x 12.7mm AA gun 1 x 7.62mm coaxial machinegun |
| Engine | KML-15 opposed piston 6-cylinder diesel 1,500 hp |
| Power/weight | 30 hp/t |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
Operational range | 500 km |
| Speed | 70 km/h (43 mph) |
The Hetairos is a Syaran main battle tank (MBT), a development of the Myrmidon MBT introduced in 1998. Development of the Hetairos began in 2012 following the conclusion of the Zemplen War, data from which provided guidance in designing the vehicle. The Hetairos was designed in part with assistance from Cacerta, which was developing the Tuono MBT around the same time period. Like its predecessors, the Hetairos is capable of firing standard tank ammunition as well as guided missiles.
Development
Although the Syaran National Army had largely been satsified with the performance of the Myrmidon tank during the Imerti Conflict and the Zemplen War, by 2011 the SNA announced its intention to field a new tank based on experience gained in Ruvelka. In 2012 the design team of the state-owned Photios Heavy Industries put forth the initial design for the Hetairos. Around the same time, the Syaran Commonality Armed Forces was delivering its post-war after action report on the performance of the AFGSF-5 Tartaruga Ground Strike Fighter to the armed forces of Cacerta, during which the concept of a joint effort to tank development was proposed and accepted. Cacerta would end up providing many components of the fire control system and night vision equipment, while Syara in turn shared its 125mm main cannon design.
As Syaran armored doctrine posits the primary usage of the tank is to serve as a breakthrough element designed to bring weapons to bear on the enemy's rear echelon, a key point of importance for the Hetairos needed to be a powerful and reliable engine that would allow the tank to travel far under combat conditions to reach the enemy's supporting elements and infrastructure. The tank also needed an advanced communication suite to allow it to communicate with other Syaran forces such as infantry, artillery, and aircraft, and a capable protecion scheme that could defeat enemy anti-tank guided missiles.