TTV-95
| TTV-95 family of armoured vehicles | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Place of origin |  Elatia |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1995-present |
| Used by | Elatian Army |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1990-92 |
| Produced | 1994-present |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 12.5-16 tonnes |
| Length | 6.63m |
| Width | 2.8 m |
| Height | 2.8 m |
| Crew | 3 |
| Passengers | 9 |
| Armor | Welded steel |
Main armament | See text |
| Engine | 8-cylinder air-cooled turbo-diesel 320 bhp |
| Transmission | Independent wheel |
Operational range | 800km on roads |
| Speed | 85 kph on roads |
The TTV-95 is a family of Elatian light armoured vehicles. First entering servince in the mid-90's, it has since become the mainstay vehicle of the Elatian Army's Medium Brigades.
Conceptualisation
The Elatian Army of the 1980's was conceptualised for a large scale tank war against Belfras under NBC conditions. The Elatian BTR-clone troop carriers had light armour, with little attention paid to IED defence. In spite of its low cost, they were chronically unavailable and many ostensibly mechanised infantry units were transported in little more than potato lorries.
The Great Freeze of the mid-80's led to a significant reduction in the army's numbers as the massed conscript force disintegrated. What was left of the army was left to fight with improvised combat units against a bewildering variety of rebels in the provinces. In this complex operational environment, the vulnerability of Elatian light armour became readily apparent. The lack of bayonet strength in infantry units led to armour being used to closed assaults in complex terrain held by determined guerillas, with predictable results. In particular, petrol-engined APC's became shunned by the troops, owing to their propensity to burn.
In the brigadisation reforms which were carried out in the subsequent decades, the Elatian Army conceptualised a new type of operational unit, the Medium Brigade, which was to be an infantry-centric, strategically-mobile, all-wheeled mechanised formation, capable of operating in both high and low-intensity warfighting scenarios. Simultaneously, vehicle-manufacturers were called upon to devise a family of light armoured vehicles which would serve as the mainstay of such a unit.
Design
The TTV-95 family is derived from a six-wheeled truck chassis and shares a number of components with civilian vehicles. This reduces its overall manufacturing and maintenance costs. Compared to previous Elatian light armour, it has a spacious cabin, capable of accomodating nine dismounts as opposed to the previous seven. Its diesel engine is reasonably powerful and are less likely to burn than its old petrol counterparts. The vehicle is capable of flotation and possesses a pair of propellers for amphibious mobility.
It is in the realm of survivability that the new vehicle shows the greatest improvement. For the first time in Elatian history, a v-shaped lower hull is implemented in order to increase its resistance to mines and IED's. In its unaugmented form, the TTV-95's armour is resistant towards heavy machine guns from the frontal arc. Applique armour modules, which are fitted as standard to all infantry carrier and assault gun vehicles outside of the Naval Infantry, allows for resistance towards HMG fire from all quarters, at the cost of rendering the vehicle unable to float.
The TTV-95 is overall a useful and cost-effective vehicle which was designed and produced within a very short period of time, in order to meet the army's urgent operational requirements. However, it is likely to be merely a transitional platform. With the success of the Medium Brigade concept, a new 8x8 vehicle with significantly greater armour protection is being designed and prototyped to replace the TTV-95 in the coming decade.
Variants
The IBV-95 design has spawned a number of variants. The most important of these include the following:
TTV-95A
This is the standard infantry carrier model, capable of embarking nine dismounts. Its armaments are contained within a one-man turret, which is equipped with main gun stabilisation and thermal imaging sight. It is armed with a 30mm autocannon, a co-axial 7.65mm machine gun, an a pod of four laser-guided 9M133 Kornet anti-tank missiles.
TTV-95G
The TTV-95G is an assault gun, designed to provide the infantry elements of the Medium Brigade with heavy fire support. It is equipped with the same turret which would later be fitted to the IBV-05, equipped with a 100mm main gun, as well as co-axial 30mm autocannon and 7.65mm machine gun. Generally, the vehicle is able to carry 40 main gun rounds, including 15x HE-frag rounds which may be programmed for airburst, 15x HESH rounds, 6x Bastion anti-tank missiles and 4x canister rounds.
TTV-95M
The TTV-95M is a self-propelled mortar variant, equipped with a 120mm Nona mortar turret.
TTV-95T
The TTV-95G equips the brigade-level anti-tank company. It is armed with a twin-rail launcher for Kornet missiles, plus twelve reloads within the cabin.
TTV-95D
The TTV-95D is a specialised HQ vehicle for MANPADS platoons. Such a platoon has a TTV-95D vehicle equipped with an early-warning radar, plus three ordinary troop carriers, each containing three MANPADS teams.
TTV-95R
The TTV-95R is a dedicated reconaissance vehicle. Essentially similar to the infantry carrier, it is in addition equipped with a detacheable reconaissance suite which contains a ground search radar and a FLIR unit. A scout team of four may be carried in the rear.
Other variants
Other variants of the vehicle include company and battalion HQ, electronic warfare, drone carrier, ambulance, armoured recovery vehicle, armoured engineering vehicle and NBC-reconaissance vehicle.