Fagiano
| VCI-74 Vehículo de Combate de Infantería | |
|---|---|
| File:Tam vctp.jpg | |
| Type | Infantry Fighting Vehicle |
| Place of origin |  Temuair |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Imperial Army of Temuair |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Armachd |
| Unit cost | 1.6 million ㊣ |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 30.5 t (30.0 long tons; 33.6 short tons) |
| Length | 6.75 m (22 ft 2 in) |
| Width | 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in) |
| Height | 2.42 m (7 ft 11 in) |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armor | Protection from up to 20 mm projectiles along the frontal arc, 35 mm of all around armor protection for the turret. |
Main armament | 1 x Brais Roi Arsenal CA-25/70 25 mm cannon with 880 rounds |
Secondary armament | 1 x AU-71C 7.65×53 mm coaxial machine gun AU-71 7.65x53 mm machine gun mounted on the turret roof |
| Engine | AEM 833-V6 diesel engine |
| Suspension | {{Wpl[Torsion-bar}} |
Operational range | 590 km (370 mi), 800 km (500 mi) with auxiliary fuel tanks |
| Speed | 75 km/h (47 mph) |
The VCI-74 (Vehículo de Combate de Infantería, Infantry Combat Vehicle) is an Infantry Fighting Vehicle developed by Armachd of Temuair for the Imperial Army of Temuair. Entering service in 1974, it remains the primary tracked armored fighting vehicle in service with the Imperial Army, and has spawned a variety of variants which fill several roles within the Imperial Army, including light tank, armored recovery vehicles, and mobile armored command posts.
History and design
<History stuff>
The success experience by the Imperial Army in using the VCI-74's chassis to create multiple variant vehicles lead the Imperial Army to initiated the Vehículo de Combate Unified program in the late 1990's to replace a variety of wheeled vehicles in service. This resulted in the Vehículo de Combate Unified being selected by the Imperial Army in 2005, with several variants entering production hat same year. To date, there are 10 unique variants of the UCV in service.
In the mid-1990's through the late 2000's, the Imperial Army initiated a program to modernize many of the VCI-74 and variant vehicles systems. This included upgrades mostly revolving around improved electronics and equipment. One of the most important additions is that of an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) mounted on the back of the tank. The externally mounted APU allows for lower fuel consumption and quieter operation when static by allowing the vehicle and its systems to be operated with the vehicle main engine turned off. In addition, the turrets hydraulic system was replaced with an all-electric design, increasing traverse speed. Automatic fire suppression systems were added to both the fighting and engine compartments. Improvements were also made to the vehicles optics and senors, including providing the drivers station with a short-range thermal camera, while the gunner and commanders stations received more sophisticated thermal imaging equipment with built-in laser rangefinder. The on-board computer systems received extensive upgrades both internally, including a new meteorological processing unit working with the fire control computer to account for weather conditions, thereby improving the accuracy of long range fire, and externally by way of new digital monitors and gauges replacing analog components.
Operational history
Variants
- VCI-74: General production infantry combat vehicle, carries 10 fully-equipped infantrymen, as well as an additional seat for the infantry squad or platoon leader and is armed with a Brais Roi Arsenal CA-25/70 25 mm cannon and AU-71C 7.65×53 mm coaxial machine gun. Infantry dismount through a door on the rear of the hull.
- VCI-74A: Utilizes the Srad CA-30/90 30 mm cannon in place of the CA-25/70 25 mm cannon.
- T-77 Xabarín: Tank built from the Vehículo de Combate de Infantería chassis. Originally armed with a 105 mm cannon, subsequent upgrades have seen that cannon replaced with the Brais Roi Arsenal CT-120/10.
- VCI-CA: 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. Carries 28 rounds including 23 in the turret bustle. The maximum range is about 45 to 50 km with additional round booster.
- VCI-PM: 120 mm mortar carrier.
- VCI-PMA: Propsell to integrate the RMOS automatic 120 mm mortar system into the VCI-PM
- VCI-C: Armored command post
- VCI-M: Armored ambulance
- VCI-E: Armored engineering vehicle.
- VCI-PF: Self-propelled rocket artillery vehicle equipped with two banks of 160 mm rockets.