Minotaur Main Battle Tank
| Minotaur | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin | Republic of Syara |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Army of the Syaran Republic |
| Wars | Refusal War Zemplen War |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1974-2002 |
| No. built | ~4,500 produced |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 41.5 tons |
| Length | 6.95 m (22 ft 10 in) |
| Width | 3.59 m (11 ft 9 in) |
| Height | 2.23 m (7 ft 4 in) |
| Crew | 3 |
| Armor | steel and composite armor, ERA |
Main armament | 125mm smoothbore gun |
Secondary armament | 1 x 12.7mm AA gun 1 x 7.62mm coaxial machinegun |
| Engine | V-12 diesel 780 hp |
| Power/weight | 16.8 hp/t |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
Operational range | 430 km |
| Speed | 60 km/h (37 mph) |
The Minotauris a Syaran series of main battle tanks that were introduced originally in 1974 by the Republic of Syara. The Minotaur was intended to serve as a cheaper, simpler counterpart to the Manticore Main Battle Tank. While the Minotaur also featured a 125mm main cannon, an autoloader, and composite armor, it utilized a cheaper and simple engine block that reduced price and maintenance at the cost of performance and range. It was the last tank produced by the Republic before its dissolution and was fielded by both sides during the Refusal War. Production of the Minotaur continued until 2002, and the platform was in the process of being retired from active service when the Zemplen War returned it to front line service. The Minotaur was the most common tank fielded by the Syaran National Army during the war, taking part in all major operations and suffering the most losses with 1,561 units reported destroyed or abandoned. The Minotaur was officially retired from active service in 2014 and transferred to the Syaran National Forces. More than a dozen variants of the Minotaur have been made, many of them bringing the vehicle up to par with some modern counterparts.