Jaguar III
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| Jaguar III | |
|---|---|
 Jaguar III Ausf. A5 of the Kaiserliche Heer | |
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin |  Englean Kaiserreich |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1983-Present |
| Used by | See Operators |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Kempenhaus-Pollmächer |
| Designed | 1976-1980 |
| Manufacturer | Kempenhaus-Pollmächer Kaiserlicher Maschinenfabrik Weilheim |
| Unit cost | 2A6: WIP |
| Produced | 1979-Present |
| No. built | ~3,250 (including foreign exports) |
| Variants | See Variants |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | Ausf A6: 62.3 t |
| Length | Ausf A6: 9.97 m (gun forward) |
| Width | Ausf A6: 3.75 m |
| Height | Ausf A6: 3.0 m |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armour | Ausf A6: 3rd generation composite; including high-hardness steel, tungsten and plastic filler with ceramic component. |
Main armament | 1× Stebertstahl KwK 78 L/44 smoothbore gun (42 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 2× 7.62×51mm Kaiserlicher Waffenfabrik MG65 n.A. (4,750 rounds) |
| Engine | Maibach MiB-45 liquid-cooled V12 twin-turbo diesel engine 1,500 PS (1,479 hp 1,103 kW at 2,600 rpm |
| Power/weight | 24.1 PS/t |
| Transmission | Fitkau HSWL 567 |
| Suspension | Torsion bar suspension |
| Fuel capacity | 1,200 km |
Operational range | 550 km (internal fuel) |
| Speed | 68 km/h |
The Jaguar III, officially Panzerkampfwagen XXII (Sd.Kfz. 4098), is a main battle tank developed by Kempenhaus-Pollmächer from 1976-1980 as a successor to the Jaguar II MBT that was seen as not sufficient for the modern battlefield. The vehicle was designed as a third-generation main battle tank with capabilities of being upgraded well into the future, and adaptable to all environments. It is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon, and is powered by a V-12 twin-turbo diesel engine. As of 2019, a wide number of variants have been developed both by the Englean Kaiserreich and other operators for a variety of operations.
Early iterations of the tank continued the design of the ill-fated Jaguar II, with those up to Ausf. A4 retaining the vertical faced composite turret armour and succeeding variants (Ausf. A5-A8) sporting angled turret appliqué armour. All models feature digital fire control systems with laser rangefinders, a fully stabilised main gun and coaxial machine gun, and advanced night vision and sighting equipment (first vehicles used a low-light level TV system or LLLTV; thermal imaging was introduced later on). The Jaguar III is set to continue in service with the Englean Kaiserliche Heer until being fully replaced by the Jaguar IV in 2030.
History
Development
Design
Variants
Technical Data
Operators
Current operators
- Englean Kaiserreich: 650 Jaguar III (Ausf. A4-A8) operational
: 67 Jaguar III (Ausf. A1-A4) operational- Eastern North Islands: 4 Jaguar III Ausf. A5 (export variant) operational
