TNT

TNT
TNT
Type	Multi-purpose amphibious armored vehicle
Place of origin	Zacapican
Service history
In service	1959 - present
Used by	See Operators
Production history
Designer	YAT 114
Designed	1957
Manufacturer	Cuauhquetztia
Specifications
Weight	11.9 tonnes (13.1 short tons; 11.7 long tons)
Length	6.45 m (21 ft 2 in)
Width	2.86 m (9 ft 5 in)
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Armor	15 mm
Main armament	12.7×108mm machine gun 30mm autocannon 30mm automatic grenade launcher
Secondary armament	7.62×51mm machine gun
Engine	V8 diesel engine producing 300 hp
Power/weight	25 hp/tonne
Suspension	Torsion bar
Operational range	500 km (310 mi) (road)
Speed	61 km/h (38 mph) (road) 30 km/h (19 mph) (off-road) 5 to 6 km/h (3.7 MPH) (amphibous)

The TNT (Nahuatl: 𐐓𐑊𐐰𐑆𐐰𐐿𐐰𐑌𐐨 𐐤𐐬𐐸𐐶𐐨𐐷𐐰𐑌𐐷𐐬 𐐓𐐯𐐹𐐬𐑆𐑋𐐰𐑊𐐸𐐶𐐨𐑊𐐨, Tlazacani Nohuiyanyo Tepozmalhuili, literally "All-Purpose Armored Carrier") is a Zacapine armoured fighting vehicle used by the Zacapine Army and Marines as well as export clients such as Pulacan and Itayana. The vehicle is fully amphibious and capable of crossing various types of terrain impassable to other tracked vehicles. The design of the TNT is highly modular, facilitating maintenance and field repairs as well as enabling a high level of modification for versatility across combat and non-combat roles. The TNT was one of the first indigenous armored vehicles designed in Zacapican and the first project completed by the YAT 114 design bureau, incorporating many existing components from the budding Zacapine automotive industry to cut down on development and manufacturing costs. More than 15,000 TNT armored vehicles have been produced by Cuauhquetztia since 1959, 6,000 of which are currently in service with the Zacapine military.

Development

The TNT project was the result of a long running nativisation initiative to bring the production of all key military hardware to domestic plants. Since the mid 1920s, the Zacapine military had been importing early armored vehicles for testing and use by the armed forces. Army officers, notably Colonel Milit Tzacol, championed the protected mobile fire concept of the tank and the accompanying push to fully motorize the armed forces. These officers likewise pushed for the development of native Zacapine designs to replace the imported equipment, both in order to remove the military's reliance on outside powers and to produce equipment better suited to the highly diverse and difficult environments found in Zacapican. All of these early efforts ran into the same stumbling block, the as yet underdeveloped Zacapine industries of the era which was not well suited to produce tanks and other complex armored vehicles. The TNT project was the result of these earlier failures. Military designer Necuametl Mizyaotl was assigned the task of developing an indigenous vehicle better suited to the limited production capabilities of Zacapine military industries of the age, being designated the Director for the newly created YAT 114 bureau and given resources to pursue his task.

Mizyaotl's first draft designated Tepozpilli (TPL-1) was based on concurrent developments in armored vehicle design from around the world, in particular the advent of the armoured personnel carrier concept. The initial designs were based on a study for a light tank concept requested by the Zacapine Marines for expeditionary operations, to be armed with a 75mm canon on a front-mounted turret which would also allow for superior gun depression well suited to the mountainous terrain of interior Zacapican. This concept was then developed into the TPL-1 prototype, which featured a reduced turret armed with two 85mm recoilless guns and a modified hull which could house a driver, gunner and commander as well as four passengers. Mizyaotl quickly recognized the design, while well suited to the Army's purposes, would likely fall into the same trap as previous Zacapine armored vehicle projects and be too difficult for military industry in particular the proprietary engine both powerful enough to move the well armored machine and heavy armament and small enough to fit in the small available space of the vehicle.

The TPL-2, which would eventually become the TNT prototype, further reduced the vehicle's main armament and the armor thickness, reflecting Mizyaotl's changing objectives for the project. The design team abandoned the focus on a combat vehicle primarily focused on doing battle with the enemy and instead redesigned the vehicle to be, in the words of Mizyaotl, "an armored box with treads". The new aim of the project was not to replace the tanks and main fighting vehicles in service with the army but rather to produce a new Zacapine vehicle which would serve all the roles surrounding such fighting vehicles, including the transportation of infantry, wounded, military supplies and heavy equipment. In order to avoid the engine issues of the TPL-1, Mizayotl opted for a diesel engine already manufactured in Zacapican for use in civilian trucks, as well as numerous tractor components likewise already in production. This not only simplified the design and expedited the development process already using up its limited resource allocation, it would also make the vehicle significantly easier and cheaper to produce for the military industries. While the design was far more simplistic than the military had asked for, the wide ranging utility of the new TNT promised to revolutionize the Zacapine military and enable the final stages of complete motorization and mechanization of the Army and the Republican Guards.

Design

The vehicle is fully enclosed with two internal compartments. The front section houses the crew of two, a driver and a gunner/commander, while the rear compartment can carry ten passengers. The commander of the vehicle operates the small turret, which in the main production model sports a 12.7x108mm machine gun but may also house a 30mm grenade launcher or 30mm automatic canon. The turret ring design was put in place with future upgrades in mind and enables multiple different turret types to be used, including a variant capable of sporting an ATGM launcher. This modularity is present throughput the vehicle, greatly simplifying maintenance and enabling the crew to more easily preform effective field repairs. This feature also enables the baseline TNT model to be easily modified to preform a variety of tasks and even be converted into specialized combat variants such as the Tozan-9 SHORAD SAM system or the open-topped Tlequiquiztli-Tlazacani (T-T) mortar carrier. The armor protection of the TNT's hull is sufficient to stop small arms fire and shrapnel, but does not stand up to direct hits from artillery or heavy weapons. The TNT's low silhouette reduces the changes of being spotted or hit by enemy fire, improving its survivability indirectly.

The TNT is fully amphibious but does not feature a deployable propeller or water-jet unit, instead utilizing its tracks to propel the vehicle even in water. For dealing with soft ground such as sand dunes or swampy ground, the tracks may be swapped out for wider ones in the field to reduce the ground pressure by half and improve traction. The vehicle's powerful engine allows it to carry up to 2.5 metric tons of cargo and equipment or tow up to 7 metric tons across bad terrain. Its qualities enable it to tow heavy artillery and move the artillery crew in its passenger compartment simultaneously, making the vehicle a favorite in the Zacapine artillery units. The TNT is equipped with chemical, biological and radiological countermeasures which can effectively protect the crew and passengers against such methods of attack.

Variants

• TNT - Basic version of the vehicle, used as an APC, combat ambulance and artillery tractor. Capable of fitting a hydraulic dozer blade
• TNTP Payomatl - Self propelled gun armed with 120mm howitzer
• TNTT Tlamotqui - ATGM equipped variant with automatic launcher reload system
• Tozan-9 - Surface-to-air missile equipped air defense system
• Tlequiquiztli-Tlazacani - Open-topped mortar carrier equipped with 80mm mortar
• Totzontecon-NT1 - Command vehicle variant with modified rear compartment and additional armor protection
• TNTI Ixhuei - Ground radar carrier, capable of fitting counter-battery and fire-control radar systems
• Cactlacualo - Unarmed variant modified for polar conditions, featuring improved flotation, wider tracks, added insulation and fuel capacity improvements. Primarily used for polar exploration and civilian scientific purposes including in non-polar difficult environments.