H71-Kataphrakt

The H71-Kataphrakt is a  manufactured by IARM. It is the main active duty tank of the Stratia, and is currently offered for export by IARM.

Armament
The H71-Kataphrakt is equipped with a IARM ZT-6.6 140mm L/57 140mm, gun smoothbore gun,. The gun is fitted with a thermal sleeve, fume extractor, and muzzle reference system and is stabilized on 2 axis, permitting the vehicle to shoot on the move. The gun has a vertically sliding breech and is fed by a conveyor belt with a 16 round magazine, with a nominal rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute, with a "sprint" capability of up to 15 rounds per minute. The autoloader and magazine are housed in the turret bustle, separate from the crew compartment, which is equipped with blow-out panels to protect the crew from ammunition cook-offs. An additional 26 rounds of ammunition are stored in the hull in an armored compartment. The gun's muzzle energy is reported at 24, with a maximum effective range of 10 kilometers.

It is capable of firing a variety of ammunition: the primary anti-tank round is the Verutum Taxon-6.6 gun series of depleted uranium munitions, which is equipped a segmented long rod penetrator. A tandem warhead round, the Verutum Taxon-6.6, is also available, along with a, the VC-6.5, and  VE-6. An electronically fused round, the VEA-6.7, entered service in 2018, and is a programmable dual-purpose round with air burst capability that can be utilized in both direct and indirect fire capacities. A guided projectile meant for engaging targets beyond visual range, the VT-7 is presently under development and slated for deployment in 2020. This round features a dual-mode infrared/millimeter wave radar seekerhead with a shaped charge warhead and fragmentation sleeve.

The tank is equipped with a water-cooled coaxial .338 caliber chain-driven machine gun. The gun has 2,000 rounds ready to fire via a linkless feed system, with an additional 10,000 rounds of ammunition stored. A 14.5mm MGM machine gun is mounted in an Skorpion remote weapon station under the control of the tank commander. The RWS may also be be slaved to either the commander's thermal viewer or to the vehicle's countermeasures suite, which permits it to automatically target and lay suppressing fire on enemy missile teams.

Protection
The hull and turret are constructed of welded steel and fitted with Auramite plates, a classified composite believed to incorporate ballistic ceramics, rolled homogeneous armor, and depleted uranium matrices. The vehicle is protected against automatic cannons up to 30mm and held-held rocket propelled grenades from all aspects; it is capable of resisting 105mm gunfire along portions of the side, and is protected against 120mm and 125mm kinetic energy penetrators along the frontal arc. Additional reactive armor tiles may be added as necessary along the sideskirts, and optional may be mounted over the engine compartment. The Series. III Kataphrakt modifies the turret and hull to permit the mounting of Scutarius along the frontal arc.

The vehicle is fitted with a soft-kill countermeasures system comprised of the tank's on-board 360 degree sensor suite, an IARM CMIR missile countermeasures system, LT-I laser device, and a bank of two 8-round 81mm smoke grenade dischargers. The CMIR is designed to emit a massive, condensed infrared signal to confuse the infrared homing seeker of an anti-tank guided missile, which allow it to guide type missiles away from the vehicle. The smoke dischargers may be triggered automatically or manually, and emit a cloud of visual and infrared obscurants. The on-board sensor suite, inclusive of the radar system, CTA-III laser warning receiver, and 360 degree infrared cameras serve as a Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS), activating the soft-kill system with the option of automatically orienting the entire turret toward the threat as well as automatically engaging the threat with the LT-I laser blinder and RWS-mounted heavy machine gun.

In the Series. III variant of the Kataphrakt, the organic soft-kill system is augmented by the Thyreos hard kill active protection system, which engages incoming threats with a shotgun-like blast of shrapnel to defeat targets such as rocket propelled grenades and anti-tank guided missiles. Additionally, the occultatum multi-spectral camouflage system is also added, reducing the vehicle's overall infrared and radar signature. An automatic fire suppression system is programmed to detect and put out any internal fires that may occur.

Mobility
The Kataphrakt has a maximum on-road speed of 70km/h and reported off-road speed of 52km/h. It is capable of climbing 60-degree slopes and vertical obstacles up to 1.8 meters in height. It is powered by a IARM 1,800 horsepower engine with a hydrostatic transmission. A 100 horsepower auxiliary power unit (APU) runs the on-board systems when the main engine is switched off, reducing the overall infrared and accoustic signature of the vehicle. The tank features an advanced hydroneumatic suspension, called the In-arm Suspension Unit, which allows for individual control of every bogie on the tracks. This permits the tank to "sit", "stand", or "kneel", also allowing it to "lean" around obstacles. This allows for the tank to more easily take cover behind terrain, whilst augmenting the angular range that the main gun may elevate and depress. Utilizing this system, the main gun may be elevated up to 24 degrees.

The Kataphrakt is capable of fording rivers up to 4.1 meters deep utilizing a snorkel system, which may be prepared by the crew in 20 to 30 minutes, and is in combat ready status upon emerging from the crossing.

Electronics
The vehicle has a comprehensive sensor suite including a commander's independent thermal viewer, gunner's main sight incorporating thermal imaging, 360 degree near infrared cameras mounted throughout the vehicle, laser warning receiver, and an  system deployed along the frontal arc of the turret. The fire control system integrates a laser range finder and crosswind sensor as well as the radar system and thermal imagers. The fire control computer permits for targets "locked on" to and automatically tracked out to a range of 10 kilometers, allowing for distant targets to be engaged on the move, and for low-flying aircraft to be targeted. Manual systems, including periscopes, conventional optics, and mechanical range finders are provided as back-ups to the fire control system. Crewmen are equipped with helmet-mounted displays (HMDs) linked to the camera suite, allowing for them to look "through" the tank.

Crewmen are equipped with color touchscreen displays. A Vehicle Health System continuously monitors subsystems, such as power usage, fuel level, engine temperature, and automatically cues maintenance issues.

The communication and navigation suite incorporates both and s, as well as a VHF/UHF radio system. An IARM Tribunus battlefield management system transmits vehicle data to friendly forces while displaying the positions of friendly units on a color screen. This also incorporates a C4I uplink, and integrated with an IFF system linked to the fire control system.

The entire vehicle is capable of operating in a "low emission" mode, whereby line of sight laser communications are employed where possible using the on board LT-I laser device and UAV-based systems, and outgoing emissions are regulated; the EHF radar is disabled in this mode, but may be set to be automatically enabled under certain conditions (such as the laser warning receiver being triggered, or the thermal cameras detecting a missile launch).

Variants
Series. I: Initial production model. Equipped with previous generation Auramite armor package Series. II: Equipped with new generation Auramite armor, improved fire control and battle management system. Provisions for mounting applique armor. Series. III: Comprehensive upgrade including 3rd generation thermal imagers, Thyreos active protection system, occultatum multi-spectral camouflage system, ammunition smart link system, on-board UAV control station and launch/recovery system. Compatible with Scutarius heavy explosive reactive armor. Series. IV: Proposed future upgrades include the replacement of the powerpack with a diesel-electric hybrid engine, and a new main gun.