H90-Kastellax main battle tank

Development History
Development of the H90 Main Battle Tank (MBT) began in 1976. It was just a couple of years after the H80 entered service. Events in both the Sorland War and the Osorra-Tilenno War caused the Militarum to reconsider its previous tank designs and that the Imperial Army needed a well protected tank, which would also be superior or at least comparable to the models introduced by NSC and League of Free Nations states. To this end the Administratum Militarium conducted a study to weigh the cost options of upgrading existing vehicles vs a totally new design. At the conclusion of the study it was determined it would be more cost efficient to design a new vehicle as opposed to upgrading and modifying existing vehicles. A number of advanced technologies, for the time were incorporated into the H90 development project. Among these included an autoloader, additional independent commander telescopes, and a coaxial autocannon.

First prototypes of the H90 were completed in 1980, with the army ordering some 2000 vehicles in 1985. First production batch of 30 tanks was completed in 1988 and the H90, now called the Kastellax was adopted by the Imperial army during the same year.

Mobility
Due to the terrain, much of the Imperium is jungle, or rural tropic savanna with heavy rains, it was imperative that the H90 be lightweight, allowing the vehicle to cross bridges and roadways which would be inaccessible to heavier vehicles as a result the H90 has a combat weight of only 54 to 57 tons for the series III. Additionally due to the high probability of roadways and other avenues of travel being flooded the H90 is capable of fording 1.2 meters standard, and up to 4.2 meters with preparation.

The H90 is powered by a TDE-450G-9 liquid-cooled V12 twin-turbo diesel engine delivering 1,500 hp and an additional TGT-659 gas turbine engine, acting both as a turbocharger and an APU giving auxiliary power to all systems when the main engine is shut down and works as an. The TDE-450G-9 provides the H90 with a 27 hp per ton power to weight ratio and makes the H90 capable of acceleration speeds of 0 to 32 km/h in 5 seconds. The H90 has a semi-active hydropneumatic suspension for improved cross country performance. The engine exhaust, exiting at the rear left, is cooled to reduce the thermal signature of the H90. The H90 has an automatic hydromechanical transmission with five forward and two reverse gears. Fuel tanks carry 1,300 litres and act as extra protection for the tank; two 210-litre external tanks can be fitted on the rear of the turret for extended range.

Variants
'''Series. I'''

'''Series. II'''

'''Series. III'''

'''Series. III-X'''

H90-ARV H90-ARV includes both a  and a  with integral, allowing it to approach damaged vehicles, even over rough and fought-over terrain, and tow them to safety. It is equipped with up to two for local self-defense, a smoke, and NBC protection.

H90-AB The H90-AB developed from the H90 tank chassis. It is designed to carry a folding mobile bridge, which it can "launch" across a river. Once emplaced, the bridge is sturdy enough to support most vehicles, even other H90 and H71 tanks. When the crossing is complete, the bridge-layer simply hooks up to the bridge and re-stows it.

H90-MCV The H90-MCV is a based on the H90 chassis. It is equipped with a mine flail or bulldozer blade in addition to electronic mine clearing and marking suites

H90-CEV H90-CEV is a equipped with a, , and dual. The H90-CEV is based on the H90 chassis with a built up forward super structure and has a machine gun for defense, a smoke, and NBC protection

Users

 * Zahava