Pit Adder light tank

The Pit Adder, officially the "Pit Adder" Armored Battle Car (Tipsprek: Panserestridvein «Pitader») abbreviated as '''Psv. Pitader''', is a Tiperyn wheeled introduced in 2003. It developed to meet a requirement for a new light tank to provide fire support and protected close combat capabilities to the Realm Guard's planned Continental Crisis Contingency regiments—Mounted Riflist Regiments intended to be the first forces with heavy firepower to be able to respond to invasion of the mainland.

Because of the program's requirement for a tank that could deploy independently via Tiperyn's road network without support from tank transporters or rail assets led to the Pit Adder being an 8×8 wheeled platform. Being 15 to 24 tonnes lighter than Tiperyn's main battle tanks and being wheeled rather than tracked makes the Pit Adder Tiperyn's most operationally mobile tank, with the potential for quicker preparation and more dispersed action with a relatively smaller logistical burden. However, it still features the same 5-inch tank gun as the Python and Black Mamba main battle tanks, providing it with an anti-armor capability equal to that of any Tiperyn tank short of the new Taipan with its 6-inch gun-launcher. Protection is sacrificed to save weight, with the hull front being resistant to 30mm autocannon fire and 15mm machine gun fire from all other aspects. But, the Pit Adder's turret front is more heavily armoured—with the Tiperyn government claiming it can defeat 105mm (APFSDS) rounds—and features additional  and space to defeat  (HEAT) rounds and force APFSDS to strike the composite armour at a non-optimal angle. Upgraded Tiperyn-versions of the Pit Adder will also be equipped with a similar to the one employed on the Python B2 to defeat HEAT munitions from all aspects.

Since its adoption in 2003, Pit Adder-equipped Realm Guard units have been deployed to policing operations in Western Tiperyn's—a hotspot in the country's ongoing Goidelic Insurrection—and combat operations in Nasiria.

Development
In 1993, the Secretariat of War and Crisis initiated a comprehensive review of Tiperyn's defense capabilities as part of a modernization and anti-corruption campaign within the armed forces. It was charged with creating a roadmap for force modernization called "Continental Defense 2010". Among the ministry's findings were a perceived gap in rapid deployment capabilities to counter a notional League of Free Nations invasion of Tiperyn utilizing mechanized airborne or amphibious forces. While the Realm Guard had what it considered to be an "adequate" number of Heavy Ruitery Regiments based on main battle tank platforms, their ability to quickly respond to invasion in more remote areas was questioned. This was because of the necessary time added to heavy armored deployments due to the coordination of rail and road-based tank transport. Tiperyn also had a number of relatively new high mobility Mounted Riflist Regiments mounted in wheeled armored personnel carriers, but these units lacked heavy direct fire platforms that could both engage enemy forces in close combat and resist enemy tank fire in certain situations. This finding resulted in a new requirement put out to Tiperyn industry in 1994, laying out the need for a highly mobile, heavily armed, and reasonably armored light tank that could be rapidly deployed under its own power to hypothetical invasion sites on the mainland.

There were a number of design methodologies put forth by various companies, including tracked assault guns based on amphibious personnel carrier chassis and an uparmored variant of the Crocodile infantry fighting vehicle which was in the development and prototyping phase at the time. However, these solutions did not address the key requirement of rapid deployment under their own power which, while not explicitly stated, basically defaulted to moving by Tiperyn's highway system. By 1998, the Secretariat of War and Crisis had announced its winner; the automotive and defense multinational Oermakt Motoverken which also produced Tiperyn's Python main battle tank.

Production
Mass production of the Pit Adder began in 2003, with the first operational unit being delivered to the Tiperyn Realm Guard in February 2004. As of 2021, 714 Pit Adders have been produced for the Realm Guard, not including export units. This initial order was manufactured between 2003 and 2014. An additional 141 are planned to be procured by the Realm Guard between 2022 and 2029.

Tiperyn deployment
The Pit Adder is currently a fixture of Tiperyn's Continental Contingency Mounted Riflist Regiments, serving in the Battle Car Battalion (54 Pit Adders per battalion) of the following regiments:
 * № 2 "The Empress's Own"
 * № 5 "The Old Kaltyk Lorried"
 * № 11 "The Duchess of Idlerein's Riflists"
 * № 19 "The Realm Lorried Regiment"
 * № 23 "The Steinsen Mounted Riflists"
 * № 36 "The Realm Koalbranist Regiment"
 * № 60 "The Silver Woodsmen"
 * № 71 "The Vitenlan White Coats"
 * № 90 "The Grootshaven Gentlemen-Soldiers"

It also serves a smaller role as a heavy fire support and close combat platform within № 6 "The Realm Light Ruitery", a specialized regiment under the Grand Army of Tipslan that provides the Realm Guard with corps-level mechanized reconnaissance capabilities. It has two Battle Car Battalions supporting two battalions in lighter autocannon-armed reconnaissance vehicles. These battalions received the upgraded Pit Adder A2 in 2012, which received additional all-aspect reactive armor and cage armor packages, a hard-kill active protective system, remote weapon system, upgraded optics, and a more powerful engine to deal with the added weight. This variant was the result of combat experience gained in Nasiria by the Light Ruitery and the blocking of the branches' procurement of Python main battle tanks following intervention by the Heavy Ruitery branch—traditionally the branch entrusted with operating main battle tanks in the Realm Guard.

In 2021, the Secretariat of War and Crisis announced that the Mamba and Black Mamba main battle tanks in service with Nasiri regiments would be replaced by Pit Adders by 2029. This will amount to 141 additional Pit Adders to equip the three battalions of № 4 Territorial "Lord's Camelry"—the Nasiri Territorial Corps' Heavy Ruitery Regiment.

Domestic

 * Psv. Pit Adder A — Main light tank variant in the Tiperyn and Kayan militaries.
 * Pit Adder A1 (2003) — Initial production variant. The main service variant in the Tiperyn Realm Guard's Riflist Service.
 * Pit Adder A2 (2011) — Added provisions for a remote weapon system and hard-kill active protection system to defeat chemical warheads from all aspects. The main service variant in the Tiperyn Realm Guard's Light Ruitery Service.
 * Psv. Pit Adder B (planned 2023) — Proposed Light Ruitery variant of the Pit Adder with improvements to high-altitude performance for combat deployments to southern Nasiria.
 * Pls. Death Adder (2005) — A variant of the Pit Adder with the conventional turret replaced by a for dual-purpose anti-aircraft and anti-tank fire support within maneuver regiments.

Export only

 * Oermakt Model 2003 (2003) — The variant of the Pit Adder for the Kayan Unified Armies, largely similar to the Pit Adder A1 but with some minor feature changes and localization.
 * Oermakt Lancehead (2003) — The commercial name for a specialized variant of the Pit Adder designed for the requirements of the SiWallqanqan Protection Force and its satellite states Arum Republic, Sinaya, and Pukara. It integrates a number of features to make the Pit Adder more suitable for operations in the hot, mountainous regions of SiWallqanqa. These include the use of a two-stage turbocharger to reduce power-loss at higher altitudes and more readily removable turret face armor to reduce weight and allow for additional reactive and slat armor on the sides and rear without adversely impacting power-to-weight ratios. Features of the Lancehead are currently being considered by the Tiperyn Secretariat of War and Crisis for light ruitery Pit Adders that frequently deploy to the mountainous regions of southern Nasiria.

Operators

 * Agrana y Griegro
 * Alva — The Reichsheer operates 247 Pit Adders solely of the A1 variant under the Spähpanzer Grubenottern designation.
 * Arum Republic — Operates the Oermakt Lancehead variant optimizing for SiWallqanqan service in hot, mountainous regions.
 * Jungastia
 * Kaya — The Unified Armies operates 291 Pit Adders across three Battle Regiments of the Jade Serpent Banner Army as light tanks. Additional chassis are also operated as missile platforms. Kaya has reserved the right for additional orders.
 * Pukara — Operates the Oermakt Lancehead variant optimizing for SiWallqanqan service in hot, mountainous regions.
 * Santa Magdalena — The Santa Magdalenian Army operates 33 Pit Adders in one battalion-sized armor regiment, replacing older main battle tanks. Its Pit Adders are secondhand Pit Adder A1s that were used by the Tiperyn Realm Guard Light Ruitery Service before being made redudant by new production Pit Adder A2s.
 * Sinaya — Operates the Oermakt Lancehead variant optimizing for SiWallqanqan service in hot, mountainous regions.
 * Svenskt
 * SiWallqanqa — Operates the Oermakt Lancehead variant optimizing for SiWallqanqan service in hot, mountainous regions.
 * Theyka — The Theykan Army leased eight Pit Adders from the Tiperyn Realm Guard from 2007 to test the concept and gauge interest. These units were returned to Tiperyn in 2010, and an order for 81 Pit Adder A2s was signed. The first vehicles were delivered in 2012, with the last being delivered in 2014. The light tanks are currently in service within the Armored Cavalry Brigade of the Ngāti Tūmatauenga.
 * Tiperyn — The Tiperyn Realm Guard operates 714 Pit Adders in nine Mounted Riflist Regiments, one Light Ruitery Regiment, and one training school troop. It also keeps a portion in reserve storage to reinforce an additional two Mounted Riflist Regiments during wartime.
 * Ringerike — The Ringeriker Army operates three regiments of Pitt Adders in the Mechanized Cavalry, designated as the Stridsbil m/03 "Pit Adder".