SPzKw. 46 Jaguar

'''The Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Jaguar (Inventory designation: Sd.kfz. 322''') was the result of the Westar Federation’s standard-panzer project, which began in 1943 in an effort to create a “universal tank” for Westar’s Bundesheer. The vehicle is meant to be a balance between, armour, firepower and mobility and it fullfilled exactly that for the Westar Bundesheer, while still remaining smaller than other Main battle tanks developed at the time. The SPzKw. 46 Ausf A. (1946 model) required the development of many brand new parts however has remained affordable. The tank was intended to completely replace the many tank classes which were used by Westar and other nations, serving as a tank destroyer and infantry support while maintaining its mobility and crew protection.

The Jaguar would see service with various nations around the world. The design would prove effective as an Main Battle Tank and would see constant modernisation by both Westar and other international entities alike, with some variants even including composite armour packages to allow the vehicle to compete with older vehicles and cheaper modern tanks which see service world wide.

History
During the 1940's Westar was operating several tank classes like many other conventional militaries of the time, however this would prove to be costly and a logistically painful process to maintain and many of these vehicles were nearing their final years of service due to advancing technologies. Armoured Commander Matthias Edel had brought the idea of a "Standard-panzer" or "standard-tank" in english to the Westar high command, the design philosophy behind this class of vehicle would see a balance between armoured protection, firepower and maneuverability in order to create a tank capable of acting as infantry support like a medium tank, have the crew protection of a heavy tank while being capable of knocking out other tanks like a tank destroyer, completely removing the need for having various specialised vehicles. This idea while initially not accepted, would result in the creation of the Standard-Panzer program through government grants due to the continued effort to prepare for the theoretical enactment of War Plan Red, following the exact philosophy of Edel, with the ultimate goal of creating a reasonably priced universal tank which would serve Westar for at minimum five years through upgrades. The program would begin in 1943, prior to which Westar had acquired Tiperyn Pânserefjochtreau Keningskobra Medium tanks, from which Westar drew inspiration from alongside its own medium tanks to design its standard-panzer due to its weight and armour layout, which Westar mixed with its own existing designs to create the prototypes to the Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Ausf A.

The Initial Prototypes of the Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46, which were created under the Versuchs Konstruktion 43 series (VK43) of vehicles, with early models resembling the Pânserefjochtreau Keningskobra closely, with a modified Westar made PzKw 42 Leopard Heavy Tank turret, however the turret would see several reiterations along with the hull due to weight which had caused various engine failures, VK4301 (First prototype) would have a weight of 67 tonnes. Despite the weight decrease with the next prototype, a new engine was developed to cope with the expected weight of the new standard-panzer. VK4304 would be the final prototype of the vehicle, and would pass testing in early 1945, allowing the finalisation of the design through out 1945 and the production of the first SPzKw. 46 Ausf. A Jaguar on the 3rd of February 1946, putting it as one of the first main battle tanks produced. The tank design itself was ahead of its time, as mandated by War Plan Red, placing Westar armoured forces at a much more capable position in comparison to their potential conventional enemies who were yet to see the development of a standard tank.

Design
Although the design was inspired by the idea of a cheaper universal tank fleet, the Westar government's plan to keep Westar ahead of its neighbours technologically in order to guarantee Westar's existence had pushed the design idea into existence. The SPzKw. 46 would see a completely set of parts created just for it and the threats it may face in its future. This included the brand new 8.4cm KwK 45 L/67 rifled main gun which would prove extremely capable at knocking out even the heaviest of tanks at the time, a new efficient engine designed to keep the vehicle mobile yet maintaining a reasonable effective range among other parts which were designed for the vehicle.

Although Westar did maintain a fleet of Medium tanks designed around infantry support, they would continue on to order Tiperyn Pânserefjochtreau Keningskobra medium tanks as inspiration for the chassis, due to its armour layout and weight efficiency, offering extremely efficient crew protection while maintaining a reasonable weight before mixing it with their existing medium tank designs. This inspiration would clearly reflect on the final design, with the front glacis only seeing minor modifications, and the chassis being slightly elongated to account for the Westar domestic engine, alongside the custom Westar suspension and drive train.

Combat use
The SPzKw. 46 would first see heavy action in the Great Kesh War of 1949 - 1959, with the tank being exported to Coalition nations and to Kodeshia prior to the war.

Variants
The Jaguar saw many variants and upgrades due to its long service life around the world. The Westar official upgrades and variants for the vehicle were:
 * The Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Ausf. A Jaguar (1946) - The first model of the vehicle, featuring its base armour values and gun.
 * The Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Ausf. B Jaguar (1947) - Received a guns stabiliser and additional smoke dispensers on either side of the turret, and addition 20mm of armour was added to the front glacis.
 * The Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Ausf. C Jaguar (1950) - Received allowing it to operate at night, the 20mm plate was switched out for a 30mm armour plate. The engine was also replaced with a more efficient model, and the radios were replaced. It also received a new co-axial mount replacing the ageing MG43.
 * The Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Ausf. D Jaguar (1956) - The main gun was replaced with a 105mm KwK 56 L/66 rifled gun, also receiving a new recoil buffer system. With the new gun came new optics pushing the effective gunnery range further out than previously, the 30mm armour plate was replaced with a 40mm armour plate and the turret received an additional 50mm of armour.
 * The Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Ausf. E Jaguar (1965) - An externally mounted laser range finder was mounted on the vehicle. The engine was once again replaced, alongside the transmission and radio equipment and added provision for mounting and other add-on armour packages which would allow the mounting of  on the turret and front glacis. At this time a new  projectile was designed for the gun, this was compatible with all of the 105mm guns used on previous models.
 * The Standard-Panzerkampfwagen. 46 Ausf. F Jaguar (1970) - replaced the external laser range finder and external IR systems with internal systems mounted into a modified turret which received composite armour instead of standard armour plating. This model would also see the ability to add additional armour plates and through external provisions. The engine was once again replaced to cope with the new armour layouts.

Current Users

 * Kodeshia - 1946 until 1949, sales stopped after 50 Ausf A. model tanks and 15 Ausf B. model tanks were ordered due to the beginning of the Great Kesh War, only 48 were delivered. After the war, Westar would resume the sale of SPzKw. 46's to the new democratic Kodeshian government with, the tank would see further service from 1960 until 1982 where it was turned into reserve, training units or modified into other utility or combat roles. 550 units were delivered after the war, with 50 of them being Ausf G. models, 75 being Ausf E. and the remaining being the ageing Ausf D. and prior models. Many SPzKw. 46's remain in service in the form of Armoured Personnel Carriers and Infantry Fighting Vehicles.
 * Veikaia - Surplus vehicles sold to South Veikaia and serve in their armed forces through extensive domestic and Westar funded upgrade kits in order to keep it relevant against its immediate threats.

Former Users

 * Westar Federation - 1946 until 2000's, served as the MBT of the Westar Bundesheer through several upgrade kits allowing the vehicle to stay competitive. Replaced by the SPzKw. 80 Säbelzahntiger and SPzKw. 2000 Königsjaguar in 1980 and 2000 respectively, the SPzKw. 2000 Königsjaguar being a total revamp of the Jaguar system.
 * Gardarike - 1948 until 1960, before being replaced by XXXX.
 * Veikan Kingdom - Imported starting in 1946 from Westar. During the Veikan Conflict, the Jaguars found themselves in South Veikaian hands.