Marksman M1

The Marksman M1 Tank first began field trials in 3088 for the Republic of the Sphere on Terra. The tank shares a name with the ancient SLDF Marksman Artillery Vehicle, a fact the RAF anticipates being able to exploit against opponents and is also a reference to the M-7 Gauss rifle carried as a main gun. Unlike the older vehicle, this vehicle was created as a main battle tank for the Republic of the Sphere. Using the name of the tank helped to remind the people of The Republic of their ties to the ancient Terran Hegemony.

The vehicle features two pairs of tracks in its front and rear.

The Marksman described here is the export version used by allies of the Republic. The Republic Armed Forces used the M1A model described below.

Weapons and Equipment
All of the vehicle's weaponry is mounted on the tank's turret. The tank's long range armament consists of its M-7 Gauss Rifle with two tons of ammunition and two Shigunga Medium Range Missile ten packs with a ton of ammunition. For short-range weaponry the vehicle has two four-tube Guided Technologies 2nd Generation Short Range Missile Launchers with one ton of ammo, and two six-tube Ayukawa "Slapper" SRMs with a ton ammo. For use against infantry, it has four Bulldog miniguns with a half ton of ammunition.

Variants

 * Marksman M1A MBT : Developed specifically for the Republic of the Sphere, the M1A is equipped with twin MML-9 launchers and a quartet of ER Medium Lasers instead of the SRM and MRM systems. A Light Fusion Engine provides power, while fifteen tons of Heavy Ferro-Fibrous armor and CASE protect the crew. The remaining weapons remain the same. BV (2.0) = 1,778


 * Marksman M1J MBT : Introduced during the Dark Age, this is armed like the standard M1 Marksman, but replaces the MRM-10s for MRM-20s. An XL Engine is used to allow this upgrade. BV (2.0) = 1,702