XM-1 Kuvalda
XM-1 Kuvalda
Template:Infobox tank The XM-1 Kuvalda was a tank designed by Sturnikov Industrial during 2019. It served for the Izakian Armed Forces over the course of its service life. It was designed as a tank that could hold down a key position and keep enemy tanks pinned for long periods of time due to its massive frontal armor. It was a radical shift from Sturnikov's previous tank designs based around mobility and firepower. The Kuvalda would sit still and slug enemy tanks, and blow their fronts off rather than attempt flanking maneuvers.
Design
The first version of the Kuvalda used a 2x1x1 frontal plate with 1,000mm of armor. However, this came at the cost of 30 tons of frontal weight, which was deemed too excessive. The first production model, the SEPV1, had a 1x2 frontal plate with 700mm of armor. During early testing, the first variants of the Kuvalda could take around 30 shots from a 140mm Autoloader before being destroyed from the front. It used an improvement of the Sturnikov engine design that was tested on the VarVar prototype tank, using dual gas turbines. This allowed the Kuvalda to turn extremely fast to avoid getting flanked, and it could reach key positions faster than most tanks in Izakia at its time of introduction.
Suspension
No
Initial Performance
The initial performance of the Kuvalda was deemed not up to par with internal competition from other Izakian manufacturers. This led to improvements being constantly made on it, and soon enough variants would emerge from the initial production model. The SEPV3 was the first Kuvalda variant to be used extensively, and it saw massive success during its initial deployments. It had a refined anti-HE armor system, which used multiple layers of HE shielding, and improved compartmentalization of its ammunition. The SEPV3 became the backbone of Izakian tank brigades for months. Its design was perfect against other groups who based their tanks around mobility over armor.
Variants
The SEPV1 was the first production model, but it was not in service long due to its lackluster initial performance. The SEPV2 model was introduced, but was also short lived as it did not bring enough changes to warrant use. The SEPV3 was the first model to see extensive use, as it refined most of its design issues. The SEPV4 was a prototype of a 203 howitzer armed Kuvalda, with a massive ammo box to allow for fast reload. Its service life was the longest of all the variants, as it was able to capitalize off its perfect mixture of firepower and armor.
Controversy
The Kuvalda was involved in multiple incidents that made people suspect of its design. Its engines were deemed by some to be clipping too much in early variants, but that minor design flaw was fixed by the time the mass-produced variants were introduced. The top mounted mortars were also a subject of debate, as some believed they were illegal, or just not fair. The top mounted mortars were either not used, or removed entirely, from the final variants of the original Kuvalda.
XM-2 Pravda
The XM-2 Pravda was meant to be the successor to the Kuvalda, a tank that would take the Kuvalda's design and perfect it. However, by the time it was in its prototype phase the Kuvalda's design was showing its age, as it had been deployed in numerous wars for months by the time the Pravda was in its design phase.
XM-3 Kuvalda
The XM-3 Kuvalda was a late revival of the original Kuvalda. It was made over a year after the original was out of service, but the tank was allowed to retain the name of the original Kuvalda. It had a modern design that was used on every other Izakian MBT at the time, and was one of the most durable tanks during Izakian field training. However, the XM-3 Kuvalda never saw combat as it was made right before Izakia left GMOD, and right before Daktank began to take over as the perfered addon.
XM-3 Variants
XM-3 AA
Overall performance / legacy
The Kuvalda is one of the most famous tanks made by Izakia, as it had one of the longest service lives of any Izakian MBT. It served in numerous wars over its prolonged history. It was also one of the most successful Izakian MBTs due to its robust design, and its strong performance in the many wars it was involved in. Throughout its service life, it kept pace with other group's front line MBT's, and was able to be one of the best MBTs for months until age finally caught up with it.