28

One of my pet projects as soon as I took control of V4RU was the Omni vehicle.

Thanks to the great experience of the V4RU technicians in retrofitting systems and the fact that the Revenants had several Merkavas, I decided to make this experiment based on that chassis, which thanks to the age of the design was a bug-free and very sturdy one.

The Merkava design had several advantages that made it possible to convert it to an Omni vehicle.

The chassis is already using a Vlar 300 fusion engine, and the engine compartment is big enough to accept an ICE or fuel cell type instead, no doubt because the older variants used ICE ones and even a primitive fusion – thank god they don't changed much the dimensions. Even so, the V4RU technicians need several years of tinkering and testing to arrive at a solution that lets change more easily between all types. While swapping ICE with fuel cell engines and vice-versa is a no brainer, changing to a fusion one takes a lot more time and need to also replace several electronic boards in the crew compartment. But is possible for a decently trained tech team even on field conditions provided they have the necessary tools – and time.

Then, apart from the front mounted MG, all weapons and ammo were mounted on the turret. Thanks to this, with a simple change of the turret – and replacing some electronic boards in the crew compartment - you could get a completely different weapons load-out. The complicated part was the interface, electronics in the crew compartment that needed to be upgraded to accept the more-or-less plug-in boards.

The crew compartment is like the one in my timeline the T-14 Armata – full inside the frontal area of the chassis, with an extra layer of armor.

After this "small" works, the tank could be swapped between different configurations. The basic one was like the Merkava Mk.VIII but with Concordat produced weapons and electronics, the next one used a Thumper, the third a Sniper cannon in the turret for SPG role, followed by another that used three AC/5 and dedicated anti-aircraft sensors and electronics, like a smaller (but still very capable) version of the Partisan. Yet another replaced the AC/5 of the Merkava by one PPC, but this one could only be used with a fusion engine limiting the design because of its cost. And, finally, one used the Arrow IV launcher system. This last one could only be designed after we got our hands on the Hegemony data core of New Dallas. I always thought that it was strange that everybody forgot how to produce the Arrow IV missile. The guidance packages and advanced warheads, sure, but the missiles per se were not that complex nor was the launch system. Both could be produced with the current Concordat tech level without any problem.

For this first production run, the missiles were unguided as we couldn't produce the guided system but several warheads were provided, HE, FRAG, incendiary and smoke being available from the beginning of the project. Later, HE-FRAG and thermobaric followed in the mid-thirties by sub-munitions and scatterable small mines were also produced. Guided, SAM and AAM (this one for ASFs) variants of the Arrow IV missile were being studied, but again the problem was the advanced warheads needed, something that the Taurian Concordat military-industrial complex was not yet capable to produce outside of labs even with the upgrades that I had given it.

When I presented the results to the VMI board of directors, they first thought that I was crazy, but after showing them the prototypes working at V4RU, the possibilities were understood by most of them.

So, in late 3027, the Leclerc, the first Omni vehicle started production at VMI. The Arrow IV variant was only produced by late 3029 and at first only for the Revenants or the Taurian Guards. So, the first batch offered two MBT (AC/5 or PPC), two arty and one flak variants that could be changed from one to another, even with the small mechanic support unit that the poorer militia or mercenary unit normally had. For them, it meant doing it in the rear areas but capable units could do the swap on the field. Only the PPC variant was less accepted than the others and that was because of the increase in price that put it outside of the pocket of most customers, but even that one got several orders.

Nothing high tech was needed to create this very successful tank, just clever design and the ingenuity of the V4RU technicians, which meant that the attention from all around the Inner Sphere and the proposals for license production offered by firms all around the Inner Sphere meant more money for V4RU. Unsurprisingly, Wolf's Dragoons were very interested in the design and ordered a lot of them, for a merc unit that is.

In late 3029 two extra configurations are offered – one use 3x Doombud LRM-20 in the turret essentially re-creating an LRM carrier – even if a costly one, and another – that need the fusion engine, also turning it costly and unpopular – with a turret with a pair or Sunglow Type 2 Large Lasers and two Magna Mk.I Small Lasers (for anti-infantry support) and the electronic, radar and tracking systems of the 3x AC/5 / Flak variant. Neither is popular nor generate big sales, but they added an extra layer of versatility and both the Revenants and Taurian forces – both Guards and militia – bought several.