Talk:AFOH/@comment-27015223-20151010234951/@comment-14850713-20151012044140

OOC: Thanks for the compliment Leader! But I must say Manticore stole Martel A1's thunder.

IC:

With the threat of war with Cattiria looming, the High Command has given the green light for the Manticore MBT to go into low-rate production. Select armored divisions (particularly some of those under SOAFCOM) will be equipped with the new tank together with a new formation, the independent Armored Cavalry Brigade. The ACB is envisioned to provide corps HQs a powerful and readily-deployable armored reserve. Some armored divisions based in the Home Islands are already slated to be broken up into  ACBs (although these will retain their divisional lineage to maintain tradition and unit cohesion).

The development of the Martel A1 MBT, which will equip the regular armored, mechanized and light infantry divisions will be slowed down, but a variant of the Protektor APS will be deployed with combat and frontline units. The Protektor FM (field modification) is composed of a rotating radar/missile launcher and  externally mounted shotgun modules to give almost the sanme level of protection as the integral version in the A1 turret. The interceptor missile will not have the same effectiveness against top-attack threats as compared to the VLS-launched version as it will have a more difficult maneuver pattern when launched horizontally from the FM. The FM launcher and shotgun modules will also be more vulnerable to blast damage. This is expected to only be a short-term solution since the Martel A1 turret has proven to be a vast improvement vs. the Martel, but the Protektor FM is slated to become standard issue for all Cuirassier IFVs (but with a 2 missile canisters as compared to 4 in the tank mounted version).