Should the Star Army keep using the K-1 Bulldog/Type 41 Main Battle Tank?

[Wes]

It's time for the 5-year equipment review for the Type 41 Battle Tank. I'm looking to cut items from the Star Army's equipment list that aren't really useful. Thinking on this, I'm not sure if the Star Army even has tank units on the wiki, what ships or Rikugun units carry/use these, etc.

I figured I'd ask you guys:

• Does anyone know if it's been used in RP?
• Are tanks still useful in the scifi battlefield of Star Army? Particularly this one.
• Do you think it makes sense for the Star Army to keep using them?
• How do you suggest we use them best?

 

[Sunny D]

• Does anyone know if it's been used in RP?
  No Idea!
• Are tanks still useful in the scifi battlefield of Star Army? Particularly this one.
  Ya boi has some fat treads. 100km/h is a bit slow and a 500km range is a bit short
• Do you think it makes sense for the Star Army to keep using them?
  In niche situations. if you required a defensive position you could move forward? Considering infantry can move even faster in atmosphere I don't think they'd be suited for maneuver warfare. Maybe in Break Though situations, though they'd probably need some up armoring.
• How do you suggest we use them best?
  Give them to high schools so they can compete in Sensha-dō competitions!
  
  There was a game a while back called Battlezone II, which had some neat hover tanks. I think with YSE's inertial control technology they could overcome the issues hover tanks would have. That's if you want a Tank like platform preforming maneuver warfare.
  
  (If you ever wondered where the Spacedock guy gets his music from)
• 
  
  But when you think about it, space borne fighters I assume have VTOL capability and probably don't have power and cooling limitations. The Ke-V9 Nodachi has just as much armor, plus a shield. The only reasons you wouldn't deploy them in place of the Type 41 are costs (training the pilot as well as manufacture), the limited amount of ammo you could bring, the fact that the Ke-V9 is larger and wouldn't do well in conflicts that take place in an underground Geofront type situation, and that weapon systems for that kind of fighting haven't been developed.
  
  In conclusion, the YSE should buy VF-41s from the NDC.

 

[Charmaylarg Dufrain]

Legion-V has them on its roster but doesnt have any RP with them since I took it over.

 

[Soban]

Are tanks still useful in the scifi battlefield of Star Army?
I think we do see some used for example in the Fall of Osman. However, overall I feel like in general mecha fill the role of tanks in SARP. I think with the fuel range limitations removed it might have some niche uses. But overall, I don't feel like it's a top level combatant type thing. I'm not sure the Star Army would keep it in it's inventory, but they probably still exist in the setting as a piece of equipment.

 

[Alex Hart]

Wanted to address a few points here as the vehicle's creator, especially for people who aren't familiar with it or the history of the Star Army's usage of tanks. Firstly, the reason that the Type 41 was created was that the SAoY had lost its previous tank in a wiki purge, and had resorted to using the obsolete Type 31. The Bulldog was created to fill that gap while upgrading several things about the tank and keeping the same troop-carrying capability as the Type 31.

To address the point from Sunny on speed and range, 100km/h is quite fast, and it's capable of refueling itself with the (soon to be renamed in accordance with recent guidance) Hyperspace Fuel Taps.

So what's its niche? Well, it brings a lot of firepower, reasonable speed (Most mecha actually run at about the same speed), and is easier to store and maintain and cheaper to procure in comparison to a mecha. It's currently part of the standard complement of several ships such as the Azusa class, the Chiaki class, and the Plumeria class.

Would the SAoY benefit from having, say, hovertanks as an option, along with traditional tanks and its existing Haitaka and Ryoko mecha? Definitely!

But with the fragmentary doctrine of the Star Army mostly coming down to what whoever is running a particular unit prefers, I have a hard time saying that it would be better to get rid of an option for players and GMs rather than instead providing a set of alternatives.