M90 Centaurus (FRAUT)

The M90 Centaurus is a FRAUT, designed by Federal Defence. The vehicle was designed beginning in 2008, and entered service the the Federal Republic Land Force Command in 2016. Production of the M90 entered full rate in 2015 and so far 289 vehicles have been produced, with a total of 4,500 planned. The vehicle has not seen any conflicts yet. The main improvements to the M90 include a fully electronic fire control system and enhanced mobility and protection compared to the previous M79.

History
By 2004, the Land Force Command realized the M79 was falling far behind other modern main battle tanks in firepower, protection, and mobility. Thus, the M79A1 upgrade program was initiated to modernize the M79 as a stopgap measure until a new vehicle was developed. The Type 90 Tank project was initiated with a development contact to Federal Defence in 2007, and in 2008 a full development cycle began. The Command Administration Group Center issued a criteria list for a new main battle tank with cross country mobility enabling travel at speeds of up to 65 kilometers per hour. The report also called for greater protection, so the M90 abandoned the use of rolled homogeneous armor and uses only composite armor with spaced spall liner. In 2013 the first XT90 prototype was delivered to the Land Force Command, and successful completion of the testing state was completed in 2014. In 2015, full rate production was approved and the vehicle officially entered service October 25th, 2016.

Design
The M90 does not share any components with the previous generation M79. The vehicle features a completely new electronic systems, a new drive train and a new armoring system.

The M90's main advantage over the M79 is the highly advanced electronic systems. A powerful 80804 Micro-computer handles ballistic calculations, gun stabilization, and vehicle management. This allows the vehicle to engage and destroy targets at much farther ranges than the M79, and the night operating capability of the vehicle was greatly improved. The electronic fire control system allows the vehicle to fire on the move, up to 60km/h over rough terrain, day or night. The E-FCS also allows for automatic zeroing and battle sighting without the need for manual adjustment. The Commander's sights are now fully independent of the gunners', and can scan for different targets while the gunner engages. The auto loader was maintained but a new system was used. The new auto loader enabled a round to be loaded without having to move the gun to a loading position. While this did not impact the load time on a horizontal gun, it reduced the time drastically when the gun was in any other position and meant that the gun never had to leave the target to reload.

The M90 also features an advanced composite armor system. Steel was only used in unarmored components, and the integrated super structure and all external armor are composite. The Composite armor is spaced and the spacing is lined with spall lining, which reduces shrapnel effects and defeats High explosive ammunition if it penetrates the vehicle. The turret also features eletro-hydraulic traverse, a new method using both conventional hydraulic and electronic motors to provide boost speed to allow for much faster traverse than a hydraulically operated turret.

Gun
The 120mm M500 Gun is used in the M90, the first vehicle to employ this new gun. While the calibre of the gun was reduced from the 125mm gun on the M79, the gun is rifled and features a new cold forged barrel allowing for extended barrel life. The M500 gun also uses a smaller round to enable much higher muzzle velocity compared to the heavier and slower moving 125mm ammunition available for the M455 gun. The M500 Gun is mated to the new E-FCS, which enables accurate fire up to 6km/h day or night at ranges up to 6,500m. The M500 gun also can fire an anti tank guided missile which can engage targets with top-attack mode up to 10,000m away. The M500 gun fires the following ammunition:
 * S12A1 Armor Piercing, Discarding Sabot, Fin Stabilized, Depleted Uranium Composite Core (APDSFS)
 * H12A1 High Explosive, Fin Stabilized (HEFS)
 * C12632 Anti-Infantry Cannister Shot (AICS)
 * GM12AH1 Anti Tank Top Attack Guided Missile (ATTAGM)

Protection
The M90 uses advanced, and classified composite armor with spaced areas with spall lining. The vehicle features an aggressively slopped lower and upper glacis, with a relatively flat turret mantlet with extremely heavy armor. The vehicle has side skirts to protect the running gear and defeat high explosive and machine gun fire combined with the composite armor package.

Mobility
The M90 Centaurus is powered by the FD 90195 W16 Twin Turbo Diesel. A W-16 Engine uses two inline eight cylinder engines mated to a common crank. The Federal Defence 90195 also uses a twin turbo charged, twin intercooled system which provides 1,500 brake horsepower. The engine is electronically controlled and features drive, brake, and steer by wire systems allowing for very little mechanical linkage between the driver's compartment in the front of the vehicle and the engine located in the rear. The twin intercooled system also cools the engine allowing for an exhaust silencer, which limits the thermal and IR signature of the vehicle. The vehicle's powerpack is modular, allowing it to be completely replaced in under 3 hours thanks to quick release connections on all major components and very little mechanical linkage.

Electronics
The M90 Centaurus uses advanced electronic systems. The 24v electrical system powers all of the vehicle's utilities, such as power generation, lighting, and auxiliary electronic functions. A 48V triple redundant system powers all of the fighting functions and electronic systems in the M90. This system is supplemented by an OM16 Inline Four Cylinder Diesel Engine, which allows the main engine to shut off and critical systems to be operated when the tank is stationary, creating a much lower noise and thermal signature. The M90 has advanced battlefield command and control and management systems which enable it to communicate with other networked vehicles allowing greater accuracy and information sharing capabilities.

Variants
The M90 is the only variant in service currently with the Federal Republic Land Force Command

M90 "Centaurus"
The M90 in Land Force Command Service has some modifications over the standard vehicle that was completed by Federal Defence. Custom side skirts were developed to reduce the IR and thermal signature of the vehicle, protect the running gear, and allow the crew to embark and disembark the vehicle more easily. The M90 Centaurus also features the Adaptive Woodland Camouflage Pattern (AWCP), which was introduced in 2015 and will be used on all future Land Force Command vehicles which will be used in woodland environments. The AWCP reduces the thermal signature of the vehicle and prevents chemical agents from adhering to the vehicle, making decontamination easier.