Type-41 Kojima-class walker

The Type-98 Kojima-class walker is an Imperial fourth-generation self-propelled artillery walker. Manufactured by Fugaku, the Kojima-class is officially designated the Type-98 All-Terrain Bipedal Artillery Platform.

The Kojima-class walker is intended to eventually replace the Yamagishi-class walker in the indirect fire and anti-orbital role by 320.

History
The Kojima-class was originally designed by Aleksandr Granin, a military scientist from the Interstellar Union. Originally intended to be entirely a mobile surface-to-space artillery vehicle, Granin's design bureau had already completed a basic design in the 260s, known under the designation ALP-65. The basic design of the vehicle had already taken shape at this point, though the main weapon was a high-powered surface-to-space composite beam laser. Ultimately, the ALP-65 design was rejected in favour of Nikolai Sokolov's ALV-65 Escarabajo design, as the Union lacked the advanced walker technology that the ALP-65 design demanded.

Due to various other reasons and fearing for his life, Granin defected to the Empire in the 270s, assisted by Imperial Army special forces. In exchange, Granin provided the Empire with a wealth of information regarding the Union's military technologies. The head of the Imperial Army Tactical Development Centre at the time, Major-General Kojima Hideo, took interest in Granin's work with the ALP-65 design and pushed for the platform's development. Some of the research in the ALP-65 led to the development of the Type-75 Yamagishi-class artillery walker. However, despite the Empire's advantages in walker development, more research and development was still required to attain the agility and speed demanded by the ALP-65 design, now known as the Experimental High Mobility Artillery Platform project. Around 281, the success of the railgun-armed Yamagishi-class walker led to the EHMAP project being transformed into a dual-role artillery walker, with the energy weapon replaced by a projectile railgun to enable the vehicle to provide both ground and anti-orbital supporting fires.

In 287, the project faced a severe setback. The final prototype of the Kojima-class had been prepared and was being tested at a secret Imperial Army base, when a terrorist group invaded the facility and seized the prototype walker, also taking Granin and Major-General Kojima hostage. Imperial Army special forces were deployed to retake the facility, though Granin later succumbed of his injuries due to his old age. The Kojima-class prototype was also heavily damaged after the terrorists used it to combat the special forces, exposing several weaknesses in its design.