MTU-575 Matador

The MTU-575 Matador, also known as the 'Recon, Tank Destroyer-575' or simply RTD-575 as its official military designation, is a United Earth Federation 8x8 wheeled armored reconnaissance vehicle and tank destroyer. Developed by the UEF after experiences in the 1st Space War, it focused heavily on mobility and firepower. Designed primarily for flanking maneuvers and reconnaissance, it could also carry 3-4 passengers in the back by sacrificing ammunition storage. It also adopted a secondary role soon after its introduction, providing heavy direct fire support to infantry units. 
The Matador would see heavy action during the 1st Interstellar War and later the Sentinel Wars before being replaced by the superior FAV-313 near the end of the 2nd Sentinel War.
== Design ==
=== Armament ===
The Matador uses a revolver/drum autoloading system to load its powerful 150mm KA Cannon. Two drums with 15 shells each, for a total of 30 shells, and can be configured to carry different shells. Such shells include; discarding sabot, high-explosive, anti-personnel flechette shells. However as a consequence of this system the vehicle is overall only limited to 30 shells and cannot be reloaded from inside the turret, effectively forcing the vehicle to withdraw to a supply vehicle, base or unit. This was not seen as a major issue however and the vehicle saw a successful service life.
Additionally, the vehicle is fitted with a HMG-7 heavy machine gun as its coaxial. Some modifications of the vehicle also see it mounted with a top mounted machine gun for commander use. 
=== Protection ===
The Matador is equipped with a pair of three barrel smoke launchers for a total of 6 barrels, facing forward. Much like the MBT-27s, they were later refitted with newer smoke grenades. 
The Matador is also fitted with the SPS-44 'Warden', a soft-kill active protection system that attempts to jam and interfere with the guidance systems of missiles. The SPS-44 was designed primarily against air-to-ground missiles and is less effective against ground anti-tank missile systems. This system was later carried over to the MBT-27 in its B model upgrade.
==== Armor ====
The Matador's armor is a composite of ceramic and steel, designed to be highly durable and lightweight. By design, it is only capable of stopping high caliber machine gun rounds. However its frontal section proved capable of deflecting and semi-stopping autocannon rounds, up to 30mm guns, due to its angled design.
Category:Federation vehicles