Polar Bear Cryo Tank

=Background=
==Development==
With recent successes in energy weaponry thanks to Federate-Golek cooperation, more and more experimental, and often revolutionary, vehicle designs came forward. However, most of these designs ended up overlapping in roles and often the same old energy cores couldn't cut it for a new tank design. Only a few of these revolutionary energy design concepts made it past the concept stage. One of them was the Polar Bear.
In 95 AF, a team of scientists consisting of both Human and Golek came forward to the Northern Federation military with the concept of a new type of energy weapon. At first glance, the energy seemed to be nothing more than plasma, but scientists quickly proved that it was far from it. Having numerous tests on energy weapons deep beneath the surface of the ice planet of Stalingrad, the researchers quickly began to realize that plasma, the core of most energy weapons, transformed into a different form of energy when super-cooled. This energy became known as Cryo energy, and a major discovery was made. This cryo energy was super-cooled plasma, and lethal to damn near anything living. This immediately caused the Northern Federation military to contract the science team for cryo weapons.
Despite its obvious use as a weapon, cryo energy served many practical uses as well in refrigerators, freezers, etc. as a much more efficient energy source.
Several concept vehicles, cannons, and guns came out utilizing cryo energy, but all were scrapped because no manufacturer could find a way to cool the plasma enough in such a compact space. Despite these failures, the Federate military demanded it be done and for the next four years, major research went ongoing for the newly discovered energy form. Different types of guns and cannons were developed, but none could get it right. That is, until one of the Federate research heads had a stroke of brilliance.
Using plasma batteries and superfluid as a coolant and aerogels trapping the two in, the researchers had finally found a way to effectively cool the plasma outside of Stalingrad. The only problem was that these energy batteries were very large and heavy. The Federate military immediately began commissioning designs for a tank chassis that could withstand these batteries, and after a few designs had come out, the Polar Bear concept was pushed forward, and the development of the Federation's newest energy weapon was underway.
In 100 AF, the first prototypes were pushed off the lines and after several modifications and tweaks, the design was finished and production began. The first CET-2446 Battle Tank, dubbed the Polar Bear Cryo Tank, rolled out of the factory in late 101 AF and they began entering circulation into the Northern Federation military by 102 AF.
==Role==
The Polar Bear is designated as a battle tank, and while it serves this role quite well, it also has several utility and support options for it due to the nature of its Cryo weapons. Cryo energy bonds and freezes on hit, slowing any enemy not killed by it dramatically and allowing the rest of the Federate arsenal to open fire on the enemy who will have major trouble avoiding it. It can also lay down sheets of ice from its Cryo Former to either eliminate enemy attack angles, slow them down dramatically or outright kill them, and it serves as an excellent trap.
==Weaponry==
The Polar Bear's main weapon is its triple-barreled Cryo Cannon, which fires cryo energy directly on a target. The time the cryo energy will impact its target is very difficult for the enemy to predict, as it moves slower and more sporadically than plasma. The triple barrels make up for this, allowing a much higher rate of fire. If a blast is survived, the cryo energy's freezing and bonding effects latch onto surfaces, either making it deadly to move through or severely hampering enemy equipment, freezing up the delicate internals of tank controls or the firing mechanisms of infantry weapons.
Underneath the tank there is a Cryo Former, a new type of weapon in and of itself. The Cryo Former, when activated, slowly lets out cryo energy, leaving a path of ice at sub-freezing temperatures behind it as it moves and completely freezing up the environments as it quickly spreads from the ground to surrounding trees or buildings. This is effective as a way to eliminate enemy attack paths and is a great trap to set for those who dare try to brave it and freeze to death in the extremely cold temperatures.
==Speed and Defenses==
The Polar Bear's top speed is 100 km/h, making it slightly faster than the Grizzly and moderate armour plating all around. However, the treads are exposed and vulnerable, though this is mostly to protect the armour of the tank from the Cryo Former as the material the treads and wheels are made from, while not as solid as the Titanium plating of its armour, are not affected by the extremely cold temperatures.
Crews, however, do have the liberty of adding on additional armour plates provided they avoid the Cryo Former, but this does come at a cost of reduced speed.
==Service and Repair==
The Polar Bear's armour, treads, and wheels are all easily repaired and replaceable as no really different mechanics are needed to fit them. While the treads and wheels are made of a different material than the standard, they are replaced the exact same way and are just a readily available.
The cryo weapons and batteries, as well as computer systems, however, are another matter. The cryo batteries in particular are very difficult, as well as dangerous, to repair and change due to an overall lack of knowledge of how they work, and while the engineers of the Federate military are slowly but surely being trained on cryo tech, it will be a while until they fully understand how they work which automatically means any damage to the cryo weapons or cryo batteries could leave a Polar Bear out of service for a very long time.
The computer systems are difficult to replace and service as well, albeit not as difficult as the weapons themselves. Due to the incredibly cold nature of cryo tech, the computer systems are well-protected as well as completely redesigned from the standard computer systems of other tanks. They are made with more heat resistant materials while still providing equal computing power and are well-protected in the tank, but if they do get damaged, they are very difficult to replace due to their location as well as the specialized materials they are made from.
Category:Vehicles