Oaxaca Tank

**Key Features** | »75mm main gun»57mm sponson cannons»Toledo composite plating w/ steel reinforcement»Armoured internal hive laying mechanism»Tactical coordination station (blackboard and chalk)

## Tactical Analysis

* **Armoured Spearhead:** The indigenous main battle tank of the Technate, the Oaxaca Tank is the front line of Combine armoured forces. It is well armoured and stands up well to enemy fire, but its main gun and twin sponson cannons are criminally underpowered.

* **Dot the Landscape:** As the indigenous Tarantula Hawk is to spiders, the eugenically modified Anvil Hawk is to vehicles. Growing up to six feet in length with a foot-long reinforced stinger capable of punching through tank armour, such creatures are named for the MIR Anvils they overran in their first trial outing. Oaxaca Tanks are designed to lay artificial 'hives' of Anvil Hawks on the field behind them as they move, where their stealthed nature and long range enables them act as surprise artillery for enemies engaging Oaxacas at the front lines.

* **Better Wall than Arrow:** Combine doctrine emphasizes range over firepower, and the Oaxaca suffers in terms of raw damage output. Enemies who manage to get within their own firing range have the advantage when it comes to straight up firefights.

* **Oh God What:** Using certain metallurgy techniques the Combine has made a new kind of metal that is not only stronger than steel but also reflects anything hitting it back towards the attacker. However the expense to make it meant that it can only be used as a frontal plow fitted on veteran Oaxaca crews.

## Background

*"They'll never get past my shell!"*

-Oaxaca Tank operator
When the Technate first came into existence, Mexico was home to a small but thriving Allied reservist force, equipped with the finest in second-rate military armaments, including the venerable Mastiff. A mainstay of the Allied Nations since World War 2, the Mexican main battle tanks found themselves in fierce combat against one another in the minor revolution against the Technate, as military deserters and loyalists clashed in the hills and deserts of the new nation-coalition. And after the Technate had established itself as a power, it continued to use what Mastiffs it had as its MBT for some time, until by 1966 there came a problem - the tanks were approaching obsolescence and disrepair at levels greater than expected, and without the Technate joining the Allied Nations precious little support for maintaining and updating them could be expected. Alternative options were discussed - merely asking the Allies for new Mastiffs to support the nation's peacekeeping forces' was quietly dropped as politically disadvantageous, while buying more tanks from the Syndicate was discussed but ultimately opposed. In the end, a third option was decided upon by the various production and economic counsels, and in May of 1966 the first **T12 Oaxaca Tank** rolled out the front door of the first Caballo Compositeworks manufactory plant.

With little if any prior experience in tank design, the designers of the Oaxaca looked to existing battle tanks for inspiration. The end result, though taking influences from several other vehicles, is well tailored to fit the Technate's military doctrine and philosophy. Admittedly, the Oaxaca's armament is not very impressive by modern standards; the 75mm gun is less powerful than the calibres favoured elsewhere in the Allied Nations, not to mention the even heavier calibre guns that tank designers are beginning to incorporate into their designs, and the 60mm mortar installed on the front is little more than a pop gun against modern armor. Some outside the Technate were puzzled by this move; however, in the opinion of the Oaxaca's designers, conventional, chemical-propellant guns are nearing obsolescence, with the numerous strides and advances being made in armour technology. Instead, they believe that the future of anti-tank weaponry lies in new forms of weaponry; coilguns, cyclotrons, energy weapons and the like. To them, the 75mm gun is only a stopgap, until the Oaxaca's *real* armament could be developed.

The same cannot be said for its protection. Though the exact composition of the Oaxaca's armour plating is a secret to outsiders, it is known that a great deal of Technate expertise in metallurgy and materials sciences was poured into its development. This shows in battle; the Oaxaca can shrug off blows that would have been sufficient to destroy a similarly sized tank several times over; while lacking the first hit capability of other tanks, it is expected to be the last tank standing in any engagement.

Probably the greatest advantage of the Oaxaca, however, is not in its armour or its armament, but its modularity; components are designed to be easily swapped out, and the entire tank can be broken down into multiple parts. Believing that the Technate's constant scientific and technological advances would be quick to render previous generations of technology obsolete, the designers decided to build the Oaxaca to be easily upgradable, so that it would always have the best the Technate had to offer. Not only can existing parts be replaced, but new components can be installed as well; one such example was the installation of compartments for specialized projectiles next to the mortar, allowing it to fire specialized projectiles while the main gun kept firing, including smaller munitions, chain shot, and even occasionally chemical or phosphorous rounds. There are some other advantages to this as well; damaged or worn out components can be quickly replaced, and entire Malice tanks can be quickly assembled from their component parts even in the midst of combat.

All things considered, the resultant tank has become the symbol of a transition in the Technate from the old ways to the new, for better or for worse. The Oaxaca Tank requires different handling and piloting instruction to control its weaknesses and master its strengths than other tanks in Combine service, and much propaganda surrounding the instruction programs point out the fact that the next generation of drivers will be piloting Technate tanks, not Allied or American war machines. It is clear that such drivers will need to be trained to make the most of known and theoretical tactics, as their actions on the field will determine the future of Combine armoured warfare strategy.

### Just the Stats

 **Armour Type** | Heavy Armour

 **DPS** | 20 dps

 **DPS** | 37.5 dps