Bushmaster Tank

*"Sir, the 160 pounder won’t fit!"*

*"Put it in sideways!"*

*"The generator won’t fit!"*

*"Cut a hole and have it stick out the back!"*

*"The engines no good!"*

*"Get five car engines and put them together!"*

- Contingent engineers when creating the first Bushmaster
## Tactical Analysis

* **A tank from a land down under:** The Contingent's MBT, the Bushmaster is armed with a 183mm, the largest caliber mounted on a conventional tank, cannon firing depleted uranium SABOT rounds, meaning it can absolutely murder enemy vehicles (and ships if they get close enough).

* **Can't you hear the thunder?:** When the battle really gets heavy, the Bushmaster's crew can deploy the tank, shifting engine power to the main gun, giving it a respectable rate of fire, and activating a small singularity generator that gives an armor boost as well as taking fire from other units.

* **Better run, better take cover:** The Bushmaster lacks two key elements; speed and rear armour. Infantries are safe from the tank thanks to their ability to easily avoid SABOT rounds, the tank takes time in order to deploy effectively, and it’s flank armour might as well be made of sheet metal while the rear is completely unarmoured and completely exposed.

* **Travelling in a filth-out combie:** Elite crews are often given the chance to test out a new engine for the tank. The stronger horsepower lets the Bushmaster instantly switch between modes (even capable of moving really slowly when it’s generator it deployed), increase the gravity power so that shots to the flanks are moved to its sturdier front (sadly it doesn’t extend to the rear), and gives crews a new means of survivability; they can fight to run away.

## Background

*"C'mon mate, show me that juicy, tasty heel that I can munch on..."*

- Bushmaster pilot, taking aim at an Imperial tank
Tanks were something ANZAC forces lacked in the invasion. While the forces on the islands did have tanks of course, they were typically dated Reservist designs that were probably better used in the hands of the Continentals or Unionists. Calling them tanks was a generous mercy to the crews for their morale, and by war's end, they were being used as particularly mobile bunkers in the closing days of the war. Lacking tanks and desperate for more, the Contingent dove headfirst into the abandoned prototypes and experimental systems left behind.

One of the most promising was an upgrade to the Guardian. The most obvious benefit was the highly angular design, based off the Soviet tanks that utilized similar engineering properties to survive direct hits from dozens of HE rounds. The system also had an advanced main gun, capable of mounting more powerful ammunition than the standard Guardian MBT. Originally the tank was codenamed "SENTINEL", but the Contingent shook off the cobwebs and dust to give it a new title: the **Bushmaster**. Testing made the tank look promising indeed, and a hastily formed company was sent to try and break through the lines at Brisbane.

The battle at first was a triumph for the tank. The Bushmaster's angular armor, powerful main cannon, and singularity generator made scrap out of many Imperial tanks, whose return fire harmlessly bounced off the heavy front armour, until the vector tanks started maneuvering to their rears. This was the first evidence of flaws with the design. To start, powering the transmission and turret took power away from both, meaning the tanks couldn't turn fast enough to face a threat in time, which wasn’t helped that their engine was literally five car engines cobbled together. Then there was the failure of many tanks’ rear armor, sacrificed to focus on the front, main gun, and generator, giving it the nickname “the pantless tank” by the Imperial and Contingent. Though the battle was eventually won, the losses to the tank corps soured any celebration. But as their most successful tank design despite its flaws (the other designs were just that worse) command had put in for hundreds more.

Crews of the design do appreciate the tank's rugged handling of all-terrain, watching news reports of other more "advanced" tanks getting trapped in mud and jungle. Of course, these crews know their tank's own weaknesses, but like professionals they focus on the positives. To start, no other tank has as powerful a main gun, thanks primarily to the 183mm depleted uranium SABOT rounds that are used. The frontal armor is also effective, thanks primarily to the lack of any flat angles and explosive reactive frontal plating. Still, the power division between turret and transmission is troubling, and a more powerful engine has also been put into production, which came with the unintentional benefit of increasing the generators gravity power so that round’s coming from the flanks are shifted to the front. Still, the Bushmaster crew are professionals (Especially when compared to the Continentals), and are willing to go through the teething problems their system will have before it's perfected.