Argentinean Vehicle Guide                                                                                                                            |  
VEHICULOS DEL EJERCITO ARGENTINO

The following Argentinean vehicles are covered in this briefing:

Ground Effect Vehicles; AD-11C 'PALOMINO' GEV, 'GAUCHO' ADL-14B LGEV, 'PATRICIO' ADPT-3 GEV-PC,
Ground Vehicles; T-78 'PERON' LT, TB-80 'SAN MARTIN' HT, TA-84 'GUERRERO' SHVY
Fire Support; TC-81 'BELGRANO' MSL, CLA-8E1 'OBUS' HWZ, CAP-7 'IRIARTE' MHWZ

'PALOMINO' AD-11C Aero Deslizador Blindado de Combate [GEV]- The AD-11C 'Palomino' is one of the outstanding attack hovercraft in use and a matter of great national pride to Argentineans everywhere. It has provided exemplary service in the ADZ where their pilots dominated the battlefield out on the open ice. Whereas other GEV-family vehicles in Argentina's armoury were license built copies or mutual development projects with the Pan European Federation (and indeed, Argentina uses many Pan Euro 'Galahad's' as well as her own 'Palomino's'), the Palomino is entirely organic. Looking like a cross between a flattened ovoid and an arrowhead with a swept T-shape airfoil in the back, the Palomino mounts a mixed armament of several low-calibre (30 and 20 mm) railguns in turrets and a "corncob" ventral sub-munitions launcher. This last weapon is rather unique and allows the Palomino to rain a deadly salvo of shaped-charge XEX cluster bombs in any and all directions to a range of two miles. Power is provided by twin high-bypass turbines embedded in the hull with masked intakes/exhaust. Armour is a bit weak and fuel economy is low, but ECM and electronics in general are good. It has a crew of two: Driver(Pilot) and Weapons SPC.

'GAUCHO' ADL-14B Deslizador de Reconocimiento Liviano [LGEV]- The ADL-14B 'Gaucho' (Cowboy) is the Argentinean version of the Pan European 'Cossack' Light GEV. The design has been simplified to meet indigenous industrial production capabilities and the information system core OS has been modified to respond in Spanish. Performance specifications are unchanged. "Antarctic-ized" versions serve in the ADZ with distinction, but they have never achieved the successes of the larger Palomino's. This is assessed as mainly due to Argentina's unwillingness to use swarm-tactics with her elite GEV-pilots preferring instead to use them as scouts for the main force. In this role the Gauchos were to perform admirably. The Gaucho has a one-man craft.

'PATRICIO' ADPT-3 Deslizador Porta-Tropas Blindada [GEV-PC]- The Argentine Agricultural Union purchased a license to manufacture several hundred Pan European 'Napoleon' GEV-Carriers in 2080 (with options for future construction) to enhance infantry mobility and to support armoured breakthroughs. The 'Patricio' is named after the unit 'Regimento de Voluntarios Patricios' (Napoleon is not well regarded in Argentina), the most prestigious of Argentina's infantry regiments. It is this regiment's first mustering on September 13, 1806 under Coronel Cornelio Saavedra that is taken as the date of the establishment of Argentina's modern military. Like the Pan Euro Napoleon, she has a crew of two: a Pilot/Commander and a Weapons specialist, but her missile defense has been upgraded to the Argentine designed XM83 tri-barrel.

'PERON' T-78 Tanque Liviano Indigeno [LT]- A simple and robust design, the T-78 PERON is named after one of Argentina's Presidents during the 20th Century that still holds some glamour and allure for the Argentine people. It is armed with a indigenously built 110mm M67 Railgun capable of firing a 4.42 kg, 25x600mm LRP with a muzzle velocity of 3,010 mps, and a twin 10 mm turret for BS work. The ubiquitous Argentine 10 mm Tri-barrel AMS system and multiple burst charges rounds out the Peron’s weaponry. Frontal armour consists of 350 mm of FH-BPC laminate estimated to equal 2000 mm of RHA which can be augmented with XEX reactive armour or BPC plates. Ground speed is comparable to similar vehicles fielded by other nations and the wide tread gives it excellent ground pressure characteristics. The Peron proved easy to modify for Antarctic conditions due to design simplicity. It has a crew of two: Driver and Commander/Gunner.

'SAN MARTIN' TB-80 Tanque de Batalla Pesado [HVY]- Developed in a joint project with Brazil, the TB-80 San Martin is named, of course, after General Jose de San Martin, hero of Argentina's War of Independence (and second in the hearts of South Americans to only Simon Bolivar himself). The San Martin is a well-balanced ergonomic design that was designed from the ground up with an eye to future growth and technological upgrades. A hydraulic gun-pod tank design with a front-mounted engine, the main armament consists of a massive 200 mm main gun with a muzzle energy of 45 MegJoules. The Argentineans favor the larger calibre for the wider variety of ammunition available and the greater number of sub-munitions it can deliver. The standard Anti-Armour round is an 8.27 kg Tu/BPC Fin Stabilized-Disposable Sabot, RAM assisted, long rod penetrator. The RAM booster in the Sabot gives the shell some ability to manoeuvre towards a target and clear low terrain and obstructions en route to the target. The San Martin’s armour is heavily sloped and is reported to be 2500 mm RHA equivalent. Stealth characteristics are above-average and on par with the Combine's M9A2 'Ranger' class Heavy Tank. The San Martin continues to play a significant role in the Antarctic Disputed Zone, but its true distinction came on the battlefields of northern Amazonia. It has a crew of three: Driver, Weapons SPC, and Commander.

'GUERRERO' TA-84 Tanque de Asalto [SHVY]- The 'Warrior' Super Heavy is a copy of the Pan European 'Thor' SHVY being built under license at the factories established by the Mutual Defence Treaty secret clauses of 2079. It is fitted with twin 135 mm main railguns along with an assortment of secondary and anti infantry armaments. The missile defence system was upgraded by incorporating the Argentine XM83 10 mm Tri-barrel AMS, making it slightly superior to its Pan European counterpart in this regard.

'BELGRANO' TC-81 Porta Cohete Blindado [MSL]- The TC-81 'Belgrano' is named after General Manuel Belgrano, a hero of Argentina's Revolution. The Belgrano is essentially a Pan European "Ajax" Missile Tank with an Argentinean built missile system firing swarms of smaller missiles instead of the Ajax's larger but fewer munitions. The Belgrano can, however, expend munitions at an alarming rate and as such is considered a logistical burden and only marginally cost-effective. She has a crew of two: a Driver/Commander and a Weapons/Sensors SPC.

'OBUS' CLA-8E1 Canyon de Largo Alcanze [HWZ]- Argentine howitzers played only a minor role in the ADZ campaign as the Chiefs of Staff preferred to rely on the dictum of "The best defence...". Still, the 'Obus' (or 'Howitzer') was a respectable specimen of its type and stacked up well against its Combine and Pan Pacific Alliance opponents. More than one Combine armour company was to find its ranks savaged by its long-range firepower while trying to work their way through the thick Amazon terrain. A number of PanPac units were also to be surprised by it's unexpected appearance on the frozen battlefield to the South. The 'Obus' fields a 250 mm Dual-Purpose (DF/IDF) railgun capable of firing both Tungsten/BPC kinetic penetrators and cluster shells. Several specialist munitions were also developed by Argentina's Dos Santos Weapons Technology Inc. (Land Systems), including scatterable mines. The Obus has a crew of six: Commander, Sensors/Communications, master gunner, 2 loaders and a munitions expert. The loaders do not physically handle the shells themselves, they supervise and check the operation of the autoloader and feed tray.

'IRIARTE' CAP-7 Canyon de Artilleria Auto Propulsado [MHWZ]- The 'Iriarte' is another of Argentina's home-built defence systems, with somewhat disappointing results. Named after Tomas de Iriarte, the Iriarte uses an enhanced version of the San Martin's 200 mm Railgun with greater range and rate of fire. The idea had been to economize on logistical support spare parts and ammunition (at least in terms of the XEX cluster sub-bombs used mostly for indirect fire; it was considered unlikely that an Iriarte would need to fire the KE LRP darts), however this proved a drawback as the specialist nature and needs of artillery became apparent. The San Martin was designed first, and the 200 mm was optimized for the MBT role, so the San Martin turned out as a first-rate Heavy Tank. The Iriarte, alas, proved something of problem child. Her 200mm proved anaemic in comparison to other mobile howitzers. The higher rate of fire compensates to a small extent, but only if it well maintained and operated by a well trained crew. In general, Argentina's Artillery arm does not quite equal that of her adversaries. The Iriarte has a crew of five.