99-S5 Thunderclap

The 99-S5 Main Battle Tank, commonly known as the Thunderclap, is the United Space Command's premier armored mobile weapons platform. The tank is manufactured by Northern Defense Corporation. The Thunderclap has remained in service for centuries due to its combination of affordability, simplicity, and versatility and its rugged, adaptable design, features that cannot be matched by any "superior" main battle tank design. Additionally, the Thunderclap's functional uses are numerous and widely varied—although the USC predominantly uses the tank for direct engagements, local defense, and anti-armor operations. A result of the tank's effectiveness and practicality, the 99-S5 Thunderclap has become the USC's template for all modern main battle tank designs. The 99-S5 has proven itself to be the workhorse of USC armored attack vehicles. The tank's 120mm cannon can deliver a devastating blow to all targets—infantry or armor. The 99-S5's thick ceramic-titanium armor can withstand a direct hit from a Hivivian heavy plasma cannon and survive with enough armor to keep fighting. The Thunderclap's four-man crew severely limits human casualties; along with its main offensive capabilities, four infantrymen can sit on the tread pods of the tank, providing supporting fire while using the tank as a transport. The 99-S5 gets its name "Thunderclap" from the sound it makes when fired causing a load thunder-like blast that can render anyone never not wearing proper ear protection, deaf.

Overview

Design details

The 99-S5 Thunderclap is the USC's lead armored vehicle, having served for over six centuries. Its four-track design, with each track mounted on an independent computer-controlled suspension system, allows the 99-S5 Thunderclap to traverse, climb over, or maneuver around large debris or other battlefield obstacles, and prevents the vehicle from being easily disabled. The Thunderclap is not the most powerful or quickest USC main battle tank, but it is often considered to be the best marriage between those two qualities.

Armaments

The 99-S5 Thunderclap is equipped with a two-tier weapon system. The tank's primary armament is the G479 smooth-bore high-velocity cannon, a gun capable of firing 120mm tungsten shells and canister rounds with a three-to-four-second interval between each firing session. The machine gun is top-mounted. The variants of the 99-S5 Thunderclap have varying armaments, in both cannon and machine gun type.

Variants

The 99-S5 Thunderclap has more than a half-dozen variants over its many years of service, each with minor adjustments depending on its role. The physiological aspect and versatility of the main battle tank remains unchanged with each variant.

99-S5B Thunderclap – An older variant with a coaxial P234 machine gun.

99-S5B2 Deaths Child – A modified variant of the 99-S5B featuring twin-linked 50mm autocannons rather than a single cannon.

99-S5B3 Grizzy – A heavy fire support variant armed with twin Scimitar 60x178mm hypervelocity rocket pods.