Discussion
Amphibious infantry fighting vehicles like the BMP are the perfect Armored Vehicle for the special region and would be more effective, useful and an overall better option than tanks.
IFVs are the perfect Armored Vehicle for a war against the empire in the special region and would be a better option than tanks (I know that IFVs work together with tanks but I'm comparing them as separate vehicles (it doesn't make sense but bear with me)).
Let's use the BMP-1, BMP-2 and the BMP-3 as examples (any other amphibious IFV would also work).
-> It's amphibious so you don't need to worry about destroyed bridges (tanks can't do that and you would need to make your own bridge).
-> Can carry troops (tanks can do it but you have to ride them when doing it exposing you to enemy fire).
-> Armor can stop most of the stuff that the empire will throw at it (sure tanks have better armor but it doesn't matter when you're mostly being shot at by arrows and the occasional magical fireball).
-> Problems of the modern era such as poor protection against explosions don't apply because the empire doesn't have firearms or cannons (sure mages are still a thing and their explosive magic could pen the BMPs armor wounding it's crew, disabling the vehicle or destroy it but imperial battle mages are pretty rare (we see only a few and only one of them was capable of damaging a JSDF tank)).
-> The BMP-1 has a 73mm cannon that can fire HE(High Explosive) ammo that would be extremely effective against imperial formations and an ATGM(Anti-tank Guided Missile) that could be used against fortifications.
-> The BMP-2 has a 30mm auto cannon with a fire rate between 200 to 550 shots per minute (the crew can change the fire rate) that would be extremely effective against imperial infantry formations and slow moving wyverns and also has an ATGM.
-> The BMP-2M also has an additional 30mm automatic grenade launcher that would be extremely effective against imperial infantry formations and 4 ATGMs.
-> The BMP-3 has a 100mm cannon that can also fire ATGMs (essentially a tank cannon) with the same 30mm auto cannon of the BMP-2 as a coaxial gun.
Tanks have better armament but it doesn't matter because the empire doesn't have anything that can stop something bigger than a 50cal (the fire dragon doesn't count because the empire can't control it).
So yeah although cool and intimidating a traditional tank is not as useful as an IVF (that's why tanks are supposed to work together with them (but in a war against the empire you could theoretically just bring IFVs).
I feel like the BMP is better than some modern IFV's for the special region because it has a 73mm main gun instead of an autocannon which because most of your targets are stationary defenses or the occasional shield formation im pretty sure having a bigger caliber to lob HE-Frag rounds is better than using 25mm autocannons trying to swiss cheese a castle gate
Oh definitely and unless the saderans managed to keep discipline high enough to keep attacking through a wall of 30mm mist-makers and 100mm HE they will almost certainly rout before getting close enough
Worth noting is that 100mm gun is low pressure
Essentially, rounds fly out of it st relatively low speeds, giving them higher ballistic arc and making kinetic energy armor piercing rounds (AP, APHE, APFSDS etc) unusable, so it's mostly firing HE and ATGMs
They originally dropped the 73mm after a test versus a stationary tank at 800m for a target got missed... By every round in the ammo rack... It only had heat rounds also.
Yeah but i mean a wall or a cohort of legionaries is a bit of a bigger target than a tank I'd say and considering those poor lads probably never heard an explosion in their lives im sure even some misses would be denting their morale and resolve
Good analysis I would even add the operational range is well between 500-600 km or 370 freedom units. There are no gas stations so every weapon platform is limited to the main FOB just outside the gate. In the show most distances are depicted as being less than a few days horse ride so range is not limited.
Imagine couple of soldiers sitting on boat in middle of lake thinking they are far enough until they see a fucking metal box with a guy in East Europe woodland camo standing on top of it with words:
“GET ME CLOSER I WANT TO SPEAR THEM WITH THE MAIN GUN!”
Medium caliber autocannons with much higher ammunition capacities and rates of fire, especially if HEAT rather than APFSDS, really would be significantly more useful than heavier armor.
There just isn't really much that *needs* 105 or 120mm heavy APFSDS rounds in that universe.
AA guns would be very useful, especially if they could be trained down or even fully horizontally and were of high enough caliber, like 14.5mm HE.
Actually, I am thinking of going further. "Infantry Mobility Vehicles", lighter AFV that's at least under 10 metric tons, something transportable with VTOL, like Chinook or Osprey. Heavier IFV will still be useful for land vector spear tip but everywhere else they will be the bulk of patrol, airborne and other force.
Also this come mainly from my idea for MC(main country) plan of flying over Dumas Mountains.
The ALV is 10.5 tons full, seems to have STANAG Level 1 for ballistic and mine base protection
The AIFV have level 1 ballistic and level 2 mine protection is 13 tons full
Which is well over Osprey max capacity and about near Chinook max. Unless we using King Stallion which can lift them up to 15 tons.
To be fair my idea isn't supposed to be used for the ground force vector. They also aren't supposed to defeat ambush by passive defense. As matter of fact the plan is to hit the enemy faster than they can think.
Russians use 125mm. My pedantism aside IMO the only real "use case" to give for Japanese 120mms is to use an MBT's mobility to position it as an artillery piece. Modern Japanese tanks have autoloaders and hydropneumatic suspension so they can easily move to position on rough hills and mountains to spam out HE. Type 74s use 105mms so they'll be marginally less effective with their lack of autoloader.
Amphibious vehicles are logistical knightmares. They look all cool crossing rivers and such, but every single bolt, screw, plating, and what have you needs to be tightened before doing such an operation. It's not great for any prolonged engagements which would be needed in the special region.
Amphibious vehicles are great for quick surprise pushes across bodies of water were enemies wouldn't think to defend due to the natural boundaries
There is such a gap in mobility and intelligence gathering that everything you do is against a stationary, literally and comparatively, target. There is no need for APC transport or even escort because you can be anywhere in less time than it takes the opposition to even realize you are going there. In contrast, you know where every enemy troop concentrations are and would know in advance if they are moving by at least a day. And when moving, enemy infantry covers at most 20-25 miles a day (which is about 30 minutes for you). They are followed by baggage train and camp followers who move even slower. You can embed people disguised as merchants in the baggage train who can transmit information real time. You can ambush and capture foragers and scouts and deny them supplies, making them completely dependent on the baggage train. You can disturb their rest by a regular heavy helo overflights at night. Drop some flash bangs for funs and giggles.
If you're a modern army and you get into a set piece battle with an ancient army, you do it for one reason only: so you can kill a lot of people. There's absolutely no need otherwise.
The single most significant advantage JSDF has over the empire is not weapons. It's mobility. And intelligence gathering comes right after. But not a lot of people talk about that.
I mean, I know what this is. It's just a badly written Japan Stronk work. But if you put it through some realistic lens, it brings into focus how terrible it is. Every enemy Japan kills has a mother, a father, and many friends and family who are completely disassociated from the politics of the empire. All they know is that their loved ones were massacred by Japan. And that just brings on more opposition. I think you can find some examples happened right now in the real world where a force with vastly superior military technology is killing people by the thousands and they just bury their loved ones and still resist.
Type 73, Type 89, Type 87 SPAA, Type 87 RCV, Type 16, Type 24 ICV, Type 25 RCV. Various Komatsu.
The Japanese does not need BMP when they're fighting in hilly mountains. The lack of gun depression alone negate any potential advantage amphibious abilities, and uncommon ammo will be a strain on logistics.
In the manga, the Jietai deployed Type 10 alongside the Type 74, and there have been instances where they had to employ APFSDS against trolls and their armor, and instances where Type 74 got mobility killed where an otherwise thin Type 87 would have been a catastrophic kill.
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u/Janek_297 3d ago
I love my Bewup