u/Z_THETA_Z

Ello again, some of you may recognize me from this post talking about small arms cartridges for my nation, the Okularchie of Kivura, in an online roleplay. I am back, this time to ask for advice on an upcoming MBT for Kivura.

More backstory on the nation and world are in the previous post, but as a gist Kivura is a notable regional power with a solid population and very good industry, but technologically behind its main geopolitical rivals/threats by about a decade and a half. The exceptions to this are in the fields of radar, radio, and nuclear power. We're currently sitting at ~1990 overall tech, but ~2020 in the fields we're ahead, while the 2 rivals are sitting at 2004-2010-ish for everything.

The world is a post-post-apocalyptic setting, previously the capital of a galactic-scale empire which collapsed millennia ago, and nations are only just now catching up to modern technology.

Our current main battle tank, the KGV-AF12 'Fikun', is roughly based on the T-72 but with a 131.4mm gun and extensive use of depleted uranium armour. As you may be able to gather from Kivura's current technology level, the Fikun is not yet obsolete but still quite outdated and in need of a replacement, especially as our rivals are operating substantially more advanced tanks.

Thing is, I don't just want a new conventional MBT. My main rival is fielding a very tricked-out tank, and I'm also not using Kivura's tech advantages to the best degree right now. Notably, I'd like to include a lot of detection systems such as 360-degree AESA coverage, as well as a dedicated ATGM launcher (milliwave guided like radar hellfires, kivura uses this rather than laser or optical). More wacky options also include a mini-C-RAM firing 5.84x51.1mm rounds as a sort of APS (also for anti-personnel or anti-drone), and possibly an extendable radome mast to allow firing those missiles over cover.

The fully tricked-out version could be a more limited-use 'command tank' datalinking with a squad of less fancy ones, to save on costs. Other than the above fancy features, it'd keep the 131.4mm gun (specific number is for a reason. Kivura uses an original unit of measurement, the Kalin (equal to 7.3mm) for basically everything. this is an 18-kalin gun), and ideally have solid armour, mobility, and a more basic hard-kill APS like the Arena (all of which as a baseline from the AF12)

Any tank experts here have advice on whether this stuff makes any degree of sense, and/or other things or alternatives i could put on it?

If any more information is needed or would help, do just say so and i shall reply when i can.

Getting some ghost inputs on the throttle, i've heard that this is because the lights draw too much power. can't figure out how to customize the lights at all, on win11 and i can't find any files to do with the HOTAS. assistance appreciated.

^(note: technically not my own worldbuilding, made for a nation roleplay discord. i still think it's valid here)

A bit of context: the nation rp is set in a post-post-apocalyptic setting, on the ruined capital of a galactic-scale empire. Enough time has passed and a comprehensive enough collapse happened that the old empire only really survives as legends and ruins, and technology generally is just getting back to early 2000s irl-equivalent for the most advanced nations.

My nation, the Okularchie of Kivura, was one of the first in its region to reinvent guns, and is currently at about 1980-equivalent tech. As one of the originators of local firearms design, they also spread calibers based on their own unit of measurement around their region. That unit of measurement is the Kalin, equal to precisely 7.3mm. IRL I selected this number partially to be convenient for firearms design, as it does actually multiply into quite a few good numbers for gunnery.

Kivura, as a nation, places a lot of emphasis on standardization, reliability, and ease of manufacture, which led them to use cartridges with dimensions in whole multiples of kalin until quite recently, though they have also quite recently gone into fractional/decimal measurements in the face of modernizing adversaries and needing to upgrade their armaments.

Basically, I'd like to know whether or not the following cartridges are in any way reasonable, and what other measurements in kalin could be good for firearms:

The 'original' standard infantry small-arms cartridges are 1x3, 1x5, and 1x7-kalin respectively (translating to 7.3x21.9mm, 7.3x36.5mm, and 7.3x51.1mm respectively), each roughly analogous in use to 7.62x25mm Tokarev, 7.62x39mm Soviet, and 7.62x51mm NATO. The bore measurement would be the projectile diameter, for simplicity.

They trialled a range of smaller cartridges as a new standard infantry rifle (marksmanship-oriented doctrine meant 1x5-kalin wasn't effective enough at required ranges, and 1x7-kalin is too heavy and high-power for an effective service rifle), leading to them adopting a 0.8x7-kalin cartridge (5.84x51.1mm) as their standard. It's a bit of an oddball but most directly comparable to something like .243 Winchester. Also a new pistol cartridge, 0.8x4-kalin (5.84x29.2mm), a PDW cartridge most directly comparable to 5.7x28mm.

Also higher-caliber cartridges. 2x4-kalin (14.6x29.2mm) sorta analogous to .50AE, 2x11-kalin (14.6x80.3mm), which doesn't really have a direct analogue outside of hunting cartridges but was in-roleplay used for earlier AMRs and HMGs, and 2x15-kalin (14.6x109.5mm), essentially in-between something like .50BMG and the russian 14.5x114mm and used in an analogous role to .50BMG or another AMR/HMG cartridge.

If there's any firearms experts here, I would like some feedback on how effective these cartridges would reasonably be, and what some decent loadings for them would be as well.