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Zorya

Armament:

1 Type OVR-X LB 5-X AC

1 Type X "Short Bow" LRM 10 w/ Artemis IV

1 ECM Suite

Manufacturer:    Various

   Location:    (Unknown)

Communications System:    Consolidated BMR 6c

Targeting & Tracking System: TRTTS Mark II

Overview:

         Named for a Slavic warrior goddess, the Zorya is the most common armored vehicle used by the Clans. Comprised of readily available parts, it is inexpensive to manufacture, and its simple control systems make it easy for crews to learn to operate the vehicle.

Capabilities:

         One of the few Clan fighting vehicles to use an I.C.E. engine, the Zorya is slower than many of its peers, with a top speed of only 65 kph. Because this vehicle is intended to be used in static positions, as indicated by its armor configuration, its speed is rarely an issue. The front hull and turret carry almost double the armor of the side and rear facings, but this armor is conventional forged rather than ferro-fibrous, making it 20 percent less effective than it could be. A sophisticated ECM suite, however, adequately supplements the armor by degrading the performance of enemy fire-control and sensor systems.
         Compared to other Clan vehicles of its tonnage, the Zorya mounts a large crew, requiring a driver, gunner, and commander. The division of labor between the crew members, however, allows soldiers to operate most systems in the vehicle with minimal training. Save for the lock-in harness and narrow vision slit, the driver position is little different than that in a standard ground car. The gunner position, located behind the driver, controls the turret and the vehicle's weapon systems. Equipped with a 360-degree vision strip, the gunner simply aligns the cross hairs of each weapon system on the target and depresses the firing stud. The commander, who also serves as sensor, communications and electronic warfare officer, can also designate a target on his console for the gunner, which is then highlighted on the gunnery screen.
         The Zorya's primary weapon is a 40mm LB-X series autocannon. Capable of firing both and solid cluster rounds, the weapon is devastatingly effective against armor and infantry units. The Zorya carries 40 rounds of ammunition for the main gun, divided between two ammunition bins. Most Zoryas carry an equal mix of solid and cluster rounds. A 10-tube long-range missile pack provides additional firepower, but small ammunition bins limit the launcher's endurance and versatility. An Artemis fire-control system has improved the number of missiles that strike the intended target, but some Clans have removed this device in favor of an extra ton of ammunition.

Deployment

         All Clans use the Zorya. Clans Blood Spirit and Cloud CObra initially deployed the largest number, though many of the Blood Spirit Zoryas were destroyed when the Clan intervened in the Star Adder-Burrock Trial of Absorption and have yet to be replaced. Clan Wolf recently has begun to make extensive use of the Zorya, because of its easy-to-learn controls, to repopulate its garrison ranks. Forced to acknowledge the weakened position of his military flowing the invasion of the Inner Sphere and the Refusal War, Khan Vlad Ward took the desperate step of recruiting members of the non-warrior castes, through Trials of Position, to crew Zoryas and other vehicles.

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Type/Model:	Zorya Light Tank
Mass:	35 tons

Equipment:		Items	Mass
Internal Structure:	20 pts Standard	0	3.50
Engine:	140 I.C.E.	0	10.00
Cruise MP:	4
Flank MP:	6
Heat Sinks:	0 Single	0	.00
Cockpit & Controls:		0	2.00
Crew:	3 Members	0	.00
Turret Equipment:		0	1.50
Armor Factor:	56 pts Standard	0	3.50