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Gnat Assault Gun
Mass:    15 tons
Movement Type:  Wheeled
Power Plant: NVA 55
Cruising Speed: 54.3 kph
Flank Speed: 87.5 kph
Armor:  Hoyt Basic Plate
Armament:
          Taurus WarWorks Particle Projection Cannon
Manufacturer: Vandenberg MilTech, Concordat Heavy Manufacturing
   Primary Factories: New Vandenberg (Vandenberg Miltech), Taurus (Concordat Heavy Manufacturing)
Communication System:  VeraTech BasicCom
Targeting & Tracking System: VeraTech SimpShot

Type: Gnat Assault Gun
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Movement Type:  Wheeled
Tonnage:                15

Equipment               Mass
Internal Structure:         1.5
Engine:   55            2.5     
   Type: Fusion
   Cruising MP:  5
   Flank MP:       8
Heatsinks:                10     
Control Equipment:         1
Lift Equipment:            0
Power Amplifier:            0
Armor Factor:       48      3     
      Armor Value:
Front:         7
R/L Side:      8   
Rear:         25   

Weapons & Ammo      Location   Tonnage
PPC          Rear      7


Aft Assault Gun
Mass:    10 tons
Movement Type:  Wheeled
Power Plant: NVA 30
Cruising Speed: 54.3 kph
Flank Speed: 87.5 kph
Armor:  Hoyt Basic Plate
Armament:
          Taurus WarWorks Large Laser
Manufacturer: Vandenberg Automotive, Jamestown Manufacturing, Samantha Heavy Industries
   Primary Factories: New Vandenberg (Vandenberg Automotive), Jamestown (Jamestown Manufacturing) Samantha (Samantha Heavy Industries)
Communication System:  VeraTech BasicCom
Targeting & Tracking System: VeraTech SimpShot

Type: Aft Assault Gun
Technology Base: Inner Sphere
Movement Type:  Wheeled
Tonnage:                10

Equipment               Mass
Internal Structure:         1
Engine:   30            1.5     
   Type: Fusion
   Cruising MP:  5
   Flank MP:       8
Heatsinks:                10     
Control Equipment:         1
Lift Equipment:            0
Power Amplifier:            0
Armor Factor:       24      1.5     
      Armor Value:
Front:         3
R/L Side:      3   
Rear:         15   

Weapons & Ammo      Location   Tonnage
Large Laser      Rear      5

Overview:
As the Reunification War dragged into its 2nd decade, the Taurian Defense Forces found themselves running short of resources. As more worlds fell to the SLDF juggernaut, the Concordat lost valuable resources and the factories needed to build weapons.  This forced the TDF to look at ways to stretch their remaining resources.  One program looked at developing a low cost tank destroyer that could be built in large numbers to counter the SLDF’s large armored forces.   Numerous designs were developed but 1 problem kept coming up.  While the designs were effective when fighting from a fixed position, defending against a frontal assault, they were highly vulnerable to the SLDF’s new striker regiments which would use their mobility to hit the flanks of the tank destroyers.  Lacking turrets, which would have driven up cost and the complexity of the design, the Tank Destroyers proved highly vulnerable to these attacks.  While retreating was considered an option, doing this would point the tank destroyers cannon away from the enemy.  After several months of developing and testing different designs, an engineer at New Vandenberg MilTech came up with an innovative solution to the problem.  Rather then mount the cannon on the front of the design, it was decided to mount the main gun over the tank destroyer’s rear deck.   This way when it was time for the vehicle to retreat, the gun would remain pointed at the enemy, while the tank destroyer could flee at it’s maximum speed. Trials soon proved the effectiveness of this unusual design and several models were rushed into production for the TDF.

Capabilities:
Two major models of the Rear Firing Tank Destroyer were produced for the TDF.  The original design was the Gnat Assault Gun.  Developed by Vandenberg MilTech, and licensed to Concordat Heavy Manufacturing, the Gnat was simple design.  Despite having a goal of keeping costs low, the design team opted to use the New Vandenberg Automotive 55 Fusion Engine. While far more expensive then an equivalent ICE model, the NVA 55 was available in large numbers, being commonly used in many heavy construction, transportation and emergency vehicles.   The use of a fusion engine had a second advantage, it allowed the designers to mount a potent Taurus WarWorks PPC on the Gnat.  This provided the Gnat with a very potent stinger, surprising many SLDF units who did not expect such a powerful weapon on such a small frame.

Demand for the Gnat soon outstripped the production capacity of Vandenberg MilTech and Concordat Heavy Manufacturing.  A number of other manufacturers were approached about building the Gnat, but issues arose with the size of the vehicle. Even at only 15 tons, the Gnat was too large for the manufacturing lines of many Concordat companies.  To get around this issue, a new smaller design, the Aft Tank Destroyer, was developed around the NVA 30 fusion engine.  The smaller size of the new design precluded the use of a PPC forcing the substitution of a large laser in its place.  The Aft was soon in production at numerous manufacturers on New Vandenberg and across the Hyades Cluster.

Deployment:
The Gnat and Aft Tank Destroyers were deployed with numerous planetary militias across the Concordat.  Typically the tanks were deployed in fixed firing positions, where they were hidden from the attacking forces.  When the SLDF overran the TDF positions, the Tank Destroyers would race off to other prepared positions further back in Taurian lines, using their guns to discourage pursuit.  During the first several engagements, the Gnat and Aft surprised the SLDF soldiers, inflicting a number of losses.  However as the war progressed the SLDF began to develop ways to counter these Tank Destroyers. One of the most successful tactics was to target the road networks that the TDF built between their firing positions with either artillery fire or aerial bombing.  The wheeled motive system, while cheaper to build and simpler to maintain, had more difficulty handling rough and broken terrain.  As a result the Tank Destroyers would be caught out in the open and more vulnerable.  By the end of the war, the vast majority of the Gnat and Aft Tank Destroyers had been destroyed by the SLDF, but they could at take solace in the fact that they had inflicted devastating losses on the SLDF armored forces.  Following the end of the war, the few remaining Gnats and Afts were dismantled, other then a handful that have been retained as war memorials and tributes to the brave soldiers who operated them.