ISA Archer Tank

ISA Archer Tank
Type	Main Battle Tank
Affiliation	ISA ISA Alpha Centauri
Speed	72km/h On Road 48km/h Off-Road
Range	860km
Armament	1x Twin-25mm Autocannon 2x 84mm Rocket Pods (x4 Rockets) 1x M224-A1 8x Smoke Launchers
Weight	30 Tons; 1200 HP Engine
Appears in	Killzone 2 Killzone 3

The Archer Tank is a two-man armored assault vehicle used by ISA Marines during the Second Extrasolar War. They are light and fast, noted as strong against infantry, but not as strong against heavy vehicles.

Specifications

Design & Layout

After the failure of the ISA Lancer on Vekta, the Archer Tank became a major asset of the ISA Marines for the Invasion of Helghan during the Second Extrasolar War. It was designed to fight in unfavourable conditions and therefore resembles that of a Main Battle Tank rather than an Infantry Fighting Vehicle, unlike its predecessor.

As aforementioned, the Archer resembles a Main Battle Tank (abbreviated as MBT). Its driver's compartment is located at the front, with its engine at the rear and a fully traversable turret located at the centre. The vehicle's hull is pressurised and has been made amphibious.

Crew Layout

The Archer tank is crewed by only two persons: A driver, and a commander. The driver is positioned at the front of the hull, with a small viewport allowing them to look ahead. The commander is seated in the turret and takes up the role of the gunner. This position comes with a much larger viewport at the front of the turret, in addition to a considerably smaller one directly above it. The main viewport comes with an armoured visor which can be lowered when necessary to protect the crew and the vehicle's instruments.

Additionally, a third Marine tends to be seen operating the M224-A1 fixed atop of the turret roof, which doubles as an anti-infantry weapon but is purposed for anti-aircraft defence. However, in the absence of this Marine, the responsibility of operating said weapon lies with the tank's commander.

Mobility

The Archer is powered by a 1200 Horsepower Turbine Engine, which accepts several varieties of fuel including hydrogen. Weighing 30 Tons, the Archer is quite fast, as it can reach a maximum speed of 72km/h (45mph) on roads, and up to 48km/h (30mph) off-road. Thanks to the use of tracks instead of wheels like the ISA Lancer, the Archer is much more well-adapted to more rugged terrain. Moreover, the Archer is persistent and its design clearly paid off. They were extremely reliable tanks that could travel up to 860km without requiring maintenance repairs or refuelling.

Armour

Like most tanks, the Archer is well-armoured at the front, whilst weaker at the sides and rear. It mainly makes use of several layers of composite armour made from various alloys such as titanium, steel and ceramics. The sides also feature reactive armour.

In theory, this armour should've protected against most ammunition types the Helghast Army could offer in response when designed. However, the Helghast were able to field much more devastating weaponry on their homeworld in response, such as with the deployment of newly available Arc Weapons, and the Helghast Tank. Whilst the Helghast Light Hover Tank was fielded during the Helghan Invasion, it's unknown whether they faced the Archer Tank, or how they would've fared in combat. Despite this challenge, the Archer can survive numerous direct hits from Helghast anti-tank weaponry.

In Killzone 3, ISA forces began to make field modifications to their Archer tanks, such as with the addition of sandbags and welded armour from various sheets of metal, in order to improve the vehicle's survivability.

Armament

Being a Main Battle Tank, you'd likely expect the Archer to have a large-calibre smoothbore gun as its main armament. However, this is actually not the case. Instead, the armament is split between a twin-25mm autocannon mounted on the right-hand side of the turret, and a pair of 84mm rocket pods on both sides of the turret, each housing two rockets each. There is also an additional M224-A1 gun mounted on the turret roof primarily for anti-aircraft purposes, though it can be used against infantry.

Primarily, the Archer Tank makes best use of its rocket pods. The two pairs are fired in turn, with each reloading automatically. Once one pair is fired, the next pair will be ready to fire, whilst the initial pair reloads, and so on. This is the ideal setup, though the rockets can be fired altogether as a complete salvo too. In addition, these rockets don't use a rangefinder for targeting enemies. They can engage enemies up to 3750 meters away, with aim determined with the use of an optical sight. Furthermore, all vehicle instruments are controlled by electronics which have been duplicated for both crew positions. This means that should a crewman become incapacitated, the vehicle can be controlled entirely from a single position (though this obviously wouldn't be ideal).

As the sole tank available to the ISA forces, it quickly grew a reputation for its capabilities against Helghast forces. However, due to the downgrade in anti-tank firepower from its predecessor, it proved unsuccessful against heavily-armoured Helghast vehicles.

Anti-Aircraft Modification

Interestingly, there is both artwork and mention of an anti-aircraft platform which utilises the Archer chassis. It is armed with eight autocannons, with four on each side. The vehicle itself shares the name "Archer," and is described as being a two-seat assault vehicle that makes for an easily configurable weapon platform. The Archer itself is noted as being usually deployed against infantry and light vehicles, as it makes for a highly effective anti-personnel platform. Its high manoeuvrability and relative speed makes it highly effective for urban warfare. It is presumed therefore that the 25mm autocannon used on the standard Archer model shares its lethality against infantry and light vehicles as well. This seems to indicate that the Archer Tank was designed as a universal chassis in a series of distinct vehicles that would each serve a specific purpose.

Service History

The Archer tank was used solely during the ISA counter-invasion of Helghan in Operation Archangel, appearing in Killzone 2 and Killzone 3. They were used primarily in urban landscapes, such as in Pyrrhus, the capital city of Helghan. During Killzone 3, ISA forces were witnessed making field modifications to their Archer tanks by improving their armour protection.

During the events of Killzone 2, an Archer Tank can be operated by Sergeant First Class Tomas Sevchenko, specifically in the "Korovis Dam" mission which takes place during the first chapter, "Corinth River."

Gallery

Game Screenshots

Attacking

Archer tank blown up during initial invasion

Concept Art

Trivia

• The Archer Tank appears to closely resemble that of an IFV (Infantry Fight Vehicle), rather than a Main Battle Tank, especially due to its armament. However, one of the main purposes of an IFV is to transport troops, and the Archer Tank does not feature this capability.
• Despite being an MBT and successor to the earlier ISA Lancer, the Archer has less anti-tank firepower.
• In Killzone 3, the Archer has been modified to increase its armour and survivability. Notably, a chain now hangs from the front with additional armoured panels to the sides and rear.
• In Killzone 3, the Archer lacks its M224-A1 gun seen during Killzone 2.
• The Archer Tank has been compared to a Self-Propelled Anti-Air Platform due to its 25mm Autocannons and rocket armaments.
• The Archer possesses amphibious capability due to its water-tight structure, similar to the ISA AAPC.
• Its design seems to be heavily influenced by US M2 Bradley IFVs.