Type-95 Nekomata

The Type-95 "Nekomata" (95式戦車 "猫また") is an infantry-support hover tank used by the Imperial Army. Hovering a few feet off the ground via eight jet thrusters, the Type-95 is capable of negotiating any terrain, including water. It is primarily designed to support infantry advances and in urban combat and to act as a manoeuvrable light tank. As the gun is mounted in a casemate design, the Type-95 always has its strong frontal armour aimed towards the enemy as it attacks.

The Type-95 is produced by Takaoka.

Armament
The Type-95 is armed with a 105mm rifled gun capable of firing AP Shells, HE Shells, Guided Shells, Canister Shells, Smart Shells and SABOT rounds. The main gun is mounted in a casemate design, and the entire tank must be turned in order to aim horizontally. When the gun is fired, a set of rocket thrusters fire at the rear of the vehicle to counteract the recoil of the gun.

An autoloader is equipped to load the rounds. The weapon is controlled by the tank gunner, who is able to use a holographic interface to visualise the battlefield and load the appropriate shell.

Mounted coaxially to the main gun is a Type-74 7.62mm machine gun, also under the control of the gunner, for anti-infantry purposes. On the top of the vehicle, in a remote-controlled turret, is a 12.5mm Type-99 heavy machine gun. This is controlled from an interface within the fighting compartment, and is typically controlled by the tank commander. The remote turret can also be fitted with other types of weaponry, such as automatic grenade launchers or rocket launchers.

Protection
The Type-95 is equipped with the same armour systems as most other main Imperial tanks, consisting of titanium-ceramic blend composite armour plating and optional ERA plating and bricks.

A variety of countermeasures are also in place to protect the vehicle and its occupants, including a series of IR smoke launchers, smoke grenade launchers, passive electronic defence systems and hard-kill active defence devices on the outside of the vehicle.

Mobility
Due to the Type-95's method of propulsion, hovering several feet above the ground, it is extremely mobile and is capable of negotiating any type of terrain, including water, making it amphibious. The tank may potentially fly over obstacles such as tank traps, and does not set off pressure-sensitive mines. This allows it to accompany infantry into areas where other heavy ground vehicles are unable to move, such as to assault islands in the middle of lakes or rivers, or to attack heavily-entrenched enemies.

Because of the jet engines, the tank is able to strafe, allowing the tank to move to the left or right without having to adjust the direction the tank is facing. This allows the Type-95 to potentially out maneuver enemy tanks in combat, letting it move to the left or right while still keeping its heavy front armour and weapons facing the enemy.

One drawback is the noise level of the hover thrusters, which are significantly louder than the engines of the standard tanks, as well as the dust the thrusters inevitably kick up, making it very noticeable.