Rhodie Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Rhodie
Rhodie
Role	Infantry Fighting Vehicle / Main Battle Tank
National Origin	Zokesia
Production History
Designer	Zokesian Ordinance Corp / Ward Industries
Unit Cost	21,591(√)
Number Built	2,375
Service History
	In Service
	2057 - Present
Used By	Zokesia, Puge-Tatar, Schrschnell, Kothen, Valenia, Carsodonia, Alber, Imperium, Surnay, Halco, Krome, Amber, Cloweish, Owlia, San Miguel, Malafranz, Fegeland, White Kraken, Tekkia, Ileslands, Siberige, Juno, Mechani, Dust Harvest, Spice Reciprocity, Medwedia, Bastia, Behin, Karthax, Belasriov, Phosphor, Arcovdonia, Konig, Carsodonia, Eureka, Puge-Tatar, Stahl Sieg, Wurst, Atreus, SFRK, Sahr
Wars	Zoke-Sovie War, First Vanadian War, Arcadii-Zokesia War, First Dust Harvest Conflict, Second Dust Harvest Conflict, Second Kroman War, Amber-Kanbek War, South Polar Campaign, First Great Kerbin War, Second Great Kerbin War, Wurst War, Mushroom War (Surnish-Nuvalka War), Kalban Civil War, Kroman-Kafrican War, Gallante-Nautilane War, Zokesian Civil War, Sahren Civil War, Reclaimation War

The Rhodie Infantry Fighting Vehicle is a Zokesian IFV which has served through the entire existence of Zokesia. Born from a Mechani IFV's hull, the Rhodie has fought in nearly every major conflict across Kerbin and has been exported to dozens of nations where it serves as effectively as it did back at home. The Rhodie holds the title of most produced vehicle in Kerbin history, at well over 2000 units as of 2159.

Mk I Origins

The Rhodie was not a new design, nor was it even factory built. The first "Rhodies" were built from MU K-IFV Block II armored personnel carriers, which were designed to ferry troops into battle. These vehicles sported nothing more than a 30mm anti-infantry gun, and lacked sufficient armor penetration capability. The Zokesians, on the eve of fighting a battle toughened Sovie army, knew they couldn't supply the ammo to supply such high rate of fire, nor would the small gun be able to effectively combat armor at range. The turret was therefore removed, and in its stead a small hand-cranked armor box with a 105mm howitzer installed, which was loaded by a single loader-gunner, four TOW missiles in a quad launcher at the back, and a 30mm chain gun on the roof for personal protection, giving the Rhodie firepower to take on infantry and burst through armor in a close-support brawling role.

In the battle surrounding Zok that followed, the vehicle proved itself more than capable, suffering lower losses than the Tigris MBTs that were given to Zokesia by Mechani, despite being used at twice the volume. The Rhodies also charged into battle flanking the opponents with their speed and decisively turned the battle in Zokesia's favor.

Mk VII Upgrade

In 2062, following the lessons learned in the war with Vanadia, it was desired that a more effective turret bet fitted to enable the Rhodie to increase its firepower's arc of fire. The 105mm was replaced with a smaller 90mm Eland turret, the same as on the HVHL Badger, and the suspension was strengthened to accommodate higher speeds. This variant saw service in the Delras Conflict and was noted for being the first to amphibiously land on another continent. Jet engines were also fitted to the rear of the vehicle to climb hills and acheive top speed faster.

Rhodie Mk VIIs were phased out in 2067, but the hull was a smooth enough ride to find use in other places, most notably as an Anti Air Platform, where the large size gave it considerable space for electronics and missile launch platforms. Some even were used as Armored Recovery Vehicles and a special few Tank Destroyers, with 140mm antitank guns fitted into the hull.

Mk IX

Up until 2066, the Rhodie Mk I and VII were still being built on K-IFV Block II hulls bought from Mechani. Early 2065, Zokesian Ordinance Corp. began working on a ground-up rebuild of the Rhodie, using what was learned in the Delras War and soon-to-kick-off Horde War, and the result was an up-armored Rhodie IX designed to take more punishment and fight at higher speed than previous models. The double layer of armor and protected equipment bays provided a tough skin for the vehicle, while the single jet engine created an efficient but advanced maneuvering speed of 40 m/s on flat ground. to top it off, the advanced hull was able to take the T-90 MBT turret, increasing the Rhodie's firepower to rival that of a tank. The Mk IX quickly surpassed other armor and became the leading export tank of Zokesia, second in number produced only to the Honey Badger, which was half the price per unit. Two AGM-114 Antitank Missiles were attached to the turret, providing fast firing support to bolster the gun's fire rate. The vehicle was also produced in-house by Zokesia, Halco, Amber, Cloweish, Medwedia, Surnay, and Krome for export use.

The Mk IX Rhodie served the longest out of all the variants, from its initial production in 2066 through the early 22nd century. It fought in the Second Great Kerbin War as well as many minor conflicts, fighting in the South Polar campaign against Avalon, the Mushroom War between Surnay and Nuvalka, the Kroman-Kafrican War, the Gallante-Nautilane War, and the Zokesian Civil War. Its service was noted for its tough armor and heavy firepower, but was known by its crews to be a tricky vehicle to drive at high speed, due to the angled nature of the hull and narrow wheel tracks. Advances were made on the Mk IX, and side armor was introduced, as well as the Mod 95, 100, and 120 which increased crew survivability, reduced likelyhood of rollovers, and facilitated the ability to add more weapons on the roof if needed in urban conflict.

RHDE - A Next Gen Rhodie

With the conclusion of the Zokesian Civil War, the Rhodie became synonymous with the conflict and was used to great effect against superior numbers by the Stahl Sieg, but it was apparent that Zokesia needed to rethink the design once again moving into the modern age. By 2148, it was all but replaced in the Zokesian army by P.14 MBTs and missed out on service in the Reclamation, save for a few still operated by Halco, Amber, and Konig. The Mk IX had been in service for over 80 years, and so the Ward Industries design team responsible for the Mod 120 upgrades proposed a rebuild of the Rhodie IX. A complete gutting of the internals of the tank as well as new armor design. The adoption of the new Ratio-Hydraulic Dual-Electric suspention or "RHDE" was integral to the new design as it gave the new Rhodie unparalleled maneuverability, top speed, and hill climb performance without the massive power drain which required an external APU on the Mk IX.

Although not designed in time for the Reclamation war, the RHDE-152 was deployed as the main MBT of Zokesia in 2152, and was upgraded further with additional turret armor, a point defense turret for missile protection, and support cannons to defend the vehicle from infantry or IFV attack. The RHDE-152T-32 was adopted in 2155, and won the inaugural Fish Game tournament at Fish Island that year, defeating 10 nations in a head to head free for all tournament.

Gallery

Rhodie Mk 1 IFV, 2057
Rhodie Mk I blowing up a Sanctum Tank, 2057
A Delarasian Rhodie IFV, 2063
Rhodie Mk VII Deploying as part of Operation Freetown, 2065
An Amber-built Rhodie IX sits behind the Tau Coalition Flag, planted in the final victorious hours of the Amber-Kanbek War, 2079
Rhodie IX "Heavy" with skirt armor during Belarsian troubles, 2089
Z-50 Prototype Anti Air system, 2090
Rhodie IFVs from the SS. Arkerien and NeuCom brigades overlook Vieno, 2117
RHDE-152 Deployed to Carsodonia, 2152