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MI8M2 Esturion

The MI8M2 is a wheeled IFV of the Khertland army and was hoped to be a cheaper and smaller alternative to the Flemming IFV.
Originally, a tracked IFV was envisioned to provide armored regiments with organic infantry. The amount of infantry in armored units were severely lacking and was vulnerable when they needed to capture or occupy terrain, particularly in urban areas. The Quadriiuga could provide this role but there was a desire to provide dismount with greater protection while also being able to provide the necessary fire support. The infantry carrier role was traditionally done by the Quadriiuga APC while fire support done by the Ibex armored cars. These formed motorized infantry unit which would usually be paired with an armored unit.

The army wanted to try and combine the two and wanted tracks to better traverse similar terrain that tanks can. But due to budgetary reasons, the MI6 Flemming were adopted for armored units instead. As an existing vehicle, it did not need further research and development. It however proved to be inadequately protected, especially the sides as it had to remain light enough for amphibious operations. Furthermore, the Flemming IFV proved to carry too little dismounts as the large turret took up significant internal volume.

The army tried to seek out a stop gap measure. The Esturion chassis was proposed as the MI8M1 which were already developed but never adopted. A variant of it however, the SC2M1 was used for the reconnaissance role. This along with the even older CC1 Esturion armored cars would help simplify logistics due to parts commonality. The Esturion chassis had plenty of room for uparmoring as it did not need to meet the weight limitations of amphibious operations either. Without the large gun of the CC1 Esutrion, the chassis had a lot of spare loading capacity it could use for uparmoring. Not only that, the autocannon mounting on the MI8 and SC2 Esturions was an improved version of the one used in the Stoats. The principal advantage being that it is a completely external remote weapon station and didn't even have a need for a turret basket. This meant a lot of internal space was freed up for a whopping 11 dismounts. The autocannon was slower firing and of smaller caliber than the MI6 Flemming, but a new round was developed to help improve its lethality. The rate of fire and improved fire control also further help close the gap to sufficient standards.

But there were still concerns about it not being tracked which was the whole reason why the Quadriiuga and Ibex combo was deemed inappropriate. This was eventually dismissed as the armored units already operate CC1 Esturion armored cars. And the new assault regiments operate both the CC1 and SC2 Esturions. All wheeled and all using the same chassis. The army also pushed for the eventually consolidation of the APC and FSV role into the single IFV and phase out the Quadriiuga albeit the Ibex would be retained for mountainous warfare. The new assault regiments were the first to employ the MI8 Esturion IFVs as part of the trials. The Esturion IFV was officially accepted into service but there doesn't seem to be any moves to expand the program for the rest of the army.
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Basic specifications:
Cost: 13,930
Blocks: 218
Weight: 36,949
Volume: 316 cubic meter
Length: 16m
Width: 9m
Height: 6m (total w/ mast extended)
Speed: 30 m/s (110 kmh)

Gun:
Caliber: 35mm (70mm actual)
Projectile: HEAT
Rate of Fire: 130 rpm

Ratings:
Total firepower: 12.55
APS: 12.55
Armor: 26.2% (3648 materials)