When designer Amak Xantu was asked what inspired the design of the Anbessa 2 he replied “They gave me nothing but a box and asked for a Michelangelo. I gave them back a box Michelangelo would be proud of.”His reply sums up the Anbessa-2 as a development that faced so much red tape and challenges that its fielding is one of the greatest marvels in Winolian Military history. Regardless, after performances in both simulations and live combat, it quickly found a place in the hearts of the men and women who crewed it and the teams that serviced it. The Anbessa would serve alongside its predecessor for 10 years before completely replacing it.

The Anbessa 2 started life as an earmarked part of the Winolian Army Technical Modernization Program: Freed. The program would assess the viability of current weapon systems and lay out future requirements to comply with the TAGS (Tactical Air Ground and Sea) combat concept. Anbessa 2 did not start life well. She faced massive opposition in the MoD from officials who still favoured the old doctrine of force volume and low cost; they saw Anbessa 2 as a costly, inefficient and dangerous bet and instead voted in favour for the development of the Anbessa 1M3. However, after a long series of debates, a short production run was approved for the 112th Tank Battalion as a trial. The turnaround point came during the Desert spear wargame where the 112th not only won the tank performance competitions but highlighted the deadly capabilities of the Anbessa 2 against other tanks with a 50:0 kill ratio against upgraded T-72’s and 23:3 against Anbessa 1M2’s. At this point, alongside with the erosion of the old guard faction, the future of the Anbessa 2 was secured.

Built from the ground up as a system to completely outclass the Anbessa 1, the Anbessa 2 is full of modern technologies. The Anbessa 2 is equipped with the AOG 1-16 130 mm smoothbore gun based on the lessons learnt from the old 125 and design concepts from the west. However, as with the A-1, the gun can be swapped out for the export variants. In fact, the whole tank is designed with a modular approach in mind. Its turret is fully customisable, to the degree that it can suit any customer with ease. The Winolian armed forces variant comes in two varieties. The first is the A1M1-C which has a commander’s HMG which can be controlled from the tank or front the trigger (similar to the Abrams) while the A1M1-B features a 30mm remote weapon system capable of engaging soft, hard and low altitude targets. All standard versions come equipped with the Mirage Softkill APS and can be equipped with the Abati Hardkill APS system which fires shaped charges to intercept and destroy ATGMs. The commander retains his periscope cupola but can use an advanced 360 multispectral camera for all-aspect fighting. The gunner is also given independent sights, freeing him up to focus on aiming, target ranging and shooting. The tank has expected systems such as NBRC protection and automated FS systems. Its digital and electronic warfare systems and its networking are managed by the advanced Taktix-3 high-level Combat management system which slaves other systems as part of a combined arms framework.

Action Group 1: Headlights
Action Group 2: Turret control
Action Group 3: Remote weapon system control
Action Group 4: Loader’s machine gun control
Action Group 5: N/A
Action Group 6: N/A
Action Group 7: N/A
Action Group 8: N/A
Trim to go forward and back
Yaw to turn

Pitch and roll control Traverse and elevation on all guns

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