At over 15 million C-bills a pop, the Chieftain II, although very well recieved by the BCAF, was considered a little pricey by the cash-strapped military's procurement chiefs, who considered looking elsewhere for their heavy armour.

A hastily convened meeting of Vulcan's design team resulted in a "back to basics" design approach. Starting from scratch they created an entirely new chassis, but to keep development costs down (and the project on its tight schedule) used readily available engine and weapons technology wherever possible.

The result was a main battle tank with a price tag one third that of its predecessor, developed and tested in record time.

The Odysseus lacks some of the Chieftain II's raw firepower but it is still a formidable machine in its own right. Intending to make it a long-range combatant, the designers opted for an extended range PPC and gauss rifle as the primary weapons, giving it good long range punch.

The fitting of a bulky targeting computer, to enhance long range shooting, reduced the available tonnage for additional equipment. As a result, a single Streak SRM4 launcher provides short to medium range firepower.

For protection, the Odysseus carries 11 tons of ferro-fibrous armour, along with an ECM suite. The chassis is also fitted with CASE to prevent catastrophic ammo explosions.

Performace-wise, the "Odi" is on a par with the Chieftain II, having a flank speed of 50kph.

The Odysseus is replacing the recently-introduced Chieftain II as the mainstay of militia armoured units and will, for the time being, make up the bulk of BCAF armoured units. The more expensive Chieftain II will be used solely by BCAF units in limited numbers until the military's budget can be increased.