When vehicle designers attempted to replace the Thor tank's Thumper artillery piece with the heavier Sniper artillery, the added weight forced them to create a new carrier-the Marksman, first produced in 2702. Tracks replaced wheels to better support the Sniper's weight and provide stability, and the designers also sacrificed speed for additional armor. The resulting 65-ton vehicle has a maximum flank speed of 65 kph, but can handle most terrain it encounters. Faulty tread locks on the inner tracks of the original vehicle gave it a less-than-spotless reputation, but this flaw was corrected in subsequent models. To offset the tank's inability to outrun its enemies, the Marksman's designers included 7.5 tons of ferro-fibrous armor, much of it concentrated in the front.
         The tank's primary weapon is the Sniper, the Star League Defense Force's standard medium-duty artillery piece. Its range is short for an artillery piece, but it can create more havoc than most. The Marksman's secondary weapon is a large laser mounted in the turret. It has a reputation for accuracy even at long range because it is tied to the vehicle's sophisticated tracking system.
         The Sniper's relatively short range ensures that the Marksman is more likely to see combat than most other tracked vehicles. To exploit the Sniper's advantages to the fullest, the vehicle carries a second computer that controls the Sniper for direct fire. This independent target-tracking computer can speedily lock onto its target, giving the Sniper deadly direct-fire capabilities.