Country of Origin: Germany

Notes: The Begleitpanzer 57mm (Support Tank 57mm) is a light tank based on the Marder chassis. It features a 57mm cannon based on a Bofors naval gun and a TOW or HOT ATGM launcher. The main gun is fed by an autoloader, and married to a comprehensive fire control suite and night vision gear. The main gun’s autoloader has four feed chutes that each hold 3 rounds, allowing for quick changes in ammunition type fired. Further rounds are carried in the hull. The missile launcher is likewise loaded by an automatic loader, and there is no need for the crew to expose itself outside the armor envelope. The Begleitpanzer carries a small scout group of 3 troops; these troops can also double as impromptu crew members (usually to replenish the main gun’s magazine). The driver has a hatch on the front left hull top. The gunner and commander have hatches in the hull roof. The three troops have a ramp in the rear of the vehicle, and there are two firing ports in each side of the hull and one in the rear.

The Begleitpanzer 57mm was never developed beyond advanced prototypes.

Country of Origin: Russia (Soviet Union)

Notes: Though a version of the BRDM like this was the subject of speculation in the West, it does not seem to actually exist.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This upgrade of the BRDM-2 was only a rumor until shortly before the Twilight War, when a chance encounter by Saudi patrols of the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq in 1995 resulted in two of them being captured and two destroyed by the LAV-600s the Saudis were using. The BRDM-3 is basically a BRDM-2 fitted with a larger turret housing a 30mm 2A42 autocannon and a PKT coaxial machinegun. The combination of speed, small size, and good firepower that the BRDM-3 afforded proved to be a thorn in the side of Allied, Chinese, NATO forces, and a few were even encountered in North Korea. The basic layout is otherwise unchanged from the BRDM-2 model, though there are improvements in stabilization and night vision equipment, as well as the addition of a video camera with a radio uplink to higher headquarters.

Country of Origin: United States

Notes: The Expeditionary Tank was designed for use by light and airborne forces as a fire support vehicle and light tank destroyer. It was developed in the 1980s using as many existing components as possible to save money. The vehicle is a very low profile design, with ammunition stored in the hull and the gun contained in a remote casemate. The gun is well stabilized with accuracy rivaling the M-1 series of tanks. The Expeditionary Tank has very light armor, but an appliqué armor package is available which can be installed in the field in 15 minutes by the crew, and dramatically increases the protection (and nearly doubles the vehicle’s weight).  Though tested as a possible replacement for the M-551 Sheridan in the airborne armor role and for use in light divisions, it was ultimately rejected for US service (along with every other design meant to replace the Sheridan...)

Twilight 2000 Notes: This was one of the many emergency solutions to the needs of airborne, air assault, and light infantry divisions for lightweight firepower.

Country of Origin: Great Britain

Notes: This British vehicle was built with experience gained in the building of the Warrior and Desert Warrior. These vehicles are primarily demonstrators. The armor, though light, is very advanced, and the fire control is likewise advanced. The driver is seated on the front left. The turret is nearly the same as that fitted to the Desert Warrior, but has a more advanced armor package and electronics. The turret also has an optical chemical sniffer installed. The vehicle is fitted with a computerized navigation system with inertial navigation and GPS. Computers also compile information from reconnaissance and relay that information to higher headquarters. Additional sensors are on a mast that can be elevated at the rear of the vehicle.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This vehicle was taken into limited service in Britain before the Twilight War, but the primary customers were Middle Eastern, such as Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman, UAE, and Yemen. Production of these vehicles started shortly before the Twilight War, and was quickly stepped up to an accelerated rate.

Country of Origin: United States

Notes: The Expeditionary Tank was designed for use by light and airborne forces as a fire support vehicle and light tank destroyer. It was developed in the 1980s using as many existing components as possible to save money. The vehicle is a very low profile design, with ammunition stored in the hull and the gun contained in a remote casemate. The gun is well stabilized with accuracy rivaling the M-1 series of tanks. The Expeditionary Tank has very light armor, but an appliqué armor package is available which can be installed in the field in 15 minutes by the crew, and dramatically increases the protection (and nearly doubles the vehicle’s weight).

Twilight 2000 Notes: This was one of the many emergency solutions to the needs of airborne, air assault, and light infantry divisions for lightweight firepower.

Country of Origin: Great Britain

Notes: This is a light tank based on modified chassis of the Warrior armored personnel carrier. In this role, armor is improved, and the vehicle is topped with a turret mounting a 105mm NATO-compatible gun. The turret was also fitted as a test to the South African Rooikat armored car. The vehicle may be fitted with appliqué armor, for an increase in HF and TF armor of 8, HS and TS armor of 6, and HR and TR armor of 4. This increases weight by 4 tons, and decreases combat movement by 5. The LMT-105 is basically a technology demonstrator, and is not expected to enter production.

Twilight 2000 Notes: Several prototypes of this vehicle were built before the war, but volume production did not begin until 1998, and it is a rare vehicle, most often employed in British scout units.

Country of Origin: United States

Notes: This vehicle, based on a modified Bradley chassis, allows doctors, nurses, and medics to provide advanced medical care in combat situations. The typical AMTV carries a full range of medical supplies (including a full set of surgical tools, the equivalent of 5 Doctor Medical Bags, enough refills for the personal medical kits of an entire platoon, a full range of drugs, at least 10 units of each blood type, plasma, and IV fluids, and advanced first aid kits). A large refrigerator is carried, as well as a freezer, a 10kW generator for running equipment with the engine off, a defibrillator, Oxygen equipment, medical monitors, and radios to communicate with air as well as ground elements. The crew of the AMTV normally consists of a driver, commander, medic, and nurse, doctor, or physician's assistant.

The M-2A0 AMTV is just one of the many projected possible variants of the Bradley chassis, but so far there is no sign of when or even it will ever enter service.

Twilight 2000 Notes: These vehicles were just reaching the US Army's inventory at the start of the Twilight War, and are thus rather rare.

Country of Origin: United States

Notes: This vehicle was "designed" by the fertile imaginations of the people at GDW (though I have added a back story and some variants).  While there is apparently going to be or already is an M-3A3 in real life, this vehicle is not it.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The M-3A3 CFV began production only a few months before the Twilight War; as such, it is a vehicle in rather short supply, despite relatively high production rates.  Production continued for a while after the start of US involvement in the Twilight War, and some more were actually converted in the various theaters of the war by means of a "kit," but there were probably never more than 100 or so of them. 

Like the M-2A3 IFV, the M-3A3 replaces the standard turret of the M-3 series with a new one using Hellfire ATGM launchers and a laser designator instead of TOW ATGM launchers.  The twin launcher was mounted on rails on the left side of the turret instead of the box launcher of standard M-3 series CFVs.  In addition, while most of these vehicles used the standard 25mm Bushmaster Chaingun, approximately 25% of the total number were built or supplied with 30mm Bushmaster II Chainguns or 35mm Bushmaster II ChainGuns.  The M-3A3 otherwise uses the same sensor suite as standard Bradleys, as well as the improved armor of the M-3A2.

The M-3A3, while considerably slower than the standard M-3 series due to the greatly-increased weight, was nonetheless welcomed by its crews due to the increased firepower it offered.

Country of Origin: United States

Notes: This vehicle falls somewhere between a light tank and a light armored vehicle. It was designed for use by airborne units, able to be airdropped or LAPSEd, and its modular construction allows it to be carried in aircraft. It is based on the chassis of the M-2 Bradley, and carries a turret armed with a low-pressure version of the standard 105mm NATO gun. The turret has ammunition storage bins equipped with blowout panels; if a turret (but not a hull) hit results in an ammunition explosion, the Buford is not destroyed and the crew killed. Instead, all the ammunition in the turret (up to 15 rounds) is destroyed, all armament takes minor damage; all sensors take major damage, and each member of the crew takes 50 points of concussion damage. There are three levels of modular armor protection available; these are indicated by slashes for Level 1/2/3 armor. Each configuration has lugs for reactive armor on the HF, HS, TF, and TS. It takes about an hour to take the Buford from Level 1 to Level 2 armor using 4 people, and another hour and a half to go from Level 2 to 3. There has been talk lately of resurrecting the Buford program, but there are no firm plans.

Twilight 2000 Notes: In the Twilight 2000 world, this vehicle program was never killed; it replaced about half of the Sheridans in the 82^nd Airborne Division, and also was used by the 101^st Air Assault Division, some Light Divisions, and even some heavier formations.

Country of Origin: (M-41CG) United States; (M-41GTI) Germany

Notes: These two versions of the M-41 were designed Cadillac Gage (in the case of the M-41CG) and Rheinmetall (in the case of the M-41GTI) with idea of selling them as kit-type upgrades to countries already using the M-41 and desiring to keep them in service for whatever reason.  Several countries apparently considered and possibly even tested these upgrades, but ultimately none actually bought the upgrades.

The M-41CG is an upgrade package designed by Cadillac Gage.  This upgrade basically places the turret of Cadillac Gage's Stingray light tank on the chassis of the M-41.  To cope with the increased weight, Cadillac Gage also installs a more powerful engine.  In addition, radios, electronics, transmission, and electrical components are also upgraded, a fire control computer is installed, and lugs are added to the turret front and sides for ERA.  The result is a Walker Bulldog which, while slightly slower, also has firepower far superior to the original M-41 series, as well as improved fire control and gun stabilization.

The M-41GTI is a German-designed upgrade package using the same sort of idea as the M-41CG; however, the replacement turret is taken from the Leopard 1A1.  As with the M-41CG, Rheinmetall also installs a more powerful engine and fire control computer, as well as upgrading the radios, electronics, electrical systems, and transmission.  The gun stabilization is not quite as good as that of the M-41CG, but the result is basically the same: a much more powerful version of the Walker Bulldog.

Twilight 2000 Notes: While the M-41GTI found a few scattered buyers in various places in the world, the M-41CG upgrade found many more -- especially in Taiwan, where almost all of their M-41 fleet was upgraded to the M-41CG standard.

Country of Origin: United States

Notes: This was initially a test program by Cadillac Gage for a proposed upgrade to the M-551 Sheridan. A few prototypes were built to demonstrate the viability of the concept, but the Army passed on the idea.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The US Army in 1994 began phasing out their M-551 Sheridan light tanks from the inventories of all but the 82nd Airborne and 101st Air Assault Divisions. With the development of the M-8 Buford in 1995, the M-551 seemed to be facing extinction. However, the production rate of the M-8 was initially only 300 per year; this left the US military in a terrible bind, because they had promised 100 of the M-8s to Taiwan, leaving only 200 Bufords dispersed over the whole of the Army, including the Airborne divisions. A stopgap measure was suggested by fitting Cadillac Gage Stingray turrets to the smaller CG Commando chassis to produce what were nicknamed "Stingray Juniors." These caught the eye of some but the Army never adopted any; however, the Anniston Army Depot began experiments of retrofitting the Stingray turret to a modified M-551body. The result was a vehicle which was hurried into production in late 1996, with an initial rate of conversion of estimated to be 75-150 per year. Anniston Army Depot went further with its conversions by producing spare parts for the M-551 Sheridan body; Cadillac Gage provided spare parts for the Stingray turret. Rudimentary changes made to the design included an upgraded armor plate on the underside of the vehicle to protect it from antitank mines. Many of the problems were fixed with the removal of the 152mm Gum/Missile Launcher, especially the rangefinder problem, which was solved by using the CG turret. Experiments were done with adding ERA by the 82nd Airborne while on maneuvers at Fort Irwin.

In the end, the development and adoption of the LAV-75 and continued production of the M-8 doomed the would-be adoption of the modified M-551 Sheridan/Stingray, and the 50-75 production models which had been converted are spread out across Alabama (Anniston Army Depot), Kentucky (Fort Campbell and Knox), and California (Fort Irwin). Unmodified versions of the M-551 with 152mm Gun/Missile Launchers can be found in large numbers at Fort Irwin (some 330 at last count), providing a large amount of spare parts. It is believed that many of these vehicles in California have been deployed to counter Soviet/Mexican-backed attacks into California and Texas. Stock models of the M-551 had been converted prior to the war to resemble many Soviet vehicles for use in training at Fort Irwin.

Country of Origin: Russia (Soviet Union)

Notes: This vehicle does not exist in real life; it was made up by the good people at GDW, though I have slightly embellished the story.  However, it appears that recently in Russia, there has been some drawing-board work for a PT-76 equipped with a new 57mm autocannon, so maybe one day there will be a PT-57...

Twilight 2000 Notes: This variant of the PT-76 light tank is so rare that it has almost never been seen in the hands of normal troops. If it is encountered, it is almost certain that one has encountered airborne or Spetsnaz troops. In this version, the normal turret of the PT-76 has been replaced with one mounting a 57mm S-40 autocannon. The PT-57 is meant for heavy, rapid-fire support of infantry and antiaircraft use.

Country of Origin: Israel

Notes: This is an Israeli modification of the PT-76. Original modifications were made for Indonesia, which has a number of old PT-76s. In the PT-90, the 76mm main gun is replaced by a Cockerill 90mm NATO gun, the coaxial machinegun is replaced by a MAG, a commander's machinegun has been added, and the engine is replaced with a version of the one used in the M-113 series of armored personnel carriers. The gun has been stabilized and new fire control equipment is added. As the new engine is smaller and lighter, more fuel has been added. Primarily designed as an upgrade package for countries already using the PT-76, the PT-90 has not as yet (officially) received any interest.

Twilight 2000 Notes: During the Twilight War, captured PT-76s were modified to this standard and used by the Israeli military, and some modifications were done for the Egyptians.

Country of Origin: Italy

Notes: This vehicle looks like something out a science fiction movie, with its long, low, slender silhouette. The chassis is based on that of the Gorgona, while the body is long and wedge shaped, with armor sloped on all sides. The driver is at the front with windows directly in front and to the sides; he has a hatch on top of his compartment. The commander’s position is to the rear and right of the driver’s position. To the rear is a hatchway that can be fitted with a variety of weapons stations or light turrets. On each side of the hull is another door, and to the rear of those doors is a firing port with vision block.

The T 12.7 FA has an externally mounted M-2HB machinegun that may be aimed and fired from within the vehicle. The T 7.62 FA is the same, but has a lighter machinegun. The T 20 FA-HS is also similar, but uses a 20mm autocannon. The Folgore x2 FA has two Folgore recoilless rifles and a light machinegun; these cannot be aimed or fired from within the vehicle. (The Folgores are treated as being mounted on a tripod with optronic sight.) The T 106 x2 FA is similar to the Folgore vehicle, but uses two M-40A2 106mm recoilless rifles and has no machinegun. As might be guessed, the TOW FA has a TOW II system.

The R3 was never actually put into production.

Country of Origin: United States

Notes: The RDF/LT (Rapid Deployment Forces Light Tank) was one of those vehicles developed in the 1980s as a possible replacement for the M-551 Sheridan light tank then in service with US Airborne units. The chassis is similar to that of the LAV-75, and it is also built by AAI, but the turret is a different one armed with a 76mm high-velocity gun. This is an old gun, but the ammunition is light, fairly effective, and readily available worldwide. The effectiveness is augmented by a new range of APFSDS ammunition. Like other such vehicles, the RDF/LT was not adopted by the US or any other country.

Twilight 2000 Notes: This vehicle was adopted to help form a vehicle base for a new armored scout platoon in the 82^nd Airborne division, and then went on to help equip the 101^st Air Assault Division and several Light Divisions.