Notes: The Black Eagle is a Russian development of the T-80UM. The tank features a turret bustle-mounted automatic loader the 135mm gun that is 100% faster then the standard loader, allowing a ROF of 1 per phase. The new loader also allows more advanced ammunition to be used. Armor protection is increased, and is further augmented by ERA on the HF, TF, TS, and HS.

The protection is further improved by the addition of the Arena active defense system, which fires a small projectile in the path of incoming rounds to intercept them. This system has 10 projectiles per face of the armor except the rear arcs, and intercepts the incoming round on a roll of 12 or less. An online correspondent of mine has called it "jumping ERA." (A similar system is fitted to the Merkava 4.)

The bustle-mounted ammunition system also allows the Black Eagle to incorporate blowout panels for ammunition storage. If a hit indicates an ammunition explosion, the vehicle is not destroyed. Instead, all ammunition is destroyed, and the commander and loader take 50 concussion hits each.

In addition to these improvements, the Black Eagle has a superior fire control system to the T-80 series.

Twilight 2000 Notes: The Black Eagle began production in late 1997, and the factory producing them was destroyed with a nuclear weapon in late 1998. Production rates were never high, and few Black Eagles were actually made. Most of them were used as command tanks in Category I divisions.

Notes: This is a World War 2 relic that was used as late as the 1960s by Russia. By the Twilight War, it was in regular use only by China and Syria, both of whom used it in reserve formations. Though it was a terror to the Tiger and Panther tanks it was designed to combat, by 2000, it was mainly useful as an infantry support vehicle and assault gun. It was never able to carry a lot of ammunition and this limited its utility, though it was better than no vehicle at all. As by 2000, all these vehicles are very old, none of them has a wear value better than 6.

The IS-3 is a version of the IS-2 with improved armor and better sloping on its turret. It is somewhat more plentiful than the IS-2, and newer, with a minimum wear value of 5.

Notes: The T-34/85 is the up-gunned and improved version of the famous World-War II T-34. It has long been obsolete but is still used in some Third-World countries. There is a driver’s hatch on the left front deck; when it is open, almost the driver’s entire body is exposed. There are commander’s and loader’s hatches on the turret deck. There is a weapons mount by the commander’s hatch equivalent to a PLT. The T-34 introduced modern armor sloping to the battlefield.

Notes: One of the oldest continually used armored vehicles in the world; the prototype T-54 was first produced in 1946 and production began in 1947. Since then it has been continually improved, and there were almost 50 variants available in the world by 2000, in addition to the numerous variants of the Chinese version of the T-55, the Type 59. It is the archetypical Russian tank, small, light, easy to produce and maintain, and available almost anywhere. The basic version is not much more complicated than its World War 2 counterparts, with a basic chassis topped by a turret mounting what is by 2000 a low to medium powered gun. Layout is conventional with the driver on the front left, and the rest of the crewmembers in the turret, which has two hatches on the deck for the commander and loader, and a weapon mount for the commander. Ammunition for the main gun has been steadily improved over the years, and in 2000, the T-55 is still a credible threat, though no match for more modern tanks except in a well-planned ambush. It is in use by over 55 countries, and can be encountered in most areas of the globe.

The T-54 is the base model. The T-54A adds a fume extractor to the main gun and vertical axis stabilization for the main gun; a bilge pump (the original T-54 proved to be leaky when fording); better air filtration for the engine; and an automatic fire extinguisher. This was also the first Russian tank to be able to use deep fording equipment.

The T-54B increases the gun stabilization to two axes. An IR searchlight is mounted over the main gun. Night vision is added to the driver’s position. This model is also known as the T-54AM (this is actually the Polish designation, but is also used in the West for the T-54B).

The T-54AK was the first dedicated command model of the T-54, based on the T-54A. It has additional communications equipment, and a reduced ammunition supply. The T-54AD is a Polish command version of the T-54A; instead of reducing the ammunition supply, the T-54AD uses an extension in the rear of the turret for the command radios.

The T-54M has new, longer-lasting tracks, upgraded suspension, additional armor, and a different radio. The interior has also been rearranged so it is not so cramped.

The T-55 is a T-54 sporting a new turret. The rooftop mushroom ventilator dome is gone, the gun stabilizer is more reliable, the engine is more powerful, the vehicle has new running gear, and the ammunition is rearranged so that (along with the new turret), 9 more rounds of main gun ammunition can be carried. The T-55A adds radiation shielding, replaces the SGMT machineguns with a PKT, removes the bow-mounted machinegun (allowing 6 more rounds of main gun ammunition to be carried), adds the ability to lay a smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into its exhaust, and improves the shock absorbers. The T-55 (1970) and T-55A (1970) add a second DShK over the loader’s hatch.

The T-55K1, K2, and K3 are command versions of the T-55A; they carry additional communications equipment and less ammunition. They vary primarily in the type of radios carried, but the T-55K3 also has a 10-meter retractable antenna. Each has 3 radios.

The T-55M is a major upgrade; it allows the T-55’s main gun to fire the AT-10 Stabber ATGM. Appliqué armor is added for extra protection; this includes an extra layer for the belly. A laser rangefinder/designator is added, both to guide the AT-10 and to increase main gun accuracy. The engine is 40 horsepower more powerful. The T-55M1 is a T-55M with the same engine as the T-62, and a different radio. The T-55MV1 is a T-55M with lugs for ERA.

The T-55AD is a T-55M with a Drozd anti-missile system. It detects incoming ATGMs, and fires a shower of ball bearings in the path of the incoming missile. There are 8 such blasts available.

The OT-54 is a T-54 with an ATO-1 flamethrower installed in place of the coaxial machinegun, and a 460 fuel tank for the flamethrower in place of the bow machinegun.

Notes: This is a further development of the T-55, and was the primary tank of the Russian Army for some 10 years. It is basically a larger, heavier, better-protected version of the T-55 with a more powerful gun. Though it was designed to replace the T-55, the T-55 instead outlived the T-62 due to its lower costs and problems with the T-62s engine and its shell case ejection system. When the main gun is fired, the empty casing is ejected out of a trap door in the rear of the turret; this saves space inside the tank, but the mechanism tends to get hung up. On a 1D20 roll of 1, the casing is hung up and must be pushed out of the door manually, taking one phase in which the gun cannot be fired. There were at least 12 variants in its history and the tank was used by 17 countries.

The base T-62 is basically a larger version of the T-55. The vehicle has a radiation detection system that actuates a foam-based radiation shield. It can lay a smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into its exhaust. The vehicle has a gyrocompass for navigation.

The T-62 (1972) adds an additional DShK over the loader’s hatch.

The T-62D adds the Drozd antimissile system. It detects incoming ATGMs, and fires a shower of ball bearings in the path of the incoming missile. There are 8 such blasts available. It also adds additional armor and a different engine and communications system. The T-62D1 is the same, but with an even more powerful engine.

The T-62M, made for Pact forces, may fire the AT-12 ATGM from its main gun, using the laser rangefinder to guide it. This missile, designated 9K116-1 Sheksna by the Russians, is merely a version of the AT-10 designed for the T-62s smoothbore 115mm gun, and statistics are the same. Up to 8 AT-12 missiles may be carried in place of normal rounds. In addition, the main gun is stabilized somewhat. The T-62M is also fitted with additional armor and an anti-radiation jacket (replacing the foam-based system of earlier models). A ballistic computer is added. A slightly different version, the T-62M-1, has lugs for reactive armor (TF, TS, HF), and a more powerful engine.

The T-62M1 is an upgrade similar to the T-62M, but unable to use the AT-12. The T-62M1-1 is the same as the T-62M-1, but without the ability to fire the AT-12. The T-62M1-2 adds additional belly armor. They are intended primarily for export.

The T-62K is a command tank version of the basic T-62. The T-62MK is a command version of the T-62M. Both have additional communications equipment, and less ammunition for the main gun, as well as a more advanced land navigation system.

The TO-62 is a T-62 with a flamethrower (20 shots) in place of the PKT. The base range of this flamethrower is 20m. It is otherwise the same as the base T-62.

Twilight/Merc 2000 Story: As Real World Story.

Notes: This tank is the genesis of the modern T-72/T-80/T-90 series tanks. It entered production in 1966, and was first seen by the West in 1970. It has never been exported outside of Russia and was never seen in any military parades. It may be regarded as the forerunner of the T-72, but many Russian tankers feel the T-64 is a superior vehicle and prefer it to the later T-72. The T-64 is easily mistaken for the T-72, but details of the turret, suspension, and engine compartment are sufficiently different to tell it apart by an alert observer. The T-64 broke a lot of new ground for Russian tank design, but has been largely replaced in front-line Russian service by newer designs, and it was never issued to non-Russian units.

The T-64 initial production version of the T-64 was armed with a 115mm gun (as on the T-62). The gun is equipped with an autoloader, unlike the T-62. None of these tanks are now in active service, and most were eventually modified to the T-64A/T-64B standard and redesignated the T-64R.

The T-64A was the first Russian tank with the now-standard 125mm smoothbore gun. The gun has a thermal sleeve and an improved fire control system. The commander can aim and fire his DShK machinegun from inside the turret, even with the hatch closed. The vehicle has a bit more armor. The engine is changed to a multifuel diesel engine. The T-64AK is a command version of the T-64A; it has an additional long-range radio. The T-64AK does not have a commander’s machinegun.

The T-64B is an even more comprehensive redesign. The armor on the turret has been changed to a type that offers more protection but is not as bulky. The commander has an image intensifier and can also use the gunner’s night vision gear. The fire control system is better and stabilization is improved. The T-64B is also able to fire the AT-8 Songster ATGM. Some have lugs for reactive armor on the turret front, turret sides, the glacis, and the front half of the side skirts; these are known as the T-64BV. The T-64BK is a command version of the T-64B; it has an extra long-range radio and a land-navigation system. The T-64BM is a T-64B with a more powerful engine. The T-64B1 has all the improvements of the T-64B, but cannot fire the AT-8; the T-64B1K is a command version of the same. The T-64BV1K is a T-64BV command variant.

Notes: This is probably the most numerous non-Western tank in the world after the T-55 series, being produced in over 20 variants and used by some 20 countries. The T-72 entered production in 1971 and quickly replaced most of the earlier tanks in the Russian inventory, and then was sold to other countries. Layout is similar to that of the T-64, with the driver in the front center, and the gunner and commander in the turret, with hatches in the turret deck for both of them. Though largely replaced in Russian service by later designs, the T-72 formed the bulk of Pact tank forces in Europe, as well as a large amount of enemy tank forces in the Middle Eastern theater. Most T-72s are equipped with lugs for reactive armor on the TF, TS, HF, and HS.

The base T-72 entered service in 1973. It is armed with the Russian standard 125mm smoothbore gun and has track skirts that extend halfway down each side of the hull. The gun has a thermal sleeve. The T-72K is the command variant of the T-72, with additional communications equipment. The T-72 (1975) is the export variant of this vehicle, with slightly less armor on the front of the turret.

The T-72A has a laser rangefinder, full track skirts, a mechanism that helps protect against napalm and Molotov cocktails, an upgraded suspension, and increased frontal armor. The T-72AK is the command variant of this tank. The T-72M is the export variant of the T-72A; the increase in armor is not as large, and it carries less ammunition. The T-72M1 (1982) is a modernized T-72M, with an additional layer of armor on the glacis and composite armor in the turret. The T-72AV is a T-72A with lugs for ERA on the turret front, turret sides, and hull front.

The T-72B was mistakenly referred to as the T-72G or T-74 in the West. It is essentially a T-72 with added armor in the frontal arcs, a better fire control system, and the ability to fire AT-11 ATGM through its gun tube. So much armor has been added to the front of the turret that it bulges out on either side of the gun; this has caused US troops to call it the "Dolly Parton" or "Pamela Anderson" modification (probably depending on how old the soldier is). The T-72BK is the command variant of the T-72B. The T-72B1 is the same vehicle without the ability to use ATGM. The T-72S is another export variant; it has lugs for reactive armor on the turret front, turret sides, and hull front, but not the bulging additional armor on the turret. It can fire the AT-11.

The T-72BM is a T-72B with second-generation reactive armor that is effective against both AP and HE attack.

The T-72M1 is also known as the Nizhnyi Tagil upgrade. It includes a new fire control system, thermal imaging, a kit that allows the commander’s machinegun to be aimed and fired from under armor, a more powerful engine, lugs for ERA, an NBC overpressure system, a new communications system, and a new suspension.

The T-72M2 is an upgrade package that Russia is offering for export. It includes lugs for ERA, radar and IR-absorbent paint, NBC overpressure protection, and an upgraded suspension.