New Sovietskiy T-212UM1 “Black Eagle” Main Battle Tank:

While the tank is termed the T-212UM1 “Black Eagle”, it should have in reality be called the T-234 because in reality, the tank is a new design using modern composites in its construction. There was a huge amount of political pressure, which many marshals fell in line with the politicians, to use old designs. The T-212UM1 was designed to appear to be a modification on the T-212 tank (itself a modification of the T-80 design) so that Communist politicians would be willing to support the new design. The T-212 was first introduced in 2012 but was rejected by the Russian government and was instead exported to other nations. The T-212 was exported to India, China, Korea, and numerous other countries.

The T-212UM1 was not introduced until 2034 and while it did use many of the features introduced in the T-212, is better described as a new tank. In many respects, it could be considered the Soviet response to the German Leopard III Heavy Tank and the American M1A5 Abrams Main Battle Tank. While not quite as powerful, the T-212UM1 was at least comparable. In order to finance the production of the new tank, funds which were allocated to rebuilding old tanks were instead used for the manufacture of the T-212UM1. As well, the sales of rebuilt old tanks were used to fund the construction of new tanks. The new tank served as the backbone of Soviet forces until the introduction of the T-255 tanks. Many of these tanks remained in service until the coming of the Rifts and were preferred by crews over the rebuilt tanks from before the so called “Mega-Damage” revolution. It simply did not break down as often and repair parts were far more common. As T-255 tanks became increasingly common, many of the T-212UM1 were exported. The Soviet government preferred to export older tank designs and retaining their newer tanks. The T-212UM1 was sold to South American, Asian, and Middle Eastern nations in large numbers.

Many of these T-212UM1 survived the coming of the Rifts. The New Sovietskiy operates a fairly large number of these tanks and the Warlords operate these is smaller numbers as well. Some Mercenaries have managed to acquire these tanks and both Triax and several Polish companies produce repair parts and upgrades for these tanks. They are also still in service in South America in small numbers although most of the original engines have been replaced by new engines. Fusion engines designed for trucks are extremely popular.

The Soviet nation lacked in fuel cell technology and it was decided that the T-212UM1 would use a Gas Turbine engine like the previous tank classes. One advantage is that the engine was built using the new composites and was far more durable than old engines. The large number of Gas Turbine and Diesel engines in the Soviet Union mean that they were far more reliant on petroleum products than most Western powers even up to the coming of the Rifts.

The original T-212 featured numerous machine guns and the standard 125 mm smoothbore cannon. What was changed on the tank compared to previous classes was the entire layout of the turret and crew compartment. Because of lessons learned from the Gulf War and the Serbian conflict, it was decided that the crew needed to be separated from the ammunition and the auto loader in order to improve their survivability. In previous designs the auto loader and its carrousel were located in the middle of the crew compartment, and an ammunition fire invariably resulted in the death of the crew.

When the new T-212UM1 was being developed, many key changes were made. The main gun was upgraded to a 135-mm cannon in effort to keep up with the larger cannons being developed for American tanks. The basic internal layout of the tank is identical to the original T-212. The cannon was designed to be able to fire a heavier anti-tank missile than older classes which was the equivalent of a cut down medium range missile. The Soviet military industry was having problems developing an effective liquid propellant weapons so the Soviet 14.5-mm heavy machine-gun was adopted for both the coaxial mount and the commander controlled machine-gun. Both were replaced by heavy rail guns in later service and crews of some tanks replacing the mounts with automatic grenade launchers.

Model Type: T-212UM1
Vehicle Type: Main Battle Tank
Crew: Three (Driver, Gunner, and Commander).

M.D.C. by Location:

	[1] Tractor Treads (2):	100 each
	[2] Weapons Turret:	225
	135-mm smooth-bore gun:	100
	[3] 14.5 mm Co-axial heavy machine-gun (Early Models):	30
	[3] 10 mm Co-axial Heavy Rail-Gun (Turret):	50
	[3] 14.5 mm Commander heavy machine-gun (Early Models):	30
	[3] 10 mm Commander Heavy Rail-Gun (Turret):	50
	[3] Automatic Grenade Launcher (Replaces Commander Mount):	40
	Multi-Option Jammers (2):	25
	[4] Main Body:	425

Notes:
[1] Depleting the M.D.C. of a tread will immobilize the tank until it is replaced. Replacing a tread will take 1D6x10 minutes by a trained crew (2 replacements are carried on board) or three times as long by the inexperienced. Changing the tread is only advisable when the vehicle is not under attack.
[2] The Weapons turret is unmanned by the crew, and can be destroyed without otherwise damaging the vehicle. This makes the tank very survivable, and it can retreat and have a new weapon's turret fitted relatively quickly.
[3] These are small and difficult targets to strike, requiring the attacker to make a “called shot,” but even then the attacker is -4 to strike.
[4] If all the M.D.C. of the main body is depleted, the vehicle is completely shut down and is unsalvageable.

Speed:
Ground: 55.9 mph (90 kph) maximum road speed; 43.5 mph (70 kph) off-road. The vehicle is designed to traverse virtually all terrain and can climb at up to a 60% grade although at a much slower speed (About 10% of maximum road speed). It can also climb barriers and ford trenches. The vehicle can also handle side slopes of up to 30%.
Underwater: Can be equipped with snorkel to run underwater down to 16.4 feet (5.0 meters)
Maximum Range: 497 miles (800 km) plus up to 217.5 miles (350 km) more with a large strap-on rear fuel tank that is ejected before going into battle.

Statistical Data:
Height: 7.15 feet (2.18 meters) to top of commander's cupola.
Width: 18.33 feet (3.59 meters)
Length: 28.9 feet (8.8 meters) not including gun barrel
Weight: 65 tons (59 metric tons).
Power Source: Gas Turbine Engine.
Cargo Capacity: Minimal, enough for equipment with crew
Black Market Cost: 3.5 million credits to build, usually double that to buy one today. If fitted, any extra weapons systems will add to the cost of the tank; T-212UM1s are usually found very heavily modified, though they are quite common. Tank crews often personalize them with their pay in the armies of the assorted warlords to be considerably different from these Soviet-Era specifications. T-212UM1s (Normally simply called "T-212s") still in the service of the New Sovietskiy, however, follow these specifications to the letter.

Weapon Systems:

135 mm Smooth Bore Cannon/Missile Launcher: Main gun of the tank and is mounted in the turret. The Russian leaders dropped hits of 130-mm, 135-mm, 140-mm, and 152 mm cannons but the reality was that the 135 mm cannon was a newly manufactured weapon which was developed for the T-212UM1. The T-212UM1 has a +2 to strike for the main gun using the laser targeting sight (not for the Anti-Tank Guided Munitions). The T-212UM1 can also fire the AT-22 ATGW through the 135 mm gun; Truly a multi-purpose weapon that is considerably effective against enemy armor and robots alike. It is also effective against aircraft in emergency. Plasma rounds are a late pre-Rifts innovation and are rare and expensive. The barrel fired missiles are the equivalent of medium range missiles with half the normal range.
Maximum Effective Range: Direct fire range is 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) and can fire indirectly out to 32,800 feet (10,000 meters). For range for missiles, use medium range missiles with half normal range. Most common missile warhead are armor piercing (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Mega-Damage: High Explosive: 2D4x10 with a blast radius of 25 ft. High Explosive Anti-Tank: 2D6x10+10, blast radius of 10 ft. Armor Piercing: 3D6x10. Armor Piercing Discarding Sabot: 3D6x10. Plasma: 3D6x10, blast radius of 30 ft. Mega-Damage for missiles is as per medium missile type; almost always Armor Piercing (See revised bomb and missile tables for details.)
Rate of Fire: Three times per melee.
Payload: 42 gun rounds; an additional round can be stored, ready to fire, in the main gun. Each special cut down medium range missile takes the space of two standard projectiles. Command load is 30 standard rounds and 6 missiles in magazine.
Bonuses: +2 to strike at all times with cannon shells from the laser sight; No penalties to fire when vehicle is moving. Projectiles have a +4 bonus for long range fire from the Quadrant sight, but only when the vehicle is not moving. No Bonuses for firing the AT-22 missile.
Top Weapon Mount (1): The tank has a spindle to mount a weapon on the top of the turret which is normally controlled by the commander of the tank. The weapon is designed for use against troops assaulting the tank and against aircraft. Originally the weapon carried was the 14.5 millimeter KPVT Heavy Machine-gun but the weapon was replaced by a variety of different weapons. The grenade launcher was the favorite replacement weapon by many vehicle crews. The mount was designed so that it can be controlled from within the turret so the commander would not be exposed to hostile fire.
1. 14.5 millimeter KPVT Heavy Machine-gun: While the Soviet military was able to replace the armor of the tank with stronger materials, initially there were no suitable heavy secondary weapons developed for the tank. As solution, the heavy 14.5 machine-gun, which is virtually a cannon, was adopted with new ammunition. Still, heavy rail guns were found to be more effective when it became available and the heavy machine-gun was replaced by a 10-mm heavy rail gun.
  Maximum Effective Range: 4,500 feet (1371.6 meters)
  Mega-Damage: Single shot does 1D6 and 40 round burst does 1D4x10.
  Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner (commander).
  Payload: 800 rounds (20 bursts).
2. ATR-50 Automatic Grenade Launcher: Weapon is very similar to the WI-GL21 Automatic Grenade Launcher produced by Wellington Industries and the American Automatic Grenade Launcher operated around the same time but uses a larger grenade and is heavier in design. Weapon was used in vehicles as well as being used in tripod mounts and used by power armors. Weapon can fire single shot or bursts of ten rounds and can inflict heavy damage when burst fired. Unlike the American design, the Soviet automatic grenade launcher only used belts. The tank normally mounted two belts together to increase number of rounds to 400 rounds. It is believed that the Soviets tank crews saw the effectiveness of the M1A5 equipped with this weapon so they decide to replace their heavy machine-gun with this weapon. This mount was never officially mounted on the tank but was very common none-the-less. This weapon remained very popular with tank crews and was not replaced in many of the tanks which carried it. Officially, all mounts were suppose to be replaced by the 10 mm Railgun.
  Maximum Effective Range: 3,000 feet (914 meters)
  Mega-Damage: 3D6 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 12 ft and 5D6 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 3 ft, burst of 10 rounds does 2D4x10 for Fragmentation with a blast area of 40 ft and 2D6x10 for Armor Piercing with a blast area of 8 ft. Other special rounds are available.
  Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner (commander) - Single Shot or Ten round bursts.
  Payload: 400 Round Double Belt.
3. 10 millimeter GSR-10 Heavy Railgun: The Soviet military was unable to make an effective liquid propellant weapon and instead developed, some say stole, a rail gun design for their existing vehicles. The mount was designed so that it can be controlled from within the turret.
  Maximum Effective Range: 4,920 feet (1,500 meters)
  Mega Damage: Single shot does 2D4 and 20 round burst does 1D6x10+10
  Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner
  Payload: 1,200 rounds (60 bursts).
Heavy Co-axial Mount (1): Weapon is Co-axially mounted with the main gun. The original mount is a heavy 14.5 mm machine-gun but was replaced with a powerful rail gun in later service. The main purpose of the weapon is for use against lightly armored vehicles.
1. 14.5 millimeter KPVT Heavy Machine-gun: While the Soviet military was able to replace the armor of the tank with stronger materials, initially there were no suitable heavy secondary weapons developed for the tank. As solution, the heavy 14.5 machine-gun, which is virtually a cannon, was adopted with new ammunition. Still, heavy rail guns were found to be more effective when it became available and the heavy machine-gun was replaced by a 10-mm heavy rail gun.
  Maximum Effective Range: 4,500 feet (1371.6 meters)
  Mega-Damage: Single shot does 1D6 and 40 round burst does 1D4x10.
  Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner (commander).
  Payload: 1600 rounds (40 bursts).
2. 10 millimeter GSR-10 Heavy Railgun: The Soviet military was unable to make an effective liquid propellant weapon and instead developed, some say stole, a rail gun design for their existing vehicles.
  Maximum Effective Range: 4,920 feet (1,500 meters)
  Mega Damage: Single shot does 2D4 and 20 round burst does 1D6x10+10
  Rate of Fire: Equal to combined hand to hand attacks of gunner
  Payload: 1,200 rounds (60 bursts).
Multi-Option “Shtora-8A” Jammers (2): These are multi-purpose jamming devices designed to stop incoming missiles and confuse an enemy targeting the T-212UM1
Effect: Each firing launches two Chaff rockets, two Flare rockets, and the tank begins emitting a large cloud of smoke, both standard and Anti-Laser Prismatic Aerosol; The Chaff rockets detonate and spread Chaff over the area, the flare rockets floating down by parachute; Effects last for one minute (4 Melee rounds.) The Chaff rockets have a 20% chance of interfering with the course of enemy missiles each (40%, total) that are radar guided so that they miss the tank. The flares have the same percentages, except with IR-guided missiles. The Anti-Laser prismatic aerosol reduces damage by half for any laser beam striking the tank (With the exception of X-ray lasers but not variable frequency lasers; X-Ray lasers suffer no damage modifiers, and variable frequency lasers simply cannot compensate for the variables involved), and adds a +4 difficulty to targeting the tank with a laser guidance system or visually.
Rate of Fire: Usually once every four melee rounds; Effects are not cumulative.
Maximum Effective Range: Around tank only; Rough distance of 80 ft (24 m) around tank.
Payload: Sufficient for twenty firings; One of each type of jamming option from each side of the vehicle.

Sensors:

Anti-Aircraft Radar: Range of 10 miles (16 km); Capable of tracking up to 10 targets simultaneously, this radar serves to guide the 10 mm Railgun in engaging aircraft (+2 to targeting aircraft and missiles with the 10 mm Railgun), and providing early warning of incoming aircraft and missile attacks; The radar can be programmed to shut off immediately if it detects an aircraft firing a missile, incase the missile is a radar-homing HARM type. The radar is highly ineffective against ground targets (-60% to sensor rolls.)
Quadrant sight for long-range targeting of Sabot rounds: +4 to firing the long-range Sabot rounds only, when the vehicle is not moving.
Data-interlink transmitters: For using targeting data from scout vehicles for firing the Anti-Tank missiles or Sabot rounds. Bonus varies on the quality of the data being provided, but all data would allow the tank to fire over obstacles if the scout vehicle is in the right position. The normal effective battlefield range is 5 miles (8 km).
Full Infrared viewing mode: Range of 2 miles (3.2 km), with IR searchlight (+3 to detecting targets with IR when in use, however, +3 to detecting the T-12UM1 with IR equipment when in use, as well.)
Two Periscopes: Has up to x100 magnification for commander and driver to view out of while maneuvering the vehicle. Visual targeting sight with same magnification possible for gunner.
Laser targeting system for main gun: range of 3,000 meters.

Special Notes:

Tank is fully NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protected, and all equipment is hardened against EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse).

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Initial Writeup by Marina O'Leary (LusankyaN@aol.com ).

Reformatted and Rewritten by Kitsune (E-Mail Kitsune).

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