T-64

As the Soviet Union invested more and more into armored technology it soon became apparent that a new platform would need to be developed to wield all of that fancy new tech. The result of that realization was the T-64, which was the first vehicle to be equipped with BDD armor, the Eastern equivalent of the famed Chobham composite armor.

In Team Yankee

The Stat Card

The T-64 is one of the best armored options for the prospective Red Army Commander.

First off the T-64 has the best protection of any Soviet Tank in Team Yankee. The front armor value of 17 is almost as good as state of the art NATO MBTs and the side armor of 9 will stand a decent chance of shrugging off auto cannon fire. In addition the T-64s BDD armor bumps the side armor up to 13 against HEAT warheads. What this means is that this Tank stands a decent chance of stopping 105mm shells from the front (SUCK IT YANKEES!) and light infantry anti-tank weapons, like the LAW, are simply incapable of penetrating the T-64. Though bigger weapons will still punch holes like its going out of style.

On the offensive, the T-64 wields the 125mm 2A46 gun, which is capable of firing ATGMs (Anti Tank Guided Missiles) in addition to conventional munitions. This boomstick has an AT value of 22 and a Fire Power Rating of 2+. Essentially, the T-64 can delete early model NATO tanks and can hammer Late model ones into submission with massed fire. Infantry also have something to fear as the Brutal rule will force them to reroll their successful saves. The down side is that it only has a ROF of 1 while moving and halted, though the Advanced Stabilizer rule does alleviate this a little by allowing you to move at full tactical speed without sacrificing accuracy.

One may wonder why you would ever use the missile, the AT-8 Songster, as the AT value is one less at 21 and the firepower drops off to 3+. The missile adds an extra foot if you are an imperialist cyka or an extra 40 centimeters if you are a good communist worker. It is also guided and mounts a HEAT warhead, essentially ignoring the penalties for firing at long range, turning the T-64 into a decent sniper. Equipping you tanks with the AT-8 will cost you an extra 2 points though. However this is just a flat rate, meaning that it will cost you the same amount if you are running a minimum squad or a full company, making it proportionally less expensive the more tanks you have.

Red Army Commanders may take T-64 Companies ranging in size from 3 tanks to 10, with an initial batch costing you a total of 16 points and every additional tank adding on 6 more, to a total of 55.

IRL

A Pair of Ukrainian T-64 Bulats

The more astute reader will probably notice that the T-64 is a lot more capable than the T-72, which was developed more recently. This is because the T-64 was designed to only be utilized by the Soviet Union while the T-72 was meant to be more of an export model. The Soviets were keenly aware of the fact that things that they sent to their allies had a nasty habit of ending up in the hands of someone who really shouldn't be getting their mitts on soviet hardware, Like the US as a completely random example. Hence the reds usually kept the best stuff to themselves.

To say that the T-64 is a great tank is a bit disingenuous. It was revolutionary although when the British showed off the Chieftan with its 120mm cannon the Soviets reworked the T-64 to have an auto-loader and 125mm cannon in production as the T-64A. It was the first tank to feature an auto loader, it was also the first tank to use composite armor. Of course its entire design was such a revolution that most had to have the people who made the tank drafted into service to maintain most of the systems. Currently the tank has several upgrades making it more capable, and it is being used in the Ukrainian civil war.