Apocalypse tank (Red Alert 2)

"It is day of judgement!"

- Overhead from the Operator of the Apocalypse tank

The successor of the old Soviet, the Apocalypse Tank is a force to be reckoned with. Featuring twin barrels, anti-air missiles, self repair, and any other advancements in tank technology the Soviet Union has, this tank is more than a match for any other ground unit.

Background
"The Apocalypse has begun!"

- Apocalypse tank

The Apocalypse tank is the most powerful tank in Great World War III, mounting a pair of powerful forward facing cannons. These cannons are loaded with powerful explosive shells which are devastating against vehicles, capable of eliminating IFVs or other light vehicles with a single volley. Against infantry, the weapons are less effective, but the explosives would still cause some damage. Lt. Zofia once described them as 'War in a Can'. Like the earlier Mammoth Tanks, the Apocalypse was designed to meet any opposition and expected to be the last unit standing.

The tank itself is much larger than Grizzly and Rhino tanks, for mounting a massive turret. The turret also features a pair of anti-air missile launchers. Although these missile launchers are slow firing, they were more powerful against air targets than were the missiles found on IFVs. This allows the Apocalypse tank to defend itself reasonably well against aerial threats, especially with its advanced heavy armor (only Battle Fortresses, Boomers and Kirovs hav stronger armor). An on-board engineering crew also allows the Apocalypse tank to repair itself to half its total health.

These tanks were equipped with ingenious hybrid nuclear-diesel engines (these engines reduced the sound of the Apocalypse dramatically allowing them to have a little amount of stealth despite their enormous size), advanced all-terrain treads for greater movement (they would have been slower if not for them), state of the art tracking and targeting systems, and advanced heavy armor found on all Soviet tanks. If a Mirage tank happens to pop out of nowhere the Apocalypse tank cannons would already be aimed at it. This is an excellent example of how fast the onboard computer can track and target enemies (the tracking, aiming, and firing speed were also helped significantly by the Apocalypse Tank's high turret rotation speed).

Deployment History

 * Apocalypse Tanks, or its prototypes, are deployed during the initial Invasion of the United States (several were seen in San Francisco when the Allies traveled back in time to stop Yuri).
 * Apocalypse Tanks are first encountered in the Allied Campaign during the Operation Mirage
 * Romanov's Black Guards owns four Elite Apocalypse which they deployed around the Kremlin. However, these apocalypse tanks had longer range, were faster, had more armor, more firepower, and a higher rate of fire than any other elite apocalypse tank, even ones that had acquired the armor, speed, and firepower crate upgrades.

Trivia

 * Although the opening to Red Alert 2 depicts Apocalypse Tanks driving into Texas, they aren't encountered in any missions in the Allied campaign set in America. In addition, the game's cutscenes depict the tanks as black, while in the actual game they're brown.
 * Photographs of GWWIII generation Apocalypse tanks were found displayed on the walls of a museum within the first Cairo Temple of Nod in the First Tiberium War, suggesting that the Brotherhood may have been aware of them or involved in their development at some point, possibly relating to their former activities in the USSR.
 * Apocalypse Tanks appear on a loading screen inside C&C Generals. This screen only appears in-game if no videos are found while loading. You can also extract this image with the appropriate editing tools.