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, Missiles and any other advancements in tank technology the Soviet Union has, this tank also repairs itself and is more than a match for any other ground unit.

Background
"The Apocalypse has begun!"

- Apocalypse tank



The Apocalypse Tank was the most powerful tank in Great World War III, mounting a pair of powerful forward facing cannons. These cannons were loaded with powerful explosive shells which were devastating against vehicles, capable of eliminating IFVs or other light vehicles with a single double volley. Against infantry, the weapons were 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 was much larger than Grizzly and Rhino tanks, the better for mounting a massive turret. The turret also featured a pair of missile launchers. Although these missile launchers were slow firing, they were more powerful against air targets than were the missiles found on IFVs, for example. This allowed the Apocalypse Tank to defend itself reasonably well against aerial threats, especially given its advanced heavy armor (only Battle Fortresses, Boomers and Kirovs had stronger armor). An on-board engineering crew allowed the Apocalypse tank to repair itself to half health. These tanks were also 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) and 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 advance heavy armor found on all Soviet tanks. In fact, if a Mirage tank happened to pop out of nowhere the Apocalypse tank cannons would already be facing the mirage tank. Shows how fast the onboard computer can track and target enemies. Making the Apocalypse Tank a technological marvel.

A large group of Apocalypse tanks can go completely without escort, as nothing short of mind control can break such a convoy, mainly due to the fact that nothing in the skies can get by all the missiles of the apocalypse tanks, and absolutely nothing on the ground can withstand more than a few salvos from the entire group.

But of course it was even better for the mighty tanks to have Flak Track, Terror Drone, and V3 escort. The V3s to eliminate the anti-tank base defenses, the Flak Tracks to bring in infantry to accompany the group and to help down aircraft, and the terror drones to eliminate infantry. The only real counter to such a group was to use a similar convoy of Master Minds, Gatling tanks, and Magnetrons, for Yuri, or with Battle Fortresses, Prism Tanks, and IFVs for the allies. The battle fortresses should have at least three guardian g.is, and if at all possible, Chrono Legionnaires, and the IFV's should have Guardian G.Is in them.

Unfortunately, there were still a number of drawbacks. First, the Apocalypse tanks were slow, though not nearly as slow as Kirov Airships. In fact, Apocalypse tank commanders often urged field commanders to 'be patient' when dealing with Apocalypse Tanks. The missiles themselves were also slow and were not especially suited to destroy the Allies' speedy Harriers. Lastly, like most tanks, the Apocalypse is average against infantry. But overall was the most effective tank.

Tactics and Counters
"It will soon be a wasteland!"

- Apocalypse Tank, advising a Soviet commander.

The best defense was a long range naval strike using Aircraft Carriers, Boomers or Dreadnoughts, which avoided the entire problem of dealing with the Apocalypse's firepower since they could hit from outside its range. Failing that, the next best option was a network of Prism Towers. Three prism towers and the resulting beam would be enough to destroy an Apocalypse tank in a single shot. Tanya with C4 (though only in Yuri's Revenge, in the normal game she couldn't use her C4 ability on vehicles) was also reasonably effective, as Apocalypse tanks were too slow to escape her. Guardian GIs were also reasonably effective. Apocalypse tanks are also susceptible to Chrono Legionnaires provided a team of them gets close enough without being killed in the process. Battle Fortresses, especially with Chrono Legionairers garrisoned in them, could easily defeat Apocalypse Tanks.

Deployment History
Apocalypse Tanks, or its prototypes, were known to have been 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 were first encountered in the Allied Campaign during the Operation Mirage (after there appearance they largely replaced the weaker Rhino Tanks), and played a large role in the defense of Moscow during Operation Chrono Storm. Romanov's Black Guards owned a few elite Apocalypse which they deployed around the Kremlin.

The tanks were also used in the war against Yuri with no changes made to them. However, after the Psychic Dominator Disaster, a new design was put into production.