Three designs from the late 1970s comprising tiers 8-10 could be implemented as a second American LT line in WoT. They would follow the T71 DA, which could be bumped back into the tech tree to facilitate their inclusion.
All vehicles would have 75 or 76mm guns and low alpha as a consequence. However, camo values would be above average across this line, while mobility would be acceptable for the tier 8-9 and excellent for the tier 10. As with other American lights, armor would be minimal.
A novel feature for the tier 9 and 10 would be the 75mm ARES cannon. This would perform similarly to existing high-round autoloaders, such as those on the T71 DA and AMX 13 57.
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Tier 8:
AAI RDF first version
Mobility: 65 kph, 14.8 tons, 350 hp (Detroit turbocharged diesel). ~ 23.64 hp/ton.
76mm M32. 175/210/38 pen and 150/150/260 damage.
1,219/975/975 shell velocity.
2.1 second aim time, .36 dispersion.
4-shot autoloader with 2 second intra-clip and 14.8 second reload would result in 1,690 base DPM and 600 burst damage.
390 meter view range, 16.7 base camo.
Arguably the plainest tank in the line, the first version of the RDF would have something similar to the Walker Bulldog’s 76mm, but in the form of a balanced autoloader. It would perform similarly to the Batchat 12t – better DPM at the expense of noticeably worse burst damage, mobility, and camo.
I would like for this tank to be more interesting, but for the sake of balance and not clearly outperforming either the Bulldog, T92 or BC12t, it would likely have to be fairly normal.
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Tier 9:
AAI RDF second version.
Mobility: 65 kph, 14.8 tons, 650 hp (Avco-Lycoming gas turbine engine). ~ 35.82 hp/ton.
75mm ARES. 235/276 pen and 170/170 damage. 1,463/1,463 shell velocity.
1.8 second aim time, .35 dispersion.
Pen would have to be considerably lower than in real life for balance, similar to how it is in War Thunder. Shell velocity remains exceptional, however.
6 round autoloader with 1.5 second intra-clip and 23.8 second reload would result in 1,894 base DPM and 1,020 burst.
390 meter view range and 16.9 base camo.
With above average pen and good gun handling, I would expect this vehicle to perform well as a combat scout. It would function as a higher tier, refined version of the T71 DA that is capable of passive and active scouting to a greater extent.
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Tier 10:
HSTV-L (without appliqué armor)
Mobility: 70 kph, 22 tons, 650 horsepower. ~ 29.5 hp/ton.
75mm ARES. 235/276 pen and 170/170 damage. 1,463/1,463 shell velocity.
1.5 second aim time, .33 dispersion.
6 round autoloader with 1 second intra-clip and 21.9 second reload would result in 2,193 DPM and 1,020 burst.
400 meter view range and 17.5 base camo.
While the autoloader’s round-count would remain the same as the previous tier, the HSTV-L would be able to get them out considerably faster with higher DPM and improved accuracy. This is closer to the final iteration of the ARES 75mm, which historically, fired one round every .85 seconds.
Couple this with a higher top speed (albeit lower acceleration), and we have a vehicle that could potentially be very fun and dangerous in flanking scenarios. The HSTV-L would essentially function as a high tier AMX 13 57, but its ARES autoloader would deal less damage tier for tier.
RDF Version 1
RDF Version 2
HSTV-L mockup without applique armor
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/WorldofTanks/comments/10hkilw/second_american_lt_line_proposal/
