Tank

A Tank is a heavily armored tracked vehicle carrying a powerful Cannon. Tanks are the strongest and most dangerous ground units. They are somewhat common as enemy units in ShackTac videos, but significantly rarer as friendly vehicles.

Tanks are clad in heavy armor which can easily ignore any type of Small Arms fire, as well as certain heavier Infantry weapons like Heavy Machine Guns, Hand Grenades and GPs. The frontal armor of a tank is its stronger part, sometimes capable of deflecting even Anti-Tank rockets and cannon shells. The sides and rear of a tank are somewhat lighter-armored and more vulnerable, but a powerful explosive or armor-piercing weapon is still required to penetrate them.

Tanks carry a powerful cannon, typically 100-125mm in diameter. This weapon primarily fires armor-piercing shells that can destroy any vehicle. Tanks typically carry 30 rounds of this ammunition, as well as an assortment of other shell types (esp. HEAT shells) that can be used against softer targets and infantry. In addition to this, all tanks are fitted with one or more machine guns (Medium, Heavy, or both) to effectively engage infantry and lighter vehicles without spending valuable cannon rounds.

In ShackTac, all tanks are operated by 3 crewmembers: A driver, a gunner, and a tank commander. Two tanks can be grouped together to form an Armor Section, allowing them to operate in support of one another. Four tanks (or a combination of tanks and IFVs) can be grouped together to form a Tank Platoon. In all tank groups, the commander of the first tank typically has authority over the others, allowing him to coordinate the unit's movement and operations. Two or more Tank Platoons grouped together form an Armored Company, although these have only rarely appeared in ShackTac videos. When coupled with Air assets and/or Artillery, they form an Armored Battalion.

By far the most common model of tank appearing in ShackTac videos is the Russian T-72 and its many variants, usually in the role of AI-controlled opponents. Second is the American M1A1, which is more commonly seen as a friendly, player-controlled vehicle. Many other models of tanks have appeared over the years as well, including the T-34, T-55, Leopard, Challenger, Merkava, and so on.

Shackers may sometimes call out any heavy tracked vehicle as a "Tank", including IFVs. While IFVs are not technically tanks, the exact distinction can often be irrelevant during battle, since IFVs often pose as much of a threat to ground units as tanks do, and require similar actions to defeat.

Specifications
The term "Tank" basically refers to any ground vehicle that matches the following criteria:
 * 1) It is tracked.
 * 2) It is heavily-armored, with its front armor capable of withstanding all but the heaviest weapons.
 * 3) It carries a Cannon.

While these criteria are sufficient to describe any tank model used in ShackTac, they are nevertheless ambiguous enough to include some vehicles that are not normally considered "tanks", including the BMP-3. Excluding such vehicles required introducing additional criteria that could potentially also exclude certain tank models from the category altogether:


 * Its cannon has a diameter of around 100-125mm (excludes any WW2-era tank).
 * Its cannon is mounted on a rotating turret (excludes the STRV 103).
 * Its front armor can reliably withstand one or more hits from Light Anti-Tank rockets (excludes any WW2-era tank).
 * It cannot carry any troops (excludes the Merkava).

As a result, these extra criteria are often ignored outside expert conversation, and normally within ShackTac.

Models
ShackTac videos have featured a variety of different tank models over the years. Due to the evolution of the tank over the 20th century, each model may have significantly different capabilities and specifications relative to the others - but they all serve a similar function on the battlefield.

By far the most common model of tank appearing in ShackTac videos is the T-72 and its many variants. This is the mainstay tank of OPFOR, and is almost exclusively encountered as an AI-controlled opponent vehicle. The T-90, a modernized version of the T-72, has also appeared in a few videos, but is so difficult to distinguish from a T-72 in practical terms.

On the BLUFOR side, the M1A1 Abrams tank (and its variants) is the most common. It is also the most common player-controlled tank variant, only rarely seen as an opponent vehicle. These tanks have appeared in several Armored Battalion videos, but also occasionally appear as single tanks or in pairs.

Other common Russian tanks include the T-55 and T-64, which have so far appeared only as AI opponents. The T-34 has also appeared several times, especially in low-tech scenarios or as an early-mission threat that's easier to destroy but heralds the arrival of heavier tanks to follow.

European tanks like the German Leopard and British Challenger have also appeared as player-controlled vehicles in ShackTac videos around 2018, although they are significantly rarer as of the time of writing. These have similar characteristics and performance to the M1A1. Similarly, the Israeli Merkava (using the ArmA 3 "M2A1 Slammer" model) has made at least one appearance.

Organization
Since most ShackTac videos are Infantry-focused, tanks are most commonly used in small numbers, providing heavy fire against expected enemy armored threats and generally escorting the infantry as they move. In this setup a tank (or a pair of tanks) is subordinated directly to an Infantry Platoon, similar to how IFVs are employed.

Four tanks grouped together under a single Callsign form a Tank Platoon. The Commander of the first tank in the group also serves as the Tank Platoon Leader, and hold some authority over the behavior and actions of the other tanks. A Tank Platoon can be used either to support an Infantry Company or as an element in a much larger tank force called an Armored Company.

Infantry Companies with tank support appeared in a few videos particularly during the ArmA 2 era. In this setup a single Tank Platoon is subordinated directly to the Infantry Company Commander. Having four tanks at his disposal allows the Company Commander to alternate between tactics: Using the Tank Platoon as a singular powerful force to punch through enemy lines or deflect a large armored assault; Or splitting the tanks into pairs and sending them to assist individual Infantry Platoons.

Alternatively, two or more Tank Platoons can be combined to form an Armored Company, as seen in a few videos particularly during the ArmA 3 era. Tank Platoons in this setup may sometimes be comprised of a mixture of Tanks and IFVs. An Armored Company typically contains no combat infantrymen, allowing all 8+ tanks to act as a large mobile group. The Armored Company is then subordinated to an Armored Battalion, which serves to coordinate between the tanks and their logistics, engineering, and air support units.

The Callsigns of various tank groups may vary greatly depending on which of the above setups (or any alternative setup) is featured, as well as the Side being played. The most common "support tank" callsigns are Tango, Hammer, and Bear. In an Armored Company, the callsigns used are more akin to those used in an Infantry Platoon, e.g. "Alpha", "Bravo", "Charlie".

Notable Appearances
Enemy tanks appear on a regular basis in ShackTac videos as the "ultimate" enemy unit, and mentioning their appearance is not required.

On the other hand, friendly tanks are significantly rarer. Please add below any instances of friendly tanks (and particularly groups of tanks) appearing in ShackTac videos.


 * Protvino Hold'em (multiple videos available): An M1A1 Tank Platoon subordinated to an Infantry Company, but operating completely separately from it. This platoon has the callsign "Tango". The platoon has its own FAC to coordinate with a Harrier jet for support, and is commanded by a Company XO to coordinate with the rest of the force. At least 4 different videos are available of this mission from the Armor's perspective, including Tank Commander (Stewe), Gunner (ChrisJSY and Crisis), and FAC (Dslyecxi).
 *  by Dslyecxi: A rare case of Adversarial armor vs. armor. Each Side only has two tanks, alongside Infantry forces. Due to the adversarial nature of the mission, the tanks are given significant autonomy, and do not act as a group.
 *  by Dslyecxi: Features two Tank Platoons of T-72s, operating almost separately from one another over a large area. Both platoons are subordinated to a Company which also contains an Infantry component. Both platoons have the callsign "Bear", followed by a numeric qualifier.
 *  by Dslyecxi: The first appearance of an Armored Battalion in ShackTac. Features a 3-platoon Armored Company comprised entirely of M1A1 tanks along with air support (Dslyecxi plays FAC).
 *  by Dslyecxi: An Armored Company of M1A1s. Each Platoon has a NATO Alphabet callsign (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie). This Company does not appear to be subordinated to an Armored Battalion, and has no air support.
 *  by Dslyecxi: A mixed Tank Platoon (containing M1A1 tanks and Bradleys) supporting an Infantry Platoon assault on an airbase. The platoon uses the callsign "Hammer". A second tank platoon using the callsign "Anvil" is described in the Briefing Text, but does not appear in the mission.
 *  by Dslyecxi: (One of) the first appearances of a Merkava platoon. It has the callsign "Tango", and provides general fire support to the infantry. At one point, the infantry load into the Merkava for transport, showcasing this tank's unique capability.
 *  by Dslyecxi: An OPFOR Infantry Platoon supported by a pair of Sprut light tanks, using the callsign "Spartak" 1 and 2. The tanks provide fire support, and are not grouped together. The AI Side is British, featuring a few Challenger tanks.