In Scorched Earth, the Soviet side has modernized by extending proven technologies. Unlike modern tanks we see today, the Soviet tanks are largely still using the cast "bathtub" designs, but on a higher level of shape control, and better alloys. This yields a very heavy, but a very durable chassis in most cases.
This philosophy then translates to how the units operate, what their favoured missions are, and what roles they can ultimately fill. As a rule, blitzkriegs will be anything but blitzy, more like a tidal wave of increasingly monstrous units. Attacks need to be well planned, and well timed. Rushing an Allied base that's ready for the assault will probably turn out poorly.
Conversely, if the enemy dares to engage in an open field, or duel at a choke point, a conventional battle will be more favourable to the Soviets. The staple Rhino Tank is a much tougher adversary than most of the higher tier tanks available to even the Germans, they are just lacking in firepower. If we could say the Soviets have a specialty, it's durability, and it's important to leverage that.
Also in an attempt to be more flexible, the Soviet countries have all developed their own unconventional weaponry, and especially, mass destruction weaponry. Iraq has turned to biological and chemical weapons, perhaps to be terrifying, perhaps because it's relatively good bang for the buck. Libya has focused on radiation technologies, as masters of living in a wasteland, they aren't overly concerned with the consequences. Cuba has decided to eschew fighting dirty, to fighting more of a guerrilla war, with lighter and faster units.
Russia, drawing on it's vast resources, has continued to advance along the existing path, opting for larger and more powerful adaptations of the core Soviet technologies. Pioneering advancements is expensive, and it's not something all the countries are able to do, but all their designs filter down to the other countries eventually. Until then, the Russians will always have first crack at some truly devastating toys.
In the meantime, those old Soviet conventional missiles and rockets have been upgraded, range and destructive potential are enhanced significantly. It would be wise for any enemy of the Soviet Empire to ensure adequate air defenses. Likewise no Soviet assault would be complete without them.
New Soviet units:
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New vehicles: Light Tank
New aircraft: Mig (except Cuba), Halo Transport, Tesla Orb
Light Tanks are a rarity in the Soviet world, with the move towards heavily armed, heavily armored mechanized units, the Light Tanks are one of the few fast units. Not terribly good against anything in particular. They make great scouts, and are good for going after harvesters, or specifically rushing to kill higher tier units, such as Prism Tanks. They can also be effective for drawing away enough units from a confrontation to allow more powerful units time to get in range.
Migs are the Soviet answer to the Falcon, reasonably good against vehicles in pairs, they are not very effective against factories. They should be used to clear out any defensive structures, with their relatively low cost, losing some shouldn't hurt. Their maneuverability and speed will often allow them to hit targets where more powerful jets couldn't.
The Halo is a weaponless troop transport helicopter, it can deliver a larger payload than a Nighthawk, and can take a beating. Use them to deploy sneak infantry attacks, or transport Engineers to capture tech buildings where otherwise difficult.
Tesla Orbs are perhaps the most entertaining units, with their Kirov derived space frames, they can hover and slowly maneuver above their targets, zapping them with lightning. They are similar in role to the Allied Rocketeer, with the advantage of more armor, and a more effective weapon. They have a mind of their own sometimes, and when in guard mode they will stupidly follow targets they can't reach, but otherwise they are excellent support units in groups.
Russia:
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New vehicles: Chimaera Tank-killer, Katyusha
New vessels: Tesla Ship, Typhoon Missile Sub
New aircraft: Sukhoi
The Chimaera is Russia's take on a Tank Destroyer, not as long range as the German model, so it is less of a sniper, and more of a brawler. As with all Soviet mechanized units, they are very well armored, but due to their lack of turret, their firing pattern makes them vulnerable when facing too many enemies.
The Katyusha is Russia's inexpensive unguided rocket launcher system. The rockets aren't very powerful, but when a few of these accompany a main force of heavy tanks, they can be a good aid to destroying attackers or enemy structures. One of their best uses is to destroy enemy occupied civilian structures from a safe distance. Don't forget to get them to full veterancy level, they won't miss so often.
The Tesla Ship is mainly a ship-to-ship combat vessel, although it offers an effective short-range coastal attack. With a unique catamaran hull design, it has good speed and maneuverability, in some ways this makes it superior the land based Tesla Tank which the technology is derived from.
The Typhoon is in a class of its own. A giant submarine, featuring many torpedo tubes, it can hold it's own in naval warfare, though not when using it's ballistic missiles. The ballistic missile launcher can reach well inland, and is always a serious threat in a water dominated theater of war. Unfortunately, it has to keep a fairly active sonar to maneuver, and this can make it easily discoverable if loitering in one spot for too long.
The Sukhois are Russia's latest and greatest aircraft, which their Soviet comrades haven't yet received. They are fast and powerful, equivalent to the highest tier Allied aircraft, though in competition to be fastest. As with other higher tier units, they should be used when they can count. While they have much improved survivability over the workhorse Mig, for sacrificial missions, the Migs offer a much more economical option. Sukhois should be reserved for high value targets, or launched in combination attacks.
Cuba:
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New vehicles: Gatling Tank, Diablo Missile Launcher, Urutu Transport, Technical
New vessels: Naval Terrorist
New aircraft: Mozquito
The Diablo is Cuba's land based Dreadnought, capable of launching missiles from a safe distance from danger, they make good alternatives to V3 launchers. The lower altitude flights of the guided missiles makes them a smaller target for Patriot batteries to shoot down, but against a Soviet country, they are best used against structures near the periphery of a base.
The Gatling Tanks are Cuba's preferred use of the Light Tank chassis. They are quick enough to launch hit-n-run strikes against specific targets, or as reserve units near a base for extra anti-personnel firepower. They could be more reasonably classed as Cuba's more well-rounded medium tank.
The Urutu is a heavily armored APC with a light cannon. It is not a slow unit, and will keep up with most of the faster tanks. Its increased survivability over a Flak-Track makes it attractive, great for unloading a bunch of terrorists where the enemy least wants them. The equipped cannon will not target infantry, and is generally ineffective against buildings.
Where the Urutu provides personnel carrying capacity, the Technical provides the anti-air weaponry, together they make up for the fact that Cuba has lost access to Flak-Tracks. They are comparatively inexpensive, and while they are less effective, the cost savings will allow more to be built, more than making up for that. They aren't superb against paratroopers, or other soft targets, but will absolutely shred Tesla Orbs and their aim gets a lot better when they reach full veterancy.
The Naval Terrorist is Cuba using manpower in the place of armored vehicles again. Loading a ton of explosives onto a light watercraft, zipping through hostile waters, and blasting holes in large ships is what they are good for. Being so inexpensive, a factory target near an enemy fleet can be set, and a bunch of these Terrorists can be queued for repetitive bombing. Just don't get too close to the shore.
Iraq:
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New vehicles: Chemical Tank, Scud Missile Launcher, Havoc Tank
New vessels: Giant Squid
The Chemical tank is an acid spraying reworking of a medium tank chassis. Good against groups of infantry, it's only mildly effective against everything else, except they also tend to be a little explosive.
Scud Launchers fire a chemical cluster missile, that can effectively wipe out groups of infantry, and do a lot of collateral damage when fired haphazardly into enemy bases. Targeting slow-moving objects is not a problem when there's a nice blast radius of small explosions.
The Havoc is a seismic disruptor, great for leveling buildings, and not much else. Deploying a powerful shockwave, by launching a magnetically assisted impactor into the ground, it can demolish even the largest structures when close enough. They are based on the Apocalypse chassis, and their armor is therefore comparable, though they have no other weaponry to fend off threats. The shockwave is ineffective against units, and weak against base defenses.
The Giant Squid has moved to Iraq, as the theme here is biological/chemical weapons. They have received a small speed upgrade, and while they are not very lethal relative to the increased hull strengths of vessels, they are difficult to hit when on the move. This means keeping bunches of Squid around on guard duty can terrorize any enemy navy, and sink many multiples of their cost in enemy ships. They won't win a war, but they can nullify even the strongest armada.
Libya:
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New infantry: Desolator
New vehicles: Desert Defender Tank
New aircraft: Sand Viper, Sub Hunter
Libya has taken over all the radiation weaponry with the Desolator and Demo Truck. The only significant change is that radiation has a much reduced effect against mechanized units and most buildings, with an increased effect against base defenses.
The Defender Tanks are Libya's equivalent of the Abrahms, with a twist. They are more heavily armored than the Rhino, and a little faster, with a new long range cannon firing radioactive shells. This makes them just that much more effective in mixed combat, where there are enemy troops as well as tanks to hit. A good alternative to the Apocalypse, however it lacks the self-sufficiency of having anti-air missiles.
Sand Vipers are home-grown Libya's answer to the various Allied figher-bombers. Relatively quick and tough, they drop more powerful bombs than many low-tier aircraft on either side. The advantage a Mig has over a bomber, is the ability to fire their missile and get out of harms way, but you would need an entire fleet of them to deal the same kind of damage as a few Vipers.
The Sub Hunter is Libya's solution to a lack of specialized navy. Primarily an attack unit, it drops charges effective against surface ships and submarines alike. Being a helicopter it also has a direct route to reinforce hot spots, and can easily shift between isolated bodies of water, making it ideal for ambushing fleets with inadequate anti-aircraft support. Note that only landing on a coast will enable the detection of cloaked submarines, once in the air this is no longer available.
