OT-65A Vydra

## Crew

* Commander
* Driver
* Gunner/Loader

The **OT-65A Vydra** is a Tier 3 progression Armored Fighting Vehicle under Zhang Feng's dealership.

## History

Class: Reconnaissance Vehicle

Developed: 1963-1965

Service: 1965-1990

Vehicles Built: 842

Operators: Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria

Following the failure of the OA-82 Jarmila II development, the Czechoslovak army was in the early 1960s looking for a new, multi-role armored fighting vehicle. The only realistic variant, apart from the Soviet BRDM, which wasn't available due to limited production capacity, was the Hungarian FÚG. The D.442 FÚG (Felderítö Úszó Gépkocsi – "Amphibious Recon Vehicle") was a light multirole Hungarian armored vehicle loosely based on the Soviet BRDM-1, developed and produced by the Rába plant as a reaction to the Soviet demand that Warsaw Pact countries should develop light armored vehicles for themselves to replace the aging BA-64. The second reason for its development was the revival of the Hungarian military industry.

It wasn’t exactly the best light AFV in existence but the Czechoslovaks chose it due to the fact that the Soviet BRDM was not available for capacity reasons. The vehicle entered Czechoslovak service in September 1965 under the designation OT-65. Between 1963 and 1967, 842 OT-65 vehicles were imported, including the unmodified early production run vehicles. In 1967, the early production vehicles were taken to VOZ 026 military repair plant in Šternberk and refitted to an upgraded standard. Several variants existed with the most interesting one being the OT-65A Vydra ("Otter"), fitted with a small turret (originally belonging to OT-62B TOPAS APC) with one 82mm T21 Tarasnice recoilless gun installed on its side.

In Czechoslovak service, the OT-65A gained a bad reputation, especially for its poor reliability (something the extra weight of the turret definitely did not help). The biggest issues concerned the engine and electric devices, which were constantly failing. For this reason, maintenance crews nicknamed the vehicle "Hungarian Revenge". Its three decades in Czechoslovak service were quite uneventful. It was phased out of service soon after 1990.

## Vehicle Traits

* Harder to Spot: When moving slowly, this vehicle does not lose any camouflage and can effectively creep around.
* Recon Package: This vehicle's set of advanced optics provides an improved vision range when stationary.
* Smoke Generators: This vehicle generates smoke all around it and lays down smoke cover by driving forward.
* Amphibious: This vehicle is more resistant to taking on water, allowing it to traverse wider rivers or lakes.

## Upgrades

### Armor

OT-65A Vydra Stock Armor
 This vehicle's light armor offers basic protection from autocannons and machineguns.

### Weapon

**Stats:**

* **Depression/Elevation**: -10.0° / 20.0°

## Footnotes

1. ↑ 18 mm at 100m;
9 mm at 1000m

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