Superweapon (Red Alert)

The concept of a "Weapon of Mass Destruction" has been around for quite some time; however, only in the twentieth century did military technology progress to the point that weapons capable of instantly killing large groups of enemy personnel with little risk to the wielder were developed.

Typically, factions had two superweapons. The first was an purely offensive weapon intended simply to cause huge damage and were usually targetted at enemy bases to maximise effectiveness. The other tended to be a support weapon: relatively ineffective at directly causing damage and required more tactical use but highly potent when used correctly.

During the First Great World War, the development of poison gases allowed for mass destruction limited to human life. But the next war would develop more fantastic and devastating superweapons.

= Great World War II =

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
The Soviet Union developed the first superweapons during the conflict, Atomic bombs. Kosygin, the man in charge of the weapons project, defected and revealed the location of the Dark Horseman base, where the missiles were located. In a raid by Allied forces, the Soviets launched, however Tanya Adams infiltrated the base and deactivated the warheads. The Soviets also built the Iron Curtain, a device which would make a single unit on the battlefield invincible to harm. It was based on designs "borrowed" from Tesla.

Allies
The Allies began secretly developing the Chronosphere, a device designed by Einstein which would warp a single unit anywhere on the battlefield. Unfortunately, there were problems with the device; a unit would warp back to it's original location after a while; also, there was a small, but definite, possibility of damaging the fabric of spacetime, causing a Chrono Vortex. This led to research being shelved prior to the first tiberium war. In the alternate Red Alert Universe, this problem was solved and Chronospheres became an indispensable part of the Allied armament since.

= Great World War III =

Nuke
"Warning: Nuclear Silo detected!"

- Lt. Eva

The Soviet Union discreetly improved on it's nuclear missile designs, making the blast yield far more powerful. This allowed them to cause massive-scale destruction. Although commanders were only issued low-yield tactical nuclear warheads, some higher-ranking generals (like General Vladmir) had access to much powerful ones.

Iron Curtain
The Soviets also improved the Iron Curtain, allowing it to render multiple vehicles invincible for a short time or instantly kill scores of enemy infantry.

Weather Control Device
The Allies had, in the years after the war, begun development on nuclear weapons of their own. However, Yuri disabled the weapons in their silos when the war began. The Allies were left without an effective strategic weapon until Operation Chrono Storm, when Einstein granted them the plans of his Weather Control Device, which was utilized extensively against the Soviet defense installations.

Chronosphere
"Warning: Weather Control Device detected!"

- Lt. Zophia

The Chronosphere had been significantly improved, allowing for longer-distance travel, eliminating the Chrono Vortex, and transporting multiple vehicles. Although low-powered Chronospheres only teleported a small group of vehicles, the full-powered one at the Florida Keys was capable of sending entire battalions across the globe in an instant.

Psychic Dominator
"Warning: Psychic Dominator detected!"

- EVA

Yuri had developed unique WMDs of his own, and used them when his world domination bid unfolded. The Psychic Dominator is a direct improvement of his previous Amplifier design. Although they were destroyed before becoming fully operational, three full-powered Dominators operating in tandem could discharge a massive wave of psychic energy potentially capable of permanently twisting the minds of everyone on the planet into unquestionable loyalty to Yuri. Five were known to exist: the one in San Francisco was disabled then subsequently destroyed by the time travelling forces. Afterwards, the two forces went on their separate ways: the Soviet task force destroyed two in London and Transylvania, while the Allied force handled the one in Antartica. The one in Egypt was subsequently hijacked by the Allies when Einstein was forced by Yuri into helping him complete it; Einstein also sabotaged it, causing it to overload and explode.

Genetic Mutator
The Genetic Mutator was an even more terrifying weapon. If a tactical weapon that can turn entire companies of men into mutated freaks under Yuri's control doesn't prove he has gone nuts, nothing will. Fortunately, it was only deployed at the very end of the Disaster, after Yuri failed to blackmail Massivesoft Chairman Bing into completing the genetic software necessary for it's operation. Genetic Mutator

= World War III (3rd Iter) = "If that weapon fires, then I have no choice but to launch every weapon I have against the United States. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!!"

- Cherdenko, seeing the Mt. Rushmore superweapon

Psionic Decimator
The Empire has access to two superweapons, the Nanoswarm Hive and the Psionic Decimator.

Nanoswarm Hive
The Nanoswarm Hive performs a role similar to the Iron Curtain, whilst the Psionic Decimator creates an psi-energy bubble that bludgeons anything in its radius, similar to a hybrid of Yuri's Psi-Wave attack and the Allied Weather Control Device.

Proton Collider
Due to the removla of Einstein the weather control device was lost. Instead, FutureTech developed the Proton Collider as the Allies' latest strategic Superweapon.

Chronosphere
The Allies still use the Chronosphere despite Albert Einstein being removed from the timeline. Although it's inferior to its previous incarnation being unable to send as many. Still, it does not suffer from Chrono Vortices suggesting that this was solved prior to Einstein's assassination.

After the war, FutureTech also developed the Sigma Harmonizer.

Vacuum Imploder
Due to the damage to the timeline caused by Premier Cherdenko removing Albert Einstein from the timeline, the USSR lost their Nuclear arsenal. Instead, the Soviet Union has developed the deadly Vacuum Imploder. The Vacuum Imploder, when launched, sucks all vehicles, infantry, aircraft, and ships into a powerful vacuum that can also literally rip buildings apart.

Iron Curtain
The Soviet Iron Curtain can make all units and structures in an area invulnerable for a short period of time.

Other Near Superweapons/WMDs

 * Some destructive Top Secret Protocols are alternatives to Superweapons, only they are not as effective as Superweapons themselves. However, Commanders can access only to 10 out of 15 Top Secret Protocols.
 * Ackerman was planning to destroy Moscow with a superweapon hidden in the statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt's head at Mt. Rushmore.
 * The Shogun Executioner is also considered a superweapon due to its 3 huge blades.
 * Also Oleg wants to get revenge against Ackerman's Rushmore Superweapon and armed the Kirovs with 50 Megaton Bombs which will devastate a city. 50 Megaton Bombs were considered a superweapon due to its power. It is most likely that the Soviet 50 megaton bomb was a nuclear weapon (or vacuum alternative).
 * In the Last Red Blossom Trembled, Dr. Zelinsky tried to use a superweapon to protect Futuretech Lab from the Imperial attack.
 * In the Soviet Operation Science of War, where the Soviets capture a Allied science lab, they discovered the Allies are building a superweapon. This weapon could possibly have been an atomic bomb. However, an Engineer does give away the true orign of the Vacuum Imploder. He says "In theory, you could make a giant vacuum cleaner with this stuff.", proving that the Allies were designing, ironically, a Soviet Superweapon...

= Drawbacks = All superweapons have their drawbacks as it follows:
 * All superweapons were very expensive. Either between 2500 or 5000 credits.
 * All superweapons require large quantities power to function.
 * Requires a long time to recharge
 * The Allied Chronosphere and Soviet Iron Curtain were harmful to infantry.
 * Although this could be used offensively it was usually not worth wasting a shot of the superweapon to take out some infantry. The inablility to have teleported or invincible infantry is generally considered a disadvantage.


 * Once deployed, they are revealed on the map and require protection from enemies who invariably prioritise its destruction.
 * There's sometimes a slight delay between firing and the actual effect allowing fast units to escape.
 * Even if a super weapon fires they can be countered in a number of ways:
 * Force Shields are effective at protecting buildings from superweapon strikes.
 * A desperate or daring Allied commander may order his Chrono Legionnaires to target their own structures. This will protect them at the cost of the Legionnaire's life. However, "overprotection" of the structures will lead to their loss.
 * The Allied Chrono Rifts can protect units from even the most destructive weapons.
 * The Iron Curtain can be applied to building alowwing them to shrug off superweapons
 * The Imperial Nanoswarm Hive can protect anything in it's radius of effect.