Kirov Airship (RA Universe)

Kirov Airships were large bomb carrying blimps built by the Soviets during Great World War III.

History
Probably named after one of the Bolshevik revolutionaries, Sergei Kirov, these airships were first seen when the Soviet Union mobilized their forces to attack the United States in 1972. They played a vital role in all of the Soviet invasions, spearheading the assaults on New York and San Francisco.

Usage
Kirovs were used to bomb enemy bases and to a lesser extent, vehicles and infantry. They were equipped with a number of propellers which helped them to move under their own power, rather than being prey to the wind, but even so, were abysmally slow. Soviet engineers attempted to compensate by creating a heavily armored blimp, so heavily armored that it would take dozens of missiles to bring down, while a regular plane could be eliminated in three or four. This made it extremely powerful against bases. Once the unit actually arrived at the base, the heavy bombs it dropped were extremely effective against all structures and any groups of infantry: Once over a structure, a Kirov could eliminate even a command center within seconds, and slaughter groups of infantry with a single bomb. Its armor even helped to defend it against Patriot missiles.

Counters
IFVs and other mobile rocket units were very effective in hunting Kirovs: Their slow speed meant that they could not engage any vehicles, and also allowed the vehicle to take potshot after potshot at the Kirovs as they spent the very long distance travelling to the enemy base. One possible counter to this tactic was the deployment of heavy units such as Apocalypse Tanks to cover the Kirovs' approach.