Mirage tank (Red Alert 2)

"C'était fatal!"
 * Mirage Tank firing Spectrum Guns

The Mirage Tank is the Allies best anti Surface assassin which cause severe damage if used carefully.

In the newest conflict against Japan the Mirage Tank was a feared anti surface assassin

Red Alert 2/Yuris Revenge
"Nobody here but us trees."
 * Mirage Tank

The Mirage Tank was a technological marvel and tank of the Allies developed by Albert Einstein. It was developed relatively late in the war, and incorporated holographic projection technology in order to disguise itself. Einstein designed this feature so that it could be used for ambushes. Like in Shakespeare's Macbeth, the mirage tank was designed so that the forest could move.

The Mirage consisted of a hemispherical turret mounted on a light tank chassis. The most prominent features, when not in hiding, were the twin projection units extending from the sides of the main turret.

The most important fact about Mirage tanks is that they would appear to be trees to enemy troops. They could take out enemies much like a sniper would, using incendiary ammunition.

It could kill almost all infantry, Soviet or Yuri, in just one or two hits. It could also take out most tanks in between three and five shots, and light vehicles like the Flak track did not stand much of a chance against the Mirage tank. However, its best use was as a defender of vulnerable areas, as a group of them could lie in wait and then quickly destroy nearby enemies. Their first appearance was in the third to last mission of the Allied Campaign, when the player has to defend Einstein's Laboratory and Chronosphere.

Having light armour, several Rhino tanks or other Soviet heavy vehicles could make short work of a Mirage tank. Furthermore, the Mirage Tank had no defence against air units. In addition, its very own strength is its Achilles' heel, especially in urban combat. Many careless Allied commanders ordered their tanks onto terrain where "no trees could ever have gone." Soviet commanders often laugh their heads off upon seeing trees in the middle of an asphalt road and simply destroy them with artillery or aircraft.

However, the need to force-fire on the position in order to hit the tank ensures that the Mirage Tank always gets the first shot off unless it's position is correctly guessed by the enemy. Enemy units would not automatically attack the mirage tank unless they see it move into position just before it attacks.

Red Alert 3


"How bad we are hit?!"
 * Mirage Tank

During World war III, the Mirage tank was modified to produce a stealth field (aka a 'gap'), much more advanced than the original's holographic projection technology. The new version of the Mirage Tank is an advanced vehicle of the Allied Forces. The versatile tank can disguise itself as an enemy vehicle and the onboard Dulamp FT-70 gap generator's energy bubble can be inverted to hide any Allied unit within, but at the same time leaving the Mirage Tank visible and unable to fire it's weapon.

In RA3 the Mirage Tanks have a Spectrum-Dispersion cannon, it's function is identical to the prism tanks (which are absent in the game due to the elimination of Einstein), but has a much, much shorter range. It is based on L.A.S.E.R technology, very similar to Prism technology of the previous war. It is said to be based on a French tank chassis and weapon system, but was then further developed by the FutureTech company (also responsible for the Cryocopter). It does not have a turret and must rotate it's whole chassis to target and enemy unit.

The new Mirage Tank features new reactive camoscanners, which actively scan the Mirage Tank's background and then disguise the tank as a suitable object (ie. no more trees on roads) such as a lamp post, a milk truck or a tree, depending on it's surroundings. As in the original Mirage Tank, stealth is it's main defense. It's light Chobham armour is not suited to withstanding engagements with heavier tanks, although it was seen surviving the Apocalypse Tank cannons.

Also scout units like Dogs, Bears and Burst Drones were effective on detecting Mirage Tanks.



Usage
"You now have access to Mirage Tanks. Our Mirage Tank Assault Forces have been Stationed here All Along."
 * Advisor

In GWWIII it protected Einsteins Lab and ambushed the local Soviet invasion on Germany and won.

In WWIII its Spectrum was lethal to infantry compared to the Apocalypse Tank and the King Oni.

In the Imperial Campaign when the Black Tortoise invades LA a Mirage Tank ambushed the Imperials but was destroyed protecting the allies. It failed to protect the Allies at Yokohoma and Amsterdam much due to Rocket angels and the King Onis bull rush allows the King Oni to smash through the battalions of Mirage Tanks.

At the scene of the Mt. Rushmore Superweapon Disaster, 6 Mirage Tanks were hiding the entire time before Tanya arrived and shut down the Superweapon - they showed no mercy to President Ackerman for his attempted assault on Moscow by Spectruming his limosine when he was escaping.

At Havana, Giles demonstrated the Soviet's stupidity by disguising the Mirage Tanks as an Apocalypse tank and the USSR easily mistaken the Mirage for one of theirs. It was Destroyed after leveling a small base near the Sports arenas.

At the final Siege of Leningrad near the end of WWIII, 5 Mirage Tanks teleported in after the tiny MCVs were deployed and those tanks were powerful against even Apocalypse Tanks. They decimated the Soviets off the Plateau and finally got repaired to assault the Iron Curtains.

Features
"Bonjour, Commander!"
 * WWIII era Mirage Tank, greeting the commander

Battlefield reconnaissance has revealed at least these facts about the Mirage Tank:

• The spectrum cannon -- This extremely powerful weapon uses a tightly-focused packet of high-energy photons to cut through any known substance, while a fraction of the energy naturally reflects onto nearby targets, damaging them in turn. The short range of the weapon is its only real limitation.

• Camouflage on the prowl -- When not in motion, Mirage Tanks automatically assume the form of mundane objects in the environment, which can lead enemy forces into making dangerous mistakes. While camouflaged, Mirage Tank commanders are under order to remain still unless given specific orders to attack or general clearance to attack enemies on sight.

• Mind the gap generator -- A single Mirage Tank can conceal a large number of Allied units nearby using the gap generator, which is extremely useful for transporting high-value forces while keeping the enemy guessing. For example, Athena Cannons and Multigunner IFVs are often known to work in concert with gap-generating Mirage Tanks.

• Some restrictions apply -- As much as the Mirage Tank can be considered a saving grace of an Allied military faced with the near-impossible task of defending against Soviet heavy armor, it does have a few specific limitations, including a fairly high cost and a vulnerability to enemy aircraft. Fortunately, Mirage Tanks are well-equipped to support other Allied forces that can offset these shortcomings.

Behind the scenes
"Its time to play our hand!"
 * Mirage Tank

The Mirage Tank is similar to the nod Stealth Tank, both use camouflage technology and are good ambush weapons. However, a critical difference is that the Mirage Tank is NOT stealthed while moving and can be attacked like any other vehicle.

It is also similar to the Prism Tank, due to it's Spectrum Dispersion Cannon (similar to the Prism Beam, but somewhat less powerful and far less range) and it can hit multiple targets at once (Though to a lesser degree as compared to the Prism Tank).

When the Mirage tank cloaks multiple units and not itself, it is similar to Nod's Disruption Towers.