Sickle

"Let's mow some people down!"

- Sickle

The KDB-5 Sickle is USSR's basic anti-infantry vehicle in Red Alert 3.

Background
"Keep shooting, comrades!"

- Sickle, attacking

Originally designed as a police vehicle for use in fringe-republics noted for their "heightened" risk of revolt, the Soviet Union's KDB-5 Sickle has a compact form factor, four durable steel stilt-legs, and three articulated gunnery positions that make it ideal for urban operations and crowd control. It exceeded expectations in its original role of riot support, becoming a mainstay in Soviet mechanized armor divisions while escalating the Ukraine's Kazminov Design Bureau to the upper echelons of the Soviet Union's weapons manufacturers.

The Sickle's three turrets are capable of swiveling 130 degrees, and are positioned to allow the unit engage multiple targets at once. However, as a result, the unit is unable to target all three guns on a single target. Additionally, the guns cannot target aircraft, fueling speculation that the KDB intentionally designed this flaw to ensure that the Soviet Military would also adopt the Bullfrog.

The Sickle is also capable of jumping on great distances, allowing it access to areas that wheeled or tracked vehicles cannot reach. This unique ability has proved useful in ambushing unsuspecting enemies before they have time to counter. In response to Sickle crews using this ability for recreation, the military command passed strict limitations on the use of this ability.

Despite it's innovative nature, the Sickle is cost effective, due to the inexpensive alloy it is made from. This inexpensiveness comes at the cost of durability, as it can easily be counteracted by tanks and anti-armor weaponry. Sickle crews have also been noted to display increased sadistic or self-damaging behavior compared to their comrades. The Sickle's spiderlike appearance is likely gleaned from the Terror Drone, an earlier scouting drone developed by Kazminov's rival: Sversky Robot Works.

In the Soviet Campaign, the Sickles were first deployed to assist Natasha in retaking the Krasna-45 Launch Facility.

Today, in the Uprising, the image of one such Anti-Personnel Walker personified as a very sad-looking and bruised ice hockey player, with tears in its eyes and with one of its legs in a cast, became iconic, paired with a Soviet postwar saying, translated to "Hey, we tried." The Sickle, recently, is supplemented by its older prototype, the reaper.

Notes from the field
"OH YEAH!!"

- Sickle, utilizing the Flea Jump

Battlefield reconnaissance has revealed at least these facts about the Sickle:

• Fully covered -- Each Sickle has three heavy machine guns, each covering a 130-degree firing arc around the vehicle. Sickles may effectively fire while moving and can engage multiple independent targets, but cannot bring their full force to bear on any one target.

• Cannot attack aircraft -- While Sickles have an unparalleled ability to attack in any direction around them, their turrets cannot swivel vertically far enough to engage enemy aircraft. Speculation that KDB purposely designed this limitation to ensure that both its Sickles and its KDB-2 Bullfrogs get purchased in bulk is patently false.

• Flea-jumping -- The "flea jump" has proven to be extremely useful for reconnaissance purposes, as Sickles may leap right up onto plateaus unreachable on foot, for example. Some Sickle gunners have even been known to literally jump right on top of enemy infantry divisions. Should the enemies receiving this attack survive, Sickles wind up poised to finish them easily.

• Cost-effective -- KDB uses an inexpensive alloy to keep Sickle costs very reasonable, which makes this unit plentiful in modern battles. While the Sickle's armor can all but shrug off the sort of small-arms fire that might erupt after a disappointing ice hockey contest (or soccer game), it cannot withstand much more than a brush with anti-tank weaponry.