Helipad (Red Alert)

The Helipad is a support structure designed to build, refuel and rearm VTOL capable aircraft such as Apaches or Hind. Without it, the aircraft would be left without ammunition to perform any offensive role.

Background
The structure was first introduced in the Second World War by both the Allied Forces and the Soviet Union, who required it to field and sustain AH-64 Apaches and Mi-24 Hinds, respectively. It was a circular platform with armories and fuel tanks located in integrated bunkers. The design are the same for Allies and Soviet.

It was further used by the Brotherhood of Nod and Global Defense Initiative to produce aircraft during First Tiberium War. In Red Alert Universe, with the expanding of Allied air force and the forcibly disbanded of Soviet air force by the end of the war, Helipad was phase out and the Allied replace them with Airforce Command Headquarter.

In-game
Construction requirement of each of these is quite expensive (reportedly 1500 credit) but their cost include aircraft it house. Aircraft available is usually VTOL capable with special prepackage for each faction (Hind for Soviet, Apache for Allies etc). Should a faction capture other faction's helipad, other aircraft usually available to opposite faction become available to the faction that capture the helipad. Although it is named "helipad" due to the development of air technology it is capable to house VTOL capable non helicopter aircraft. All helipad can (somehow) capable to reload and refuel any airplane it housed (this feat require quite logistic achievement).

A common, budget saving, tactic is to procure one helipad and purchase additional aircraft. This in short turn save fund but will reduce combat readiness as airplane needs to be reload and refuel in longer time. Soviet commanders discourage this as their Hind reload time is longer.

It should be noted that reload times for aircraft on an Airfield or Helipad is dependent on the number of rounds of ammunition the aircraft carries. The Soviet MiG, with three missiles, can reload on an airfield almost instananeously. The Allied Longbow, with six missiles, can similarly rearm fairly quickly. The Hind and Yak however, which carry 12 and 15 bursts of machine gun fire, take much longer to rearm despite the fact that each individual shot from their weapons does is less powerful than the missiles used by the MiG and Longbow.