Troop crawler

"They can't hide from me!"
 * Troop Crawler

Troop Crawlers were huge Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) that China used to rapidly deploy squads of infantry where they were needed. Troop Crawlers emerged from the War Factory with eight Red Guard already loaded inside. Troop Crawlers were also able to detect stealth units.

Tactics/Counters
"Everyone OK back there?"
 * Troop Crawler

The Troop Crawler was a fairly fast but unarmed APC that was not designed to come into contact with heavy armour. Chinese generals tended to deploy Troop Crawlers either early in a conflict, to capture key structures quickly on the battlefield, or late to overrun enemy bases in conjunction with other vehicles. (Once other vehicles had eliminated all resistance, Red Guard could be deployed via Troop Crawler to capture enemy installations.) Its ability to detect stealth units also made it useful to have within Chinese bases, to detect enemy infiltration. Once any interlopers were detected, they could be apprehended by the Red Guard on board. Troop Crawlers were designed so that if destroyed the Red Guard being transported would survive.

Key weaknesses of the Troop Crawler were its relatively light armour (it was designed to be speedy) and lack of defensive weapons. Another weakness was that the infantry had to dismount to engage opposing forces, exposing them to enemy fire. In particular it had no means at all to protect itself from aircraft.

Variants
"You want to see your men glow in the dark? Then build more!"
 * Dr Thrax insulting Tao

General Shin Fai spearheaded the development of an improved Troop Crawler, the Assault Troop Crawler. It boasted superior armour, medical facilities and firing slots that allowed infantry inside to target enemies within range.