Tank hunter (Generals 1)

"We'll tear through their armor!"

- Tank Hunter reporting for duty

Tank Hunter is the name given to China's anti-tank infantry.

Background
"Enemy tanks out there?"

- Tank Hunter

Armed with a rocket launcher that could reduce armor to scraps in seconds, their rockets also have targeting systems built into them allowing Tank Hunters to attack aircraft, though the system is not accurate enough to track moving infantry. Tank Hunters (as their name suggests) are highly effective against enemy vehicles.

Garrisoned in Bunkers or civilian buildings, Tank Hunters can provide a solid defence against enemy tank rushes. Tank Hunters are also armed with TNT charges, which, if they can get close enough to a vehicle, enable them to severely damage or destroy it.

However, compared to the charges of Colonel Burton and Jarmen Kell as trained by Rodall Juhziz, their TNT charges are relatively weak. For example, it requires a large number of TNT charges to destroy a building, while one of Colonel's Burton's or Juhziz's Jarmen Kell's charges are sufficient to destroy just about any building (or reduce it to a hole) except for a superweapon or Command Center. Groups of 5 or more Tank Hunters experience the so-called "Horde Effect", increasing their morale, confidence and fighting prowess.

Note that mixed groups of Tank Hunters and Red Guard can still experience the Horde Bonus, as long as they are in groups of 5 or more.

Upgrades
"Let's fight the tanks!"

- Tank Hunter

Strategy
"Dead in their tracks."

- Tank Hunter engaging enemy vehicle

Tank Hunters can be deployed flexibly for anti-vehicle attack and defense. Loaded into a Helix/Assault Helix, Assault Troop Transport, Listening Outpost/Attack Outpost, or bunker-equipped Overlord Tank, Tank Hunters can be used on the offensive. Helix helicopters can fly protected Tank Hunters swiftly over any terrain to wreak havoc on enemy armour or even buildings, provided of course the bunker upgrade was installed.

General Fai is famous for his vast deployment of stealthy Attack Outposts packed with Tank Hunters. Unmodified Troop Crawlers can transport Tank Hunters to the front lines, but they must be offloaded in order to fire, thus offering no protection in a firefight.

Their TNT make enemy tanks think twice about approaching and running them down, as a single charge is often enough to destroy a basic tank, if not heavily damage it. If they manage to survive the fight into an enemy base, their charges can also be used against buildings.

Counters
However, Tank Hunters out in the open are as vulnerable to anti-infantry weapons as any other infantry unit, and require considerable numbers to stand any chance against, for example, a Quad Cannon. Like the Missile Defender and RPG Trooper, they are next to useless against other soldiers, being unable to accurately target them.

Changelog

 * Zero Hour patch 1.03: his explosives no longer disappear when he dies - instead, they explode

Trivia

 * Nuke General Tsing Shi Tao was supposed to have access to nuclear Tank Hunters, armed with launchers that fired uranium-tipped warheads instead. Nuclear Tank Hunters can fire from a long range and do a massive damage. The rate of fire is quite high and when killed, he spreads nuclear radiation. However, the unit concept overall was scrapped due to being highly unbalanced however it can be used from downloadable mods.
 * The Tank Hunter's in-game model's weapon resemble the PF-89 rocket launcher, but the cameo indicates that they uses what appears to be an AT4 rocket launcher.
 * Coincidentally, the PF-89 was designed as a replacement for the older Type 69 RPG, which is used by GLA RPG Troopers.

Internal

 * Missile defender, USA counterpart
 * RPG trooper, GLA counterpart

External

 * PF-89 at Wikipedia
 * AT4 at Wikipedia