EMP Patriot system

The EMP Patriot system was a variant of the Patriot missile system developed by General Alexis Alexander.

Background
EMP Patriot batteries fired missiles that all had a unique warhead designed to discharge a small EMP (electromagnetic pulse) upon detonation. This EMP could disable vehicles, aircraft, and even structures caught in its area-of-effect.

EMP Patriots were the cause of immense frustration among enemy commanders, particularly General Ta Hun Kwai, whose hordes of heavy tanks could literally be stopped in their tracks by even a few of these defenses. They were also especially lethal against enemy aircraft; any airborne target unlucky enough to get caught in the missiles' EMP were instantly disabled and thus would crash to the ground immediately.

However, EMP Patriot batteries were still very much vulnerable to artillery, which could destroy them from afar with impunity. The missiles of the EMP Patriot were also rather ineffective against infantry, thus leaving it susceptible to being swarmed by even basic riflemen.

Counters
Unfortunately, EMP Patriot batteries had the same need for power as the standard Patriot missile system (though due to General Alexis Alexander's special power plants, this was less of a problem). The battery itself was not immune to the effects of its own EMP weaponry; if, for example, a GLA rebel managed to run close to the Patriot, it would attempt to engage the rebel but it would also be caught in the EMP radius, therefore rendering it temporarily inactive.

In the absence of long range fire support or an airforce, opposing American factions can opt to use Avengers to nullify incoming missiles. The Chinese can rely on their ECM tanks to deflect missiles away, although they could still hit nearby friendly vehicles. The GLA, lacking the technology of the Americans or Chinese, can simply swarm the batteries with angry mobs. Saboteurs can also be employed to disable the batteries' power grid.

General Granger's aircraft proved almost impossible to hit even with the EMP patriot's missiles, especially in groups of two or more due to the point-defense laser modules installed on all of his fixed-wing aircraft. However, a lucky single direct hit can shoot down the aircraft, especially Comanches.

Changelog

 * Zero Hour patch 1.01:
 * fixed a bug which caused some planes not to be affected by the EMP Patriot
 * no longer damages own strucutures
 * Zero Hour patch 1.03:
 * now spawns Rangers when destroyed
 * fixed related unfinished building exploit

Trivia

 * The EMP Patriot system was supposed to get a defense emitter, which at close range would protect the battery against infantry which came too close (in a fashion similar to microwave tanks). This was likely removed as it would have made the batteries to be too unbalanced due to being effective against almost all unit types.