Paladin tank (Generals)

"Preserving Freedom"

- Paladin Tank leaving the War Factory

The Paladin Tank is an advanced USAmain battle tank.

Deployment history
"Protecting our people."

- Paladin tank

Entering battlefield service as an advanced prototype, the Paladin quickly gained favor with US Generals. Early in the GLA conflict, Crusaders often made up the bulk of armored offensives, as in the attack against GLA-occupied Baghdad. In the later stages of the war, the Paladin became an increasingly common sight within US armored ranks. The Paladin is the first US units to use Point Defense Laser whose technology saw use later in the conflict in units such as the Avenger. Throughout its service in the war, the Paladin is revered for its ability to survive longer than Crusaders against guided and unguided rocket weapons, thanks to its Point Defense Laser active protection system. The prototype status didn't prevent request for acquisition as battlefield assessment shows impending risk from GLA's favor to rocket attack and Chinese deployment of Overlord and nuclear technologies, not to mention GLA's own "prototype" of more armored assault tank.

Characteristics
The Paladin is basically what can be described as a souped-up Crusader, a main battle tank it shares roles with. The Paladin's main gun fired "jet-assisted" shells, in addition to an antimissile laser. The antimissile laser made the Paladin less vulnerable to enemy rocket-propelled antitank weaponry such as guided missiles, although it did nothing against tank shells. The Paladin was notably quite expensive, even in comparison to the Crusader.

While the Paladin's laser allowed it to zap missiles and infantry (especially suicide bombers, which are a constant bane to most vehicles) that get too close, the Paladin has noticably less armor than the Crusader tank. However, a large column of Paladin's often caused opposing generals headaches due to all the anti-missile lasers.

Availability
Only the main US Army has access to Paladins, which is odd in the case of Gen. Townes, a regular user of laser technology. Rumor has it that Chinese Gen. Leang possesses Paladin technology and that she uses it as her standard main battle tank in place of the more indigenous Battlemaster.

The very complex tank-antimissile hybrid construct of the Paladin made it a weapon too valuable to fall into enemy hands. As such, the technology to build it is only granted to US Army generals who have risen in rank.

Upgrades
"A Welcome Addition"

- Paladin Upgrading with A Battlle Drone.

Tactics
"It would be A Honor"

- Paladin Tank Attaking

Despite being costlier than most other tanks, the Paladin fared better against rocket-toting infantry and was by no means slow or cumbersome for its class. Often, the Paladin is used as a Scorpion deterrent, as its Point Defense Laser can nullify incoming Scorpion rockets, minimizing the losses incurred on its side of the shootout. Its double-duty capabilities also make it favorable for removing Scud Launchers and their ballistic missiles. On a lesser role, Paladins serve as close-range fire support against infantry, as the Point Defense Laser is potent for killing footsoldiers in one to two hits.

Counters
"Doing what's right."

- Paladin

The Paladin's laser proves to be an effective active protection system against missiles, but the laser's poor rate of fire leaves a lot to be desired. A common tactic is to overwhelm a Paladin with more missiles than it can handle.

In open combat, the Paladin's inability to outshoot artillery and outrun bombardment becomes an exploitable weakness. Additionally, in warfare that does not involve missile carriers like Scorpions and RPG troopers, the Paladin's point defense laser becomes useless: the Paladin depends on a combination of armor, firepower and active protection to survive; abandoning the third characteristic forces the Paladin to fight short of one important combat perk.

Highly unconventional warfare such as vehicle theft and crew-killing is also a problem for Paladins. Jarmen Kell, GLA's elite marksman, could disable the Paladin by sniping its crew, leaving it open for commandeering.

Glitches
In older unpatched skirmish games, the Paladin's laser occasionally destroyed launched Chinese nuclear missiles, usually in one shot! The turrets also bent sometimes.

Trivia

 * The tank's name is probably inspired by the real life M109A6 Paladin Howitzer although they are different weapons systems.
 * The Point Defense Laser may have been inspired by real life active protection systems like the American "Quick Kill", the Israeli "Trophy" and the Russian "Arena", which are in use or to be used in main battle tanks.
 * According to the sound files, there was originally going to be a variant of the Paladin for Gen. Townes, Called the Laser Paladin, which would probably have used a Laser turret and a stronger Point Defenfe Laser (able to stop not only missiles, maybe even able to stop tank shells). It was scrapped for unknown reasons, However, it Was Redone into The Zero Hour Mod Shockwave.
 * It is also possible that the Paladin tank was inspired by the XM1202 Future Combat Systems Manned Ground Vehicles and by looking at this image you'll see their resemblance.