SSM launcher (Tiberian Dawn)

The Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM) Launcher was a medium range rocket launcher developed by Nod during th First Tiberium War.

The SSM launcher was originally developed as a massive artillery-style launcher that could do massive damage against infantry and structures, and in this regard, it mainly succeeded. Unfortunately, the technology that went into the so-called "Honest-John" Missiles was quite advanced - the missiles required sophisticated guidance and electronics, so Nod would only deliver them to bases guarded by an Obelisk of Light. Furthermore, Nod Scientists often had problems getting all of the components to work, and so, the weapons were only available late in the first Tiberium War. GDI commanders reported encountering them only during the mop-up phases that occurred after the destruction of the Sarajavo temple, and by then much of the resistance had already melted away.

The SSM carried two rockets that had napalm in them, thus doing large amounts of damage to structures and infantry, but doing very poor damage against tanks. When hitting an enemy target, the rocket exploded and unleashed a firey inferno. However, the most important quality of an SSM was range. An SSM's missiles had significantly more range than both an Obelisk of Light and an advanced guard tower, and so could be used to slowly wear down an enemy's defenses. SSM launchers were deployed by Kane to destroy a civilian town, so that a Nod base could be created, but GDI Commando NickParker arrived and destroyed the weapons. We believe that although effective, the SSM had little effect on the overall outcome during that conflict.

Although the vehicle had great firepower, it was slow and weak, with even a lowly minigunner able to do significant damage to the vehicle if the minigunner could get in range. Furthermore, the SSM was too slow to get away from such an attacker. Second, and more importantly, the SSM suffered from a very slow reload time, which allowed enemy troops noticing the SSM fire for the first time to ensure that it would be the only time. Finally, although napalm is highly effective against infantry and structures, tanks, particularly the extremely heavily armored Mammoth Tanks, were largely immune to its effects.