GDSS Philadelphia

The Philadelphia was a giant orbiting space station, and served as GDI's central command during the Second Tiberium War.

Description
The Philadelphia was enormous, easily dwarfing the orbital shuttles that GDI used to transfer people from one place to another in space. It was shaped roughly like an inverted cone, but not smooth, rather produced almost from a set of cylinders. Furthermore, the Philadelphia mounted some of the most sophisticated communications equipment ever conceived of, externally. Inside, there were a number of offices, and rooms, where top GDI staff could watch battles unfold in real time, receive priority transmissions, and generally make sure that GDI forces had the upper hand. Its position in space meant that it had a phenomenal line of sight, and by linking with the other satellites and orbital command stations, it could receive real time updates from anywhere in the world. It was equipped with powerful communications equipment, including a number of secure channels, as well as sophisticated computers, both for the EVA unit and for signal analysis. It was these computers that tracked Kane's fateful transmission announcing the start of the Second Tiberium War to the Southwest sector.

Usage
GDI forces recognized that the Philadelphia allowed them real time communications and command ability anywhere in the world, on call, linking them all together. This ability was used throughout the Second Tiberium War to coordinate GDI's forces, but especially to call in strikes on Nod's Chemical Missile Facility, as well as the massive strike on Kane's temple. Commander McNeil's order to 'green light all forces' would have been undoubtedly handled by the Philadelphia.

In addition, orbital command stations including the [Philadelphia possessed a number of Drop Pod launchers suitable for deploying infantry to a battlefield anywhere on the Earth within minutes. This allowed GDI forces to quickly respond to the developing situation near Phoenix Base.