| Hardpoints | |
|---|---|
 An Orca gunship with the upgraded hardpoints | |
| Upgrade | |
| Affiliation | |
| Research | |
| Cost |
$2500 |
| Build time |
1:00 |
| Produced by | |
| Function | |
| Hot key |
Ctrl+S |
| Unlocks |
Upgrades Orcas and Firehawks with additional weapon hardpoints, allowing them to carry more missiles. |
An aircraft upgrade available from the GDI airfield to both Steel Talons and regular GDI formations: hardpoints increase the ammunition carrying capacity of Orcas and Firehawk attack jets. These additional hardpoints increase the ammo capacity of Orcas and Firehawks by 50% - with no loss in combat performance. However, the added capacity translates to more time needed to fully rearm Orcas and Firehawks after a sortie.
ZOCOM's operations in harsh Red Zones often require more durability and finesse moreso than just sheer firepower - so they eschew the traditional hardpoints upgrade in favor of ceramic aircraft armour for their variant of A-15 Orcas. Even if a GDI or Steel Talons Airfield is captured and hardpoints researched, ZOCOM Orcas and Firehawks remain unaffected. The upgrade does carry over from GDI to Steel Talons and vice versa.
