Point defense laser

A point-defense laser intercepting Tank Hunter missiles

The Point Defense Laser, often shortened to PDL, is a passive anti-missile defense system that is equipped on some American vehicles. It utilizes a compact laser generator to shoot enemy guided projectiles right out of the sky, neutralizing them without causing any harm.

Background

The Point Defense Laser was still but an experimental system when the GLA Conflict broke out. Only the United States' heavy tank, the Paladin, was deemed a suitable platform for these advanced systems, and as such they saw very little action during the opening stages of the war. Despite their scant deployment, however, they were incredibly successful: on multiple occasions these protected Paladins from missile attacks that would have otherwise proven fatal, which also spared their crews a horrible death and allowed them to fight on.

The PDLs mounted on Paladins were particularly useful when the Paladins they were stationed on took on Stinger Sites, the GLA's anti-vehicle defense. The site's slower rate of fire meant that the missiles could be intercepted before they impacted, and in groups Paladins cleanly achieved what hordes of Crusaders would while suffering multiple losses.

Given the success of the PDL on the Paladin, the United States naturally invested more resources into its development. The end result was a highly versatile module that could be fitted on a variety of different vehicles. Most notable of these was the Avenger, which was essentially laser technology given a physical form; among its laser-based target designator and dual AA laser cannons were two PDLs that were highly effective at screening out missiles aimed at itself and its nearby allies. These improved versions fired much more quickly than their earlier counterparts affixed to Paladins, and could nullify entire salvos of missiles on their own.

General Malcom Granger, the United States' specialized air force officer, also saw the development of PDLs as a method of improving the aircraft that the US prided itself on. They were fast, but expensive, and losses in both resources and pilots were often staggering during operations staged deep within enemy territory. Countermeasure flares existed and were distributed to all branches of the US's armed forces, but these only had limited effect. General Granger made the somewhat radical decision to affix PDLs to virtually all of his aircraft, which made them dozens times more infuriating to the GLA generals who relied mainly on missiles to tear apart American aerial armor.

Game Effect

The Point-Defense Laser is an all around useful support mechanism. Both the USA and GLA's anti-tank defense structures rely on missiles that can be shot down by PDLs, which significantly reduces their threat. All rocket infantry also rely on missiles, and the presence of PDLs severely impair the efficiency of garrisons and infantry spam.

PDLs were also capable of shooting down ballistics with ease, contrary to the difficulty that most weapons had to contend with when attempting to prematurely detonate such a warhead. They also had the added bonus of not detonating the warhead upon its destruction, which minimized damage to friendly forces. As such, the GLA SCUD launcher and the American Tomahawk Missile Launcher were generally less than useful against units protected by PDLs unless they outnumbered the defensive systems at play.

Point-defense lasers are also mounted on nearly all aircraft deployed by General Granger, which makes fighting them a positive nightmare. The Chinese remain relatively unaffected, what with their favoring bullets, but the USA and GLA rely more heavily on missiles (all aircraft with AA abilities but the Helix use missiles, in fact), and their performance subsequently drops against aircraft protected against such.

Note that two versions of the PDL exist:

• Those mounted on Paladins, which had a much slower rate of fire but could also shoot nearby infantry.
• Those mounted on other systems, which had a higher rate of fire but were incapable of damaging units.

Of course, the PDL has its limits. It obviously cannot shoot down the missiles fired from the massive GLA SCUD Storm launch facilities and Chinese Nuclear Missile Silos, as the warheads were by far too large (not to mention the balancing issue it would present in-game). Paladin PDLs are also easier to overload, what with their rather infrequent rate of fire, but the concept of attacking en mass can also carry over to PDLs mounted on other vehicles as well - they could only handle a certain number of projectiles before inevitably letting some through.

It is also worth remembering that the PDL screens strictly missiles and guided ballistics. Bullets, tank shells, explosives, and environmental hazards all remained unaffected by their protection, and an attack using one of these weapons removes the PDL from play.

The Chinese ECM Tank has a similar missile denial ability, though instead of destroying them the tank redirects their path. While this has the chance to damage nearby allies, it is more or less foolproof for the tank itself, and merely the sight of watching the missiles bend away as though compelled by an invisible force can be a point of infuriation to enemies. However, unlike the point-defense laser system, it will go offline should the ECM Tank attempt to jam an enemy vehicle, rendering it vulnerable to all forms of attack.

Units With Point-Defense Lasers

• Paladin, American heavy tank (uses unique PDL)
• Avenger, American support vehicle (Zero Hour only)
• Combat Chinook, advanced gatherer/assault transport (Unit exclusive to General Malcolm Granger)
  • Granger's standard Chinooks also have the point defense laser, unlike those belonging to other US factions.
• King Raptor, advanced fighter/bomber (Unit exclusive to General Malcolm Granger)
• Stealth Fighter, stealthed bomber (PDL exclusive to General Malcolm Granger)
• Aurora Bomber, advanced supersonic bomber (PDL exclusive to General Malcolm Granger)
• B-3 Bomber, heavy bomber (PDL exclusive to General Malcolm Granger)

Trivia

• General Townes, though known for his work in the field of laser technology, oddly does not have any additional PDLs attached to his vehicles despite its laser-based nature.
  • Instead, it is his colleague who specializes in aerial combat whose assets are equipped with such.

See also

• ECM Tank, Chinese support vehicle with anti-missile systems