Rocketeer

“

I've located a group of rocketeers in Colorado Springs. They're ready to moving in on our orders.
- Eva Lee^(src)

”

The rocketeer is an Allied airborne infantry unit in Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge.

Official description

“

The Rocketeer is the aerial assault version of the simple Allied GI. Armed with a powerful weapon and strapped into an equally powerful jetpack, the Rocketeer hovers over the battlefield. Rocketeers are excellent in providing anti-air defence and air-to-ground attacks on weaker targets.
- Red Alert 2 manual^(src)

”

Background

Equipped with a high powered jetpack and high-calibre semi-automatic carbine, these brave men can stay in the air almost indefinitely.

During the war, their first notable deployment was to assist Tanya in retaking the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs from Soviet control.

Judging by their noticeable accent, they are likely recruited from the southern United States.

Aftermath

They are not known to operate after the events of the Psychic Dominator Disaster. After the erasure of Einstein from the timeline, these flying soldiers did not have an Allied-aligned equivalent during the Third World War's third iteration, although the Empire of the Rising Sun developed a similar unit called the rocket angel, whose weapons are more effective against tanks and aircraft.

Game unit

“

Rockets in the sky!
- Rockeeter

”

Rocketeers are a good choice for scouting due to their speed and low cost. They are most useful when massed, especially for taking down Kirov airships and enemy harvesters. Moreover they can be used for supporting naval forces as well due to the fact they can attack both air and ground / surface targets.

Rocketeers are one of only three infantry units that cannot enter the Infantry Fighting Vehicle, as they are constantly flying (the others being cosmonauts and brutes).

Rocketeers have high enough health to survive a few splash damage attacks, but point defenses like gatling weapons present a significant problem. Due to their inability to withstand sustained fire, are primarily used behind more durable units such as IFVs and Grizzly battle tanks.

Since they are an air unit, the rocketeer is completely immune to attacks to most ground troops, even with mind control. They can only be easily taken out by anti-air units such as IFVs, Flak tracks, and Aegis Cruisers.

It is worth noting that the Rocketeer was one of only a small group of air units capable of attacking other air units, along with the (campaign-exclusive) Cosmonaut, the Soviets' Siege chopper, and Yuri's Floating Disc, being an excellent counter to the latter when massed.

Groups of five or more rocketeers can usually overwhelm an IFV. Groups of nine or more are powerful against many ground targets. Rocketeers are a decent defensive unit. If a player is attacking only with units that cannot target air units, groups of rocketeers are an effective counter. They are especially effective against Allied GIs and Soviet Conscripts as they cannot fight back.

The rocketeers can be seen grounded in Eagle Dawn and Mirage, as when placed on a map, they start out standing on their feet. When moved, they lift off. The only instance in standard gameplay where a rocketeer is seemingly observed walking is when a spy disguises as one.

AI behavior

Rocketeers controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

Medium/Hard

5x targeting Grand Cannons

Hard

4x targeting ore miners, accompanied by 6 Grizzly Tanks
5x targeting ore miners

Quotes

When selected

Rockets in the sky!
All fired up!
Check out the view!
I can go anywhere!
Got a clear view, sir!
Ready to soar!
Fuel tanks are filled!

When moving

Pushin' away!
Igniting boosters!
Ridin' high!
Up and over.
Got a steady flow.
I'll take the high road.

When ordered to attack

He's got no place to hide!
I can see him!
I got 'em!
Clear out the place!
They won't see us comin'!

When suppressed

I'm losin' compression!
There's too much flak!
My rocket's hit!

Gallery

Early concept art
Final concept art by TJ Frame
Alpha appearance
SHP sprite
Manual/website render

Cameos

English and German versions share the same cameos.

English	French	Korean	Chinese

Trivia

The rocketeer is voiced by David Fries, who also voiced the chrono legionnaire and Propaganda Truck.
The rocketeers are based on jump jet infantry from Tiberian Sun, since the name of this unit is JUMPJET in the game files. They fill the same role, but unlike their Tiberian Sun counterparts, rocketeers always fly from the moment they spawn from the barracks. They only stand when placed on a map (the only instance of which is seen in the mission Mirage), and only walk when being impersonated by spies.
The Rocketeer is identical in gameplay to the Cosmonaut. Even the JumpJet stats are the exact same.

Design notes

The idea of the rocketeers is probably taken from a superhero of the same name. The Rocketeer is a superhero which has been used in comics and a movie created in 1991.

Some similarities exist between the two:

They are both used in a world war (WWII and Third World War)
They both have the same name
They are both sided with the Allies and are using hit and run tactics
The design of the jetpack used in Red Alert 2 resembles the one used by The Rocketeer. Whether the rocketeer appearing in Red Alert 2 was a reference to the superhero or the concept was just based on it is uncertain.
There are real rocket pack designs that really fly, albeit only for several minutes. The development of this equipment (also called jet packs) come from the World War II era. Rocketeers seem to use the rocket pack design in a similar fashion to one designed by Bell Aerosystems (a real life company). Cosmonauts from Yuri's Revenge also use a similar system.

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