The Assault Destroyer
Designation: Advanced anti-armour vessel
Manufacturer: Gerhardt-Giraud Naval Yard
Country of origin: USA
Serially manufactured at: Allied Port
Key features:
- Reugart-GX 120mm swivelling gun
- State-of-the-art ‘Black Hole’ armour
- Reinforced composite hull
- All-terrain tracks that deploy on contact with the ground
- Front-mounted Dozer for clearing obstacles
As the Soviet Union increasingly invaded its neighbours in all directions, the Allied Nations sought a versatile solution to coastal threats that could be deployed from the shore to secure a beachhead. Years of secret design work, led by the finest international military vehicle specialists ever assembled by the Allies, culminated in the Assault Destroyer – an amphibious warship equipped with a highly accurate armour-piercing gun suitable for both land and sea, as well as specially designed armour plating that can be activated to divert enemy fire towards unprotected targets.
Assault Destroyer ships are state-of-the-art warships that reflect the Allies’ growing eagerness to take the offensive against the Soviet Union.
Assault Destroyer ships are so massive that only Allied ports are large enough to build them, although the ships themselves are just as fully operational on land as they are at sea. In fact, on land, the presence of Assault Destroyers is such that they dwarf most other vehicles, including the Soviet Union’s main battle tanks. All these ships are equipped with a swivelling main gun armed with armour-piercing ammunition, more powerful and no less accurate than that of virtually any modern tank, and their performance on land rivals that of all vehicles except the Soviet Union’s Apocalypse Tanks. Of course, unlike the Apocalypse Tanks, Assault Destroys can move from land to sea with equal ease, a capability that has recently come into play during the numerous battles between Allied Forces and Soviet Forces near the Strait of Gibraltar as well as near the Allies’ scientific facilities on Mykonos.
Shown here is a still image from a promotional concept video used to present the Assault Destroyer’s amphibious design to the international commission that ultimately approved it.
Despite the Assault Destroyer’s raw power as an armoured amphibious assault vehicle, its greatest strength may well be its defensive capabilities. Firstly, this vessel’s reinforced hull can withstand anything except the most violent blast waves – the Assault Destroyer is probably the most heavily armoured element in the Allied army, rivalling even the Aircraft Carriers built by Gerhardt-Giraud. Whilst heavy armour is nothing out of the ordinary on a modern battlefield, its magnetically charged ‘black hole armour’ certainly is. Every Assault Destroyer has the ability to activate a gravitational field, drawing shells towards the Assault Destroyer rather than their intended target. Whilst the enemy fire being drawn in may seem like madness, the Assault Destroyer’s extremely resilient hull absorbs most of the enemy fire like a sponge soaks up a spilled drink.
The Assault Destroyer’s ‘black hole armour’ probably makes their presence more than reassuring for other Allied Forces on the battlefield. Although activating the Force Shield means they must avoid using their main gun for fear of internal combustion, Assault Destroys are still extremely powerful even when not attacking, simply because they can prevent the most vulnerable Allied Forces from being hit. Fortunately, at least, the Allied Forces have tuned into the same encrypted frequencies as the Assault Destroyer, so they need not fear damaging their brothers-in-arms and can fire normally through the gravitational field. After returning from a successful counter-attack against Soviet forces in France, a Mirage Tank commander proudly quipped, “Today I love the Assault Destroyer more than my own mother, and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her.”
Reconnaissance on the battlefield has at least revealed the following facts about Assault Destroyers:
- Amphibious assault– The Assault Destroyer performs equally well at sea and on land, despite the scepticism of proud naval Captains who cling to the notion that a ship is not meant to go ashore, and vice versa for land-based units.
-Defence black hole– The Assault Destroyer’s ‘secret weapon’ is, in fact, a shield that draws all incoming fire towards itself, whilst the ship’s power boost increases its defences. Some Allied spies claim that this technology was stolen from the Soviets, who had been working on it for decades.
-Surface-only– Although powerful, the Assault Destroyer’s main gun is only effective against surface targets, leaving the ship defenceless against enemy air units. Soviet Submarines also pose a threat to the Assault Destroyer. There is ongoing debate regarding its vulnerability to these types of attacks.
-Stay out of its way – On land, the Assault Destroyer can easily crush small vehicles and Soldiers on foot. However, infantry still pose a threat to the Assault Destroyer, as its gun is too bulky to be effective against them.