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CnCSaga

The Hunter

  • Designation: AT-22 (Medium Tank)
  • Affiliation: GDI
  • Role: Conventional tank
  • Launch date: 2066
  • Class: Attack
  • Armament: 150 mm ionising railgun
  • Type: Medium vehicle • Speed: Average

Background

During the early years of the Tiberium control network’s development, militias made up of anti-Kane Nod separatists repeatedly attempted to disrupt the construction effort. Although the GDI’s frontline Predator Tanks were able to repel these incursions, the Nod separatists quickly turned to hit-and-run tactics to exploit the Predator Tank’s slowness to their advantage. To counter this strategy, GDI commanders began modifying the APCs to make them faster. The combined firepower of the Predator and the APC was able to keep the separatists at bay for a time.

The Separatists have not had their final say; the deployment of an upgraded Flame Tank was designed to exploit the weaknesses in the GDI’s defence system. Capable of withstanding APCs thanks to its thicker armour and equipped with an upgraded engine that allows it to outpace the ageing Predators. This revised version of the Flame Tank enabled the separatist forces to strike swiftly and boldly at numerous TCN sites, destroying them completely. A dozen TCN sites were thus destroyed. This carnage was finally halted at the Battle of Waukesha.

The Waukesha Battalion, commanded by Captain Léon Kamperov, was charged with protecting TCN sites #30 and #24, as well as the civilian settlement of Waukesha. One fateful morning, EVA detected a high concentration of separatist forces in the region, numerous enough to assault the three nearby sites. Fully aware that his Predators would be too slow to protect all three sites, Kamperov took a very risky gamble.

Using the Weapons Factory near Waukesha, the garrison’s engineers reinforced the armour of the APCs with components taken from Predator Tanks. Afterwards, each Predator was partially dismantled and its Turret was mounted on the roof of an APC. Kamparov, a former engineer, hoped that by doing this he could combine the speed of the APC with the firepower of the Predator, enabling his troops to intercept and engage the Separatist forces before they could reach the TCN sites.

The gamble paid off – the Raiders were caught off guard and several Flame Tanks were quickly damaged by the first volley. During the battle, Nod’s faster vehicles headed towards the TCN nodes, but they were intercepted by these makeshift tanks and easily destroyed. The remaining Separatist forces fled, and, although most of the makeshift vehicles were destroyed, no Civilian casualties were reported and the two TCN nodes remained intact.

For his impressive victory, Kamperov was promoted to the rank of major and tasked with leading the design of the next-generation Medium Tank. The vehicle built by Kamperov was designated the AT-22 Hunter, and simultaneously became the GDI’s main Medium Tank. Built on the new generation of APCs, with a reinforced chassis and a 150mm railgun, the Hunter combines the speed and manoeuvrability of a wheeled vehicle with the power and armour of a tank. This tank is ideal for interception and pursuit and is perfectly suited to defending TCN nodes.

Battlefield Specifications

Armoured Chassis The Hunter is an evolution of the APC chassis from the Third Tiberium War. Although the APC chassis were not originally designed to withstand direct cannon fire, significant modifications-combining a next-generation armoured hull with an upgraded powertrain-enable the Hunter to maintain an acceptable armour rating whilst retaining its speed advantage. Despite these improvements, the Hunter cannot quite match the armour of other tanks, forcing it to rely on its speed when engaged in heavy combat.8-wheel drive Being built on an APC chassis, the Hunter is faster than any GDI battle tank. The use of 8-wheel drive allows Hunters to react quickly to situations and prevents insurgents from disrupting TCN nodes. Their superior speed enables Hunters to relentlessly pursue and destroy the fastest enemy units.Dawn of a New Age The Hunter holds the distinction of being the first GDI vehicle to be equipped with a Tiberium Main Generator and Ionised Weapons. The generator is an efficient and relatively inexpensive source of energy created as a by-product of the TCN and is used primarily to power the cutting-edge ioniser array. In layman’s terms, the ioniser fitted to a railgun adds high-energy particles to the projectile just before firing, significantly increasing the projectile’s destructive potential. This cloud of highly charged particles ionises with the surrounding air as it travels, producing the characteristic blue glow now common to all GDI weapons in the TCN era.Combat Acclimatisation

Typically serving on the front line of defence for the TCN, the AT-22 Hunter, with its unique combination of speed and firepower, is the vehicle of choice for patrols and interception missions in dangerous territories. Not only in the defence of the TCN, but also in the pursuit and destruction of those who threaten them, Hunters are exposed to more combat situations in a week than other troops are in a month. Their proximity to danger and combat makes Hunter crews more experienced than their brothers-in-arms.