- Designation: SG-11 (Support Gunship)
- Affiliation: Nod
- Role: Air Superiority
- Introduced: 2075
- Class: Support
- Armament: Four "Darter" Missile Turrets, Purifier Incendiary Delivery System
- Type: Heavy Aircraft
- Speed: Medium-Slow
BackgroundKane's tenuous alliance with GDI during the period of TCN construction marked an era of relative peace for both factions. While certain Nod splinter elements continued a campaign of violence throughout the civilized world, the majority of Nod's true followers complied with Kane's call for peace. Knowing that "idle hands are the devil's playground," Kane ordered his most ambitious generals to work with his devious cadre of scientists to prepare the next generation of weapons. This program, known as Project Omega, resulted in the most technologically stunning creations ever fielded by man, the Salamander among them.
Project Omega's Chief Engineer, Abbot John W.E. Vladislav, was one of the key minds behind the Tiberium Contol Network's design. His reverse-engineering of the chemical processes used in the creation of many Scrin materials and power sources represented a quantum leap in military weapon evolution. Nod weapons would be tougher, lighter, and faster, yet their modular construction allowed them to be created quickly, and at low cost. Advanced hardware like the Salamander was created and tested in massive, secret, underground facilities, and kept hidden away until a time when Kane would call upon them to serve the Brotherhood.
The Salamander, in particular, is Nod's answer to GDI's long-standing era of air superiority. Part strategic bomber, part gunship, the Salamander can fly over great distances at altitudes bordering on the edge of space. Once it arrives in the combat zone it is able to establish air superiority with a suite of missile launchers, even as it moves into position over vulnerable ground-based installations. Its ability to unleash flaming terror on structures, combined with its dominant anti-air weaponry, present forward base commanders with a threat right out of their own nightmares.
Battlefield SpecificationsHeavyweight AirpowerThe SG-11 Salamander is operated by a Captain in command of six crewmen and four cyborg missile-turret gunners. It is coated in heat-resistant ceramic armor that affords it excellent protection from both high-altitude atmospheric effects, and the blowback from its potent Purification Incendiary Delivery System. Beneath the armored heat scales lies a mesh of ultra-strong fibers wrapped around a rigid frame, both derived from materials reverse-engineered from Scrin war machines.
Ready for a FightFor decades, Nod has relied upon stealth and speed to hit GDI installations without fear of reprisal. As pitched battles increased, so did GDI defenses, and so the element of surprise failed to suffice. The Salamander was developed with survivability in mind. Serving more as a flying naval vessel than a bomber, the Salamander is bristling with missile turrets, one at each corner, providing full 360 degree air-defense capability with "Darter" air-to-air missiles. These missiles can also be used to suppress ground targets as the Salamander shifts into position.
Purge The Tanks!The Black Hand is legendary for their relentless annihilation of anything in their path by way of their horrifying flamethrowers. This reputation has proven valuable to Kane over the years, and combined with the sheer destructive power of liquid-Tiberium infernos, has given birth to the Salamander's Purifier Incendiary Delivery System,. When the Salamander is in position over a target, a large array of compressed liquid Tiberium tanks housed in the center of the aircraft is extended and fires a localized plasma stream directly beneath it, continuously expelling hot plasma into the surrounding area. The physical effect is obvious: total incineration of any units and structures in the affected area. The psychological effect on enemy troops has proven significant, and so Salamander Captains now employ the term "Purge the Tanks!" as an invigorating call to attack.
The Sky's The LimitThe success of the Salamander, in combining Scrin elements with the concepts of Nod's top scientists, has opened the door to a world of possibilities for advanced air and space weapon platforms. With GDI continuing to restructure their military forces and organization, Nod has a chance to strike out and compete for the first time on all fronts, from the subterranean depths of the Nod tunnel networks, to high Earth orbit, and perhaps beyond. The sky, it seems, is no longer the limit.
Source: Nod Salamander Unit Profile + Feature Video
