Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars/GDI Units

In the GDI Campaign the player takes control of the GDI and fights to defend their honor. The Brotherhood attacked the Space Station with a Nuke but the GDI now uses the Pentagon as their HQ. As the GDI Commander the Player must save the Blue Zones from the Nod Aggressors.

Infantry
All infantry except Commandos and Engineers form a squad to boost their efficiency. Also all Infantry can garrison structures except the Zone Trooper.

Riflemen squad
The Rifleman Squads are the mainstay of the Global Defense Initiative. They are armed with automatic GD-2 rifles and all are equipped with standard GDI body armour. Their squads are composed of six soldiers.

The riflemen are well trained, and will seek all cover possible for them. In a battle against a Nod Militia squad, the Rifleman squad will usually emerge victorious due to superior training, albeit with casualties. If the militants are led by a confessor however, the result can be less certain.

If ordered, the soldiers will use the portable shovels they carry to create foxholes, acting as bunkers, providing necessary cover. They can also be outfitted with advanced composite armor or Tiberium field suits that gives them better protection than regular body suits. On the battle field, they maintain their fitness by doing star jumps.

Like all GDI infantry, they can be shuttled around the battlefield in the V-35 Ox. Some infantry squads are also members of elite GDI Airborne divisions.

Missile Squad
The Missile Squad is employed by GDI against enemy armour and structures. These two man teams are armed with FGM-90 shoulder mounted missile launchers that can be employed against armour, structures and aircraft thanks to the weapon's limited tracking ability.

The Missile Squad's soldiers wear standard GDI combat armor, which can be upgraded to composite armor suits or Tiberium field suits. Their helmets are modified with optical sights that allow them to aim the rocket launcher with precision. As with all GDI infantry, they can be shuttled throughout the battlefield in V-35 Ox aircraft. Some infantry squads are also members of elite GDI Airborne divisions.

As a note, soldiers tend to exercise with their missile launchers. Care must be taken that the launchers have their safeties on when exercising.

Engineer
This guy can steal structures from the enemy but also can repair them.

Grenadier Squad
The new grenadiers wear standard GDI combat armor with specially modified helmets to shield their head from shrapnel and potential trauma caused by the grenades. They carriy grenades in their backpacks, as throwing grenades allow for more precision than using grenade launchers. The grenades themselves have miniature rocket engines embedded within them and minimal AI guidance, allowing them to reach enemies in remote locations with deadly precision. This gives grenadiers the ability to clear garrisoned buildings without destroying the structure itself.

Due to the weight of the packs, the grenadiers usually exercise on the battlefield by performing jumping jacks and practices tossing their grenades around. With the advances in technology, the grenades no longer explode if they aren't primed for detonation.

Sniper Team
A GDI sniper group is a specialized combat team, whose role is recon and infantry removal. A squad will typically comprise of a sniper (a soldier who completed GDI's advanced marksmanship training) and a more experienced team leader as a spotter.

The sniper carries a large caliber scoped rifle with a laser sight, while the spotter is equipped with a GD-2 and communications equipment for communicating with the HQ and relaying target data for GDI Juggernauts and Battleships, who will continue bombardment as long as the sniper team is in the area (it should be noted that transmitting coordinates reveals the team's position briefly). The team wears battledress uniforms and camouflage hats. They do not wear armour, as it would limit their mobility and increase the chances of them being seen, as when remaining stationary the sniper team will camouflage themselves. They exercise by doing sit ups, which surpisingly doesn't comprimise their cover.

Like all infantry, the Sniper Team can be shuttled in V-35 Ox transports, and a special, veteran sharpshooter team can be deployed on the battlefield.

Zone Trooper
Following the events of the Firestorm Crisis and the proliferation of Tiberium, GDI desperately needed a technology that would allow them to control Tiberium infested areas without endangering humans. As remotely controlled weapons and unmanned vehicles were not suitably powerful, the research and development division of GDI decided to use the old Mobius Suit and Wolverine technologies to create a completely new and efficient weapon.

The Zone Trooper wears the result of this research, an advanced, self-sufficient powered armour made from the same composite that constitutes the Mammoth 27's armor. It is equipped with advanced life support systems, which allows him or her to survive in heavily Tiberium contaminated areas such as Red zones. In addition to being able to survive in such conditions, the Zone Troopers are equipped with jump jets, allowing them to move long distances in seconds, often dropping into the heat of a battle as reinforcements. For combat, he carries an advanced portable railgun, based off the same design that is used for the new Mammoth 27 and Predator tanks. The Zone Trooper armor is required to absorb the recoil that railguns produce. The weapon itself is capable of causing serious damage to vehicles, structures, and infantry.

Squads of four Zone Troopers are deadly foes, often accompanying large tanks on their way into combat. Their armour suits can be upgraded with sensor packs, giving them limited stealth detection abilities and with advanced power packs, which amplify the suit's performance, resulting in increased resilience, and allows the suit to self repair.

The Zone Troopers are also used as reinforcements dropped from orbit, in large atmospheric entry drop pods. These soldiers are ready for combat as soon as the pod hits the ground.

However, the cost of equipping a single Zone Trooper is enormous, as a single armour module and railgun cost as much as an entire single rifleman squad. They are also completely defenseless against aircraft (especially the Venom) and armor piercing projectiles of the shredder turret are also a danger to them, as is flame-based weaponry.

Commando
The Commandos became a regular frontline GDI unit once again in the Third Tiberium War. Backed by 50 years of tradition, they are the results of a powerful training program, with a 22% fatality rate and 97% recruits never reaching the end of training. Typically, only one commando at a time was allotted to a commander.

Lt. Fullerton, the commander of Stuttgart GDI forces was a Commando and was instrumental in retaking the city from the Scrin. Higgins and Conrad are commandos used extensively in GDI recruitment videos and posters.

The next generation Commandos wear full suits of heavy body armour with an integrated jump jet unit. They are also equipped with prototype high rate-of-fire assault railguns which can tear apart infantry and, if given enough time, light vehicles like the Attack Bike. And, like their predecessors, carry a large amount of det-packs (basing on an exotic chemical) for building demolition. One of their key abilities is destroying enemy Mechanized walkers by planting explosives on their legs. To maintain fitness GDI commandoes usually do one handed push ups when idle.

Pitbull
The CC-6 Pitbull is GDI's primary recon vehicle. It is an ATV truck on an elevated platform with a back-mounted rocket launcher and equipped with powerful and highly advanced sensors capable of detecting stealth units. Its rocket launcher is capable of shooting down aircraft and is more than enough for damaging other vehicles and buildings, although direct combat with heavier vehicles is ill-advised, owing to the vehicle's necessarily light armour. It was also electrically powered, with redundant motors located in the wheels. For security, DNA and dog tag scanners would only allow authorized personel to operate the vehicle.[1]

Pitbulls have been in service with GDI since the Second Tiberium War.[2] However, the CC-2 Pitbull were not deployed in combat, used in non-combat support roles (see surveillance image to the right). One role was to quickly transport a number of personel, which the Wolverine was incapable of doing. With the phasing out of walker technology, GDI decided to redesign the Pitbull as a front line unit.

The design of the vehicle was one of the most controversial topics among GDI commanders, who criticized the open topped design of the new jeep project as well as the back mounted machine gun that was intended as its primary weapon. Eventually, after intense lobbying, the engineers revamped the design to allow it to operate in Tiberium contaminated areas.

However, limited numbers of open-topped Pitbulls with back mounted machine guns remain in service in GDI controlled Blue Zones, as they are more effective at troop transportation and riot control than their hazardous environment resistant brothers.

The Pitbull is also designed to carry an optional mortar upgrade from the GDI Tech center, converting it into a light artillery platform.

APC
After the Firestorm Crisis, GDI reevaluated the performance of their Amphibious APCs. While fast and well armoured, they weren't used widely due to their lack of any offensive weaponry, forbidding them from partaking in direct offensives, as without the means to defend themselves they needed to be closely protected. The engineers of GDI decided to completely redesign the vehicle from scratch.

The resulting design is an advanced, six wheeled version of the vehicle, with all terrain capability and a dual heavy chain guns capable of engaging both ground and aerial targets. Any squad of infantry garrisoned inside may fire from within the APC, granting it greater offensive capability than when empty; for example, an APC transporting a Missile Squad will gain improved fire power against armoured and airborne targets or Zone Troopers can tear through tanks. In addition to transporting a single squad of infantry, the new advanced APC is outfitted with mine laying equipment, allowing it to deploy a large minefield at any given place on the battlefield (although they still can be detected by specialized sensors or infantry). The Brotherhood choose to answer Guardian APCs with Reckoners.

It should be noted that should there be any infantry still in the APC when it is destroyed, the infantry will be killed.

Predator Tank
After reevaluating the performance and costs of maintaining Titans as a main battle vehicle, GDI engineers designed a new tank to supplement the walker and later replace it after the Second Tiberium War. The 65 ton Predator currently forms the backbone of GDI armoured corps. It is effective against most armored units, with speed guaranteed by four articulated sets of treads. The tank's main armament is a powerful 150mm cannon upgradeable to a high velocity railgun, granting it exceptional firepower to direct against enemy units, including its counterparts, the Nod Scorpion tank and Scrin Devourer Tank.

The tank has a crew of four; a driver, gunner, commander and combat engineer. Its armour is highly resilient, in particular when compared to the comparatively thin armour of Nod's equivalent MBT, the Scorpion tank. However, the tank requires support from other units when facing significant enemy firepower, in particular air power, against which it has no defence. Similarly, enemy armor of the higher tier (such as the Avatar) can be problematic for the Predator to deal with. Fast and hard-to-target infantry can be dangerous to the tank too, if they possess proper anti-tank weapons.

Juggernaut
By the time of the Third Tiberium War, a new Juggernaut variant, known as the Juggernaut MK.III, refered to as "UPC"s or "M3", was in service. Based on a Titan Mk. II chassis, perhaps the most significant upgrade, was the inclusion of a turret, equipped with an improved 200mm cannon armament. This new addition gave the Juggernaut greatly improved flexibility in engaging targets, as it no longer needed to redeploy each time a target's position shifts even slightly, although a slow traversing speed limited the usefulness of this new ability. The crew cockpit was moved into a separate pod which resides on the left of the turret. State-of-the art fire control and tracking systems and an improved, integrated battlefield networking communications package allow GDI sniper teams to relay ballistic data to the mech's crew, allowing it to provide long range indirect fire support, an ability closely mirrored by newly introduced Nod Specter. The Juggernaut's important role in the GDI forces as a powerful artillery piece remains unchanged even with the introduction of Nod's Beam Cannon.

The M3 is still required to deploy secondary stabilizers before it can fire due to the huge recoil of its triple barrel armament, although it can complete this process much faster than the MK.I, providing the Juggernaut with improved flexibility. Another problem was that the M3 would quickly and suddenly catch fire.

Juggernauts are still intended for indirect fire support and are not expected to be on the front lines, making its relative fragility a flaw irrelevant to its combat efficiency, amplified by the ability to navigate all terrain.[1]

If the Juggernaut Mk. III is crippled and falls, an engineer can return it to a working state. The problems with standing up have been resolved by strengthening the construction of the cannons and allowing the walker to use them as quasi-hands to get up.

Like the GDI Mammoth Tank, Nod Avatar and the Scrin Annihilator Tripod, and MARV, Juggernauts can crush light vehicles by simply walking onto them.

As a dedicated artillery platform, the Juggernaut has several weaknesses. The first is its vulnerability to all aircraft capable of attacking ground targets, due to its lack of dedicated anti-air weaponry. Second, enemy Commando's have also been known to utilize high explosives on the legs of the walker, disabling it instantly. Third, any enemy which can close the distance between itself, and the Juggernaut quickly, remains a threat, as the Juggernaut possess no weapons capable of engaging targets below its main guns. It is unknown whether or not the M3A, with its added gun pods can engage these targets, because the precise position of these gun pods is unclear. Typically, the Juggernaut's only defense against such opponents is to simply crush them with its legs. When destroyed, the Juggernaut's sturdy frame often means that a "husk" of the unit will remain. Often these husks are capable of being repaired by engineers from either GDI, Nod, or even Scrin Assimilators, and utilized by their respective factions. These husks however, are often extremely fragile, and can be destroyed by light infantry to prevent them from being exploited by the enemy.

Rig
The Rig is a slow moving utility vehicle with weak armour that can't survive on the battlefield very long without proper protection. However, it is not intended for use in direct confrontations. It is a support vehicle, capable of converting into a mobile Battle Base that apart from having stealth detectors, two Guardian cannons and a SAM site can also repair damaged vehicles.

The Battle Base was used as a self-contained outpost and support facility at key points on the battlefield or as a repair facility at Tiberium fields, protecting defenceless Harvesters.

As the Third Tiberium War progressed, Nod discovered that its Black Hand Caped Flametroopers and Avatars were particularly effective at destroying the Rig. The Rig is also too big to be carried by the V-35 Ox, meaing it cannot be easily flown over enemy defences.

MCV
This vehicle is the founder off all Bases. Weak armoured unlike in the other games.

Orca Gunship
The Orca Gunship (also referred to as Orca Mk. IV) is the most advanced version of the Orca Aircraft. Upon evaluating the Orca's performance in the Second Tiberium War, GDI completely redesigned the fighter, retaining only its VTOL engines, which have also received a major overhaul. The new Orca was outfitted with heavier armour and wings designed to carry substantial amounts of rockets to engage a variety of targets ranging from infantry to structures.

The new version of the Orca had a maximum speed of 400 knots, with a combat range of 300 miles, or 1,180 miles when stripped of combat gear. Its maximum flight altitude was 42,000 feet, with a climb rate of up to 2,500 feet per minute. The power to mass ratio was 0.19 lbs/hp. The aircraft was crewed by a pilot and a copilot/gunner. It was 58.3 ft long, 48 ft wide, and 12.7 ft high.

Its armament varies, but is in every way superior to its predecessors, and can be composed of an M230 30mm Automatic Cannon with 1200 rounds, Hellfire V rockets, AIM-500 Stinger air to air missiles, AGM-240 Sidearm air-to-ground missiles, AIM-18 Sidewinder air intercept missiles and Hydra 70 unguided air-to-ground rockets. New intelligence also indicates that Orcas belonging to a specific GDI subfaction can be upgraded with sonic cannons; which cause widespread damage to ground targets.

In addition, the Orca was equipped with sonar equipment, allowing it to discharge a pulse, revealing all units that used active thermoptic camouflage for a short period of time. They can also be outfitted with sensor pod launchers that also serve to detect stealth units.

Firehawk
The Firehawk VTOL fast attack jet is a new GDI weapon system combining AI programming and human piloting skills. The jet possesses a dynamically unstable airframe that requires computer control to stay in flight. However, it is capable of quickly altering the course and speed of the craft, making it an excellent air superiority fighter. The embedded AI functions as a highly sophisticated targeting system, threat assessment and tracking module as well as weapon control and navigation. The pilot interfaces with the AI, allowing him to truly dominate the skies.

Firehawk attack jets have variable weaponry, and commanders can choose between two highly destructive Hellcat firebombs or four Rattlesnake missiles, allowing it to act both as the ruler of skies or the messenger of death to ground forces and installations. It's slight disadvantage is that it requires an airfield to operate, as it has a limited weapon load.

The fighter can also be upgraded with stratosphere navigation systems and special stratofighter boosters, allowing it to move much faster through the battlefield (by traveling through the stratosphere) and engage targets where they least expect it. With the boosters the Firehawk can ascend to such a high altitude, and at such great speed, that it is untouchable by enemy anti-aircraft weaponry. The immense heat generated by this boost means that the pilot must wait a short period of time before he can utilize the Firehawk's boosters again. With proper planning, a Commander can have Firehawks utilize their boosters pummel targets across a battlefield with impunity, then return them home in the same manner without retaliation

Mammoth Tank
Controversially, GDI command decided to recall existing Mammoth Mk. II units and put a new model, heavily based on the First Tiberium War X-66 Mammoth in production. Conservative critics, including the famous GDI commando Nick "Havoc" Parker, argued against this decision, claiming that it would remove one of GDI's most powerful weapons against the Brotherhood of Nod.

The production of the third generation tank designated Mammoth 27 started in 2039 in Reykjavík, despite protests and controversies from conservative officers and commanders surrounding its introduction.

The tank has been designed with long-range operations in harsh environments in mind. Its design is a return to the basic, four-tread system with a thick, hexagonal armor to match enemy tanks head-on and defeat them in open combat. The tank is initially equipped with dual 150-mm cannons on the turret (which can be later upgraded to railguns) and comes, in the vein of earlier models, with two 4.75-inch missile pods specially designed to attack infantry and aircraft. While on articulated mounts, they are designed to hold four rockets instead of the earlier twelve. Its firepower is enough for it to take an Avatar or an Annihilator Tripod head-on and succeed. Its sheer size means that it can also crush smaller vehicles like the Nod Scorpion tank or Scrin Devourer Tank beneath its treads.

The tank is designed to be the core of GDI assault forces and provide cover for weaker, less armoured units. The performance of the tank in the field has proven that the return to the roots was a good decision for the tank, despite the fact the tank cannot automatically repair itself in the field now.