Command & Conquer: Generals/USA

The USA's arsenal is unique because of its cutting-edge technologies, from laser-lock missiles lasers to hovering robots. The attitude of the USA is to strike cleanly and effectively, without resorting to the dated or even crude weapons used by the other factions. This leads to an expensive campaign, forcing selectivity of production options upon the USA.

The USA is the most-played faction online, because of the ease in the execution of their key strategies. Among the lower ranks, the USA is often deemed overpowered for this reason, though the balance is essentially perfect in the higher ranks.

USA Structures

• Command Center
• Cold Fusion Reactor
• Barracks
• Supply Center
• Patriot Missile Battery
• War Factory
• Air Field
• Strategy Center
• Supply Drop Zone
• Detention Camp
• Particle Cannon

USA Units

Infantry

• Ranger - While expensive in comparison, the Ranger is the only rifle infantry in this game who can use two weapons, the Assault Rifle and the Flashbang Grenades. Their Flashbang Grenades are effective in clearing structures and dealing with angry mobs, but are useless against vehicles.
• Missile Defender - These well-equipped rocket soldiers are essential to the USA strategy, left in humvees for maximum effect. Optionally, they can attack with laser sights to greatly increase their rate-of-fire and range after a short delay.
• Pathfinder - The Pathfinder is available after the expenditure of a level 3 Generals' Point. These anti-infantry units are unique because they may fire without blowing their stealthed position. They can also hide in structures, which grant them sufficient protection while maintaining stealth. Finally, the Pathfinder detects stealthed units in a wide radius when out in the open. When moving, the pathfinder is fully visible to enemy units.
• Col. Burton - As a hero unit, Col. Burton is stealthed when idle or moving. The speedy USA hero is equipped with a machine gun that proves very effective against all targets, or can choose to use a knife to kill adjacent infantry while maintaining his invisibility. Finally, Burton can choose between remote demo charges or timed demo charges to damage structures, although technically, they can be attached to vehicles too.
• Pilot - Pilots are generated when a USA vehicle or plane with veterancy is destroyed or shot down. Pilots have the same veterancy as the vehicle they evacuate. Unarmed, these units can enter friendly vehicles, be they USA, China, or GLA units, and add their own veterancy to theirs for a maximum of 3 chevs (Heroic). Their veterancy is not tranferred when they enter unoccupied vehicles.

Vehicles

• Construction Dozer - Equal to the Chinese dozer in speed and armor, these unarmed unit is necessary to build structures. It is also capable of clearing mine fields, demo charges, and Demo Traps without the risk of getting hit.
• Crusader Tank - a heavily armored unit, very effective vs. structures and vehicles, but rather costly to build and use in mass quantities.
• Humvee - The most versatile unit in Generals, the Humvee can carry up to 5 infantry units, which can fire normally from the Humvee. The Humvee can also be upgraded early on to carry TOW Missiles, making the Humvee dangerous as an anti-air unit, and able to hold its own vs. light armor.
• Paladin Tank - The Paladin fires the same shell as a Crusader, but is more heavily armored, and is equipped with a point defense laser which destroys nearby enemy rockets and zaps nearby infantry dead.
• Ambulance - This unit is unarmed, though any infantry unit that nears or enters it rapidly recovers health. It can carry 3 infantry units as a humvee, though the Ambulance cannot be fired from. The Ambulance is the only unit that can remove hazardous material from the land, making it effective when resuming production after a Nuclear Missile, SCUD Storm, or Anthrax Bomb.
• Tomahawk Missile Launcher - This thin-skinned vehicle carries a massive missile, which can outrange base defenses and do severe damage from a distance. The icing on the cake is that the missile homes in on targeted enemy vehicles, assuring heavy damage. Like the SCUD Launcher's warhead, this missile will be shot down by Paladin PDLs.

With the exception of the Construction Dozer, all USA ground vehicles have the option of buying either a Scout Drone or a Battle Drone to follow and circle its parent vehicle. The Scout Drone extends a unit's sight range and detects stealth infantry units. The more expensive Battle Drone is more heavily armored and carries a weak anti-infantry machine gun at the cost of intelligence capabiilties. Drones are destroyed upon the destruction or disablement of a vehicle, or upon fire from enemy anti-air, at which time they may be rebuilt. The Battle Drone's considerable armor makes it effective fodder vs. rocket-based defenses.

Air Force

• Chinook - The USA's Primary Resource gatherer. These helicopters can carry $600 worth of supplies at once and ship it across the map at high speed. Additionally, the Chinook can be used to transport friendly ground units through the air, especially dozers. Rangers can be dropped into combat from ropes, a tactic that can be used to clear enemy buildings as an alternative to the Flashbang Grenades upgrade. The Chinook cannot hold units and supplies at the same time.
• Comanche - A powerful helicopter. Comanches are best used as a defensive weapon, and are quite deadly in support of a ground force. With the Rocket Pods upgrade, Comanches can easily eliminate large groups and even structures in one assault, unless challenged by anti-air units.
• Raptor - The most powerful fighter in the game, also an efficient anti-vehicle bomber. They can be further upgraded with laser guided missiles to boost their effect.
• Stealth Bomber - As it name implies, this unit is invisible during flight, unless in the company of some means of stealth detection. This plane is notably difficult to knock out before it returns to invisibility. Like the Raptor, this plane benefits from the Laser Missiles upgrade, but still drops reltively weak bombs, most effective against artillery and base defenses. Before the Stealth Bomber can be produced (for a lot of money), the USA player must expend a General's Point.
• Aurora Bomber - A supersonic bomber, capable of outdistancing enemy artillery and missiles, giving it temporary invulnerability during its bombing run. Once it has dropped its payload, the bomber flies at half speed, making its thin frame an easy target for enemy anti-air. The costly Aurora requires a Strategy Center in addition to a USA Airfield before it can be accessed.