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High speed, low drag.
—A Bulldog Tank on the move

The Bulldog Light Tank is one of two tanks used by the United States. It is a lighter companion to the heavier Abrams Tank, armed with a cannon for general combat purposes and a target painter to mark hostiles so friendly forces can deal more damage to them.

Official description[]

In order to counter heavy Soviet armor, a light tank concept was proposed with emphasis on the quick elimination of enemy vehicles. The concept of this tank was based on the older Light Tank design from the Second World War, along with some significant upgrades. Out of this concept, the Bulldog was born. Along with being one of the fastest tanks on the battlefield, the Bulldog simultaneously equips a small target painter on the opposite side of its barrel. Once ordered to switch from the cannon to the painter, it can mark enemy objects for others to prioritize on, in order to deal more damage to the designated targets.[1]

Overview[]

The Bulldog is exclusive to the United States and replaces the Cavalier Tank in the standard Allied arsenal.

Fast, inexpensive, and with decent firepower, the Bulldog Tank is a nice early game unit that the U.S. can utilize to put an opponent off his footing. These attributes combine to make a unit that is tailor built for early harassment and rapid assault tactics, making it a potent threat to enemy structures and vehicles. A group of four or more can ravage undefended miners or military facilities, and then quickly get away from most pursuers.

Equipped with a target painter, the Bulldog tank can provide useful support during any stages of a battle. The target painter increases the damage the targeted units will take, by applying a small armor debuff.

Although an effective rapid assault unit, the Bulldog Tank cannot take much punishment. Bulldog Tanks are inferior against heavy main battle tanks such as Rhino Tanks and Qilin Tanks in terms of firepower and armor and they will not survive direct head-on confrontations with the latter. Bulldog Tanks also cannot attack aircraft, which makes them easy pickings for precision airstrikes. In the late game, Bulldog Tanks are outmatched by monster tanks unless they have a numerical advantage on their side but they can still play a part in support (mainly with its target painter), harassment, or escorts for fragile U.S. armor like Athena Cannons.

AI behavior[]

The AI has the ability to create Bulldogs in its target painter mode without needing to switch modes first. However, the AI is not programmed to switch between Bulldog modes.

Bulldog Tanks controlled by the AI have the following attack patterns:

All difficulties[]

  • 4x targeting vehicles
    • This task force will only be constructed if a Tech Center is not present
  • 6x targeting vehicles
  • 6x targeting vehicles or structures
    • 2 Bulldog Tanks use the target painter mode

Medium/Hard[]

  • 2x (target painter mode) targeting vehicles, accompanied by 2 Abrams Tanks
  • 2x (target painter mode) targeting structures, accompanied by 2 Athena Cannons and 2 Abrams Tanks
  • 3x targeting vehicles, accompanied by 2 Warhawks

Hard[]

  • 2x targeting anything, accompanied by 2 Stryker IFVs and 2 Robot Tanks
    • The AI may use Chronoboost on this task force
    • If available, Shadow Ring may also be applied

Appearances[]

Bulldog can switch to a target painter to make its enemies more vulnerable.
—Allied intel during Operation: Red Dawn Rising

Act One[]

Assessment[]

Pros Cons
  • Effective against armored vehicles.
  • Can crush infantry and fire on the move.
  • Decent firepower and speed.
  • Target painter applies armor debuff to enemy units.
  • Vulnerable against aerial and anti-armor threats.
  • Not very durable among main battle tanks.
  • Inferior to heavy tanks.

Behind the scenes[]

  • Prior to 3.3.5 the alternate weapon of the Bulldog Light Tank were flashbangs that decreased firepower of enemy infantry. These flashbangs were fired with the main cannon so an alternate firing mode did not exist.

Trivia[]

  • The Bulldog Light Tank bears some similarities to the real-life M41 Walker Bulldog light tank used by the U.S. Army.
  • The Bulldog Tank's Target Painter mode functions similarly to the Guardian Tank's Target Painter mode from Red Alert 3, having its cannon sacrificed for said mode.

See also[]

References[]

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