Mirage Tank

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Mirage Tank
Unit
Faction	European Alliance
Role	Anti-armor
Armament	KEP cannon
Tier	2
Tech level	5
Properties
Hit points	440
Armor type	Medium
Speed	6
Turn rate	6
Sight radius	6
Production
Cost	$1000
Estimated build time	0:36
Built at	Allied War Factory
Requires	Shield Command
Combat
Ground	110
Ground modifiers	100% vs. all vehicle armor types 40% vs. Basic/Animal 30% vs. Flak and Plate/Cyborg 20% vs. Drone and (Big) Light Structure 15% vs. ((Very) Big) Defensive Structure 10% vs. (Big) Heavy Structure
Cooldown	55 frames (3.7 in-game seconds)
Range	7
Function
Ability	Disguised as a tree when stationary
Veteran bonus	+40% armor
Elite bonus	+40% firepower +25% speed Self-repair
Notes	Can crush infantry Invisible on enemy radar Takes 3 slots in transports
Miscellaneous
Artist(s)	Azri_Apoc

“	Nobody's here but us trees.	”
	—Mirage Tank on the disguise mode

The Mirage Tank is an advanced tank used by the European Alliance, known for being able to disguise itself as trees.

Official description

Mirage Tanks are some of the most advanced anti-armor units in the Euro Alliance arsenal. Developed in the SteinsTech laboratories in Germany, the tank has the unique ability to camouflage itself as a tree as long as the tank is stationary. In addition to being undetectable on radar, this allows the Mirage Tank to remain hidden in plain view. With its Kinetic Energy Penetrator Cannon, the tank is more than a match for enemy armor, especially during ambushes. The battlefield is a dangerous place, but when even the trees are gunning for you, you know there is nowhere you can hide.

Overview

For a detailed list of changes from the original game, click here.

An advanced anti-tank weapon of the European Alliance forces, the Mirage Tank is capable of disguising itself as an innocuous tree to the enemy when stationary. Equipped with a KEP cannon that is specially designed to shred enemy armor, the Mirage Tank is a formidable anti-vehicle opponent in the mid-game. This, combined with its camouflage ability and radar invisibility, makes the Mirage Tank excellent for ambushing unsuspecting enemy armored vehicles. However its KEP weapon is not as effective against infantry and structures.

The Mirage tank's firepower, range and armor is superior against most main battle tanks and light vehicles. However it is not suited to withstanding engagements with most monster tanks. They are also less effective and more vulnerable when moving around. Despite that, Mirage Tanks have a decent chance to survive tank skirmishes by remaining stationary and relying on their camouflage ability.

Countering and attacking Mirage Tanks requires a little extra micromanagement. One has to identify stationary Mirage Tank trees, and force-fire on them, as one's forces might stop attacking when Mirage Tanks disguise into trees again. Destroying surrounding trees would also help in detecting sneaky Mirage Tanks easier. Using stealth detection units is also an option, as their nearby presence instantly nullifies the camouflage abilities of them.

Appearances

“	Commander, our Mirage Tank's ability to hide itself among any natural objects around it make it the perfect ambush or covert surveillance vehicle.	”
	—Allied EVA during Operation: Zero Signal

Act One

• The Mirage Tank is introduced as a controllable unit in Zero Signal and becomes buildable in Panic Cycle.
• Moreover, there are 4 hidden Mirage Tanks in Panic Cycle. If the player finds them, click each of them can acquire the selected Mirage Tank.

Act Two

• In Lizard Brain, the forest in front of the tunnel is heavily guarded by large amounts of Mirage Tanks, which makes the Tyrant prototype almost impossible to get to the front of the tunnel by drilling before eliminating the Allied forces in the forest.
• Starting from Insomnia when the Allies enter the Antarctic battlefield, the optical camouflage of the Mirage Tank is changed from trees to road signs. Full of trees in the Antarctic battlefield is obviously illogical.
• In Meltdown, if you manage to captured the Shield Command that locate near Rocket Launchpads B site. You can production Mirage Tanks without Allied War Factory. But you need to keep Stalin's Fist or Epsilon War Factory at least to production.

Assessment

Pros	Cons
Very effective against armored vehicles. Camouflages itself as a tree when not moving. Invisible on radar. Can crush infantry.	Vulnerable to anti-armor weapons. Camouflage ability can be neutralized with stealth detection units. Cannot attack air units. Cannot fire on the move. Mediocre against infantry and structures.

Behind the scenes

• In 3.0 the Mirage Tank was able to disguise as other variations of trees and other city clutter (e.g. stop signs, traffic lights) by ordering it to attack the designated disguise target. The coding for this feature is brought back as of version 3.3.4 (it is declared as one of the Mirage's weapons), but it currently does not work in-game. This is intentional.

Trivia

• The Mirage Tank's appearance in Mental Omega is based off the initial concept art for the Mirage tank from Red Alert 3.

External links

• Mirage Tank in the Command & Conquer Wiki