Following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States stood alone as the sole global superpower, the newly-formed Russian Federation being too destitute to recapture the glory of the USSR. Throughout the 1990s, however, military spending continued at Cold War levels, as the United States sought to maintain the post-Cold War global order by any means necessary.
Following 9/11 and the commencement of Operation Enduring Freedom, American military power became a mixed bag. While Afghanistan was a success story, Iraq was a long, hard occupation. The number of soldiers killed overseas in the Middle East by terrorists grew, and
NBC Nightly News ran a running tally of these deaths, leading to calls for the United States to pull all troops out of the Middle East. Barack Obama made good on his promise withdraw from Iraq in 2011.
Amidst the Trump adminstration, the United States Armed Forces experienced a few embarrassing incidents, such as a destroyer colliding with a Philippines-flagged container ship near Tokyo, calling to question the state of the military. Trump, on his part, wanted a military parade, which set off alarm bells in many regarding his dictatorial ambitions, but such a parade never materialized.
Upon taking office, Joe Biden oversaw a massive modernization of the military. Among the improvements made were increased usage of drones, introduction of advanced computer systems and lasers, and improving surviveability for vehicle crews and pilots.
The primary ground force of the United States Armed Forces, the US Army greatly benefitted from the modernization efforts under the Biden administration. The introduction of drones was met with some trepidation, as several far-right politicians cried out that Biden was replacing humans with robots, though they were outnumbered by the Republicans who saw the value of reducing human battlefield casualties.
The United States was the first nation to get the ball rolling on the Infantry Class System (ICS), aimed at simplifying infantry roles by assigning them a fitting a name. Every military around the world, even the Global Liberation Army, adopted this system.
The basic infantry of the United States Army was the Ranger. Prior to the introduction of the ICS, the US Army Rangers were not basic infantry, but highly-trained personnel who fell under the umbrella of United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Their standard equipment included the most up-to-date combat armor, and the M16A5 assault rifle, the latest revision of the tried and true M16, which also had an optional M203 Grenade Launcher that fired flash-bang grenades to subdue enemy infantry and capture them for intelligence. Compared to other notable basic infantry classes around the world such as the Red Guard, Rebel, Felin Rifleman, and Conscript, the Rangers undoubtedly had the best training, relying on superior training instead of superior numbers or specializing in a certain role.
The Missile Defender was the standard missile infantry of the US Army. In the past, American anti-tank infantry had used weapons such as the M72 LAW and FGM-148 Javelin (the latter quickly becoming a "saint" of sorts in Ukraine during the Russian invasion), but by the time the United States committed its forces to battling the GLA, the military had to take drastic budget cuts in order to continue fielding armies with portable anti-armor weaponry. With more advanced enemies appearing on the horizon and with a decline of volunteers for the mobile infantry, the U.S. Armed Forces had a dilemma. They needed to consolidate the amount of heavy weapon specialists in each regiment, meaning they had to carry more weapons if they were to engage both ground and air targets.
The solution was the FGM-172 SRAW, a weapon that had been designed in the late 1990s to complement the Javelin, but procurement was cancelled in 2003 after Congress questioned the similarity between the Marine Corps SRAW and Army Bunker Defeat Munition programs. By 2023, however, the SRAW was back in production and sent into the fold. The SRAW fired a SACLOS missile that could be fired and guided upon any type of target, be it tank, helicopter, or in some cases, even jets. The warhead used was not the heaviest nor most efficient one, but its versitality in use compared to any other system made it popular among the Missile Defenders.
Drones formed an important part of the United States military from the 2020s onward, with all branches implementing them in some form. Army infantry had the Vanguard, a class with a few tricks up its sleeve. The Vanguard carried three types of drones: the AQ-51 Dragonfly, which fired missiles, the M20 "Rolling Ricky", a mine drone, and the Bomb Drone, which would kill all infantry inside of a structure. For self-defense, the Vanguard carried the Atchisson AA-12, an automatic shotgun that could blow enemy infantry's heads off at point-blank range.
The Pathfinder was the sniper class. Typically, these men would cover themselves in camouflage and lie in wait for several days without moving and with little supplies, patiently waiting for the perfect opportunity to shoot or observe. Pathfinders were armed with the Desert Tech SRS, a bolt-action sniper rifle with an optional silencer attachment. Not only were the Pathfinders some of the most elite snipers in the world, they were also great for recon. Notorious GLA marksman Jarmen Kell had nothing but respect for these men, and considered going up against them to be an honor.
Although Missile Defenders used the SRAW, the Javelin was still in widespread use. Often, they would be carried by two people, and then deployed in a fixed position to fire at enemy armor. Simple, yet effective, as the Javelin was still the best anti-tank missile in the world.
One class that sort of went under the radar was the Enforcer. Colloquially referred to as the "Grenadier", the Enforcer was equipped with the M25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement (CDTE) System, which had previously been used for field evaluations between 2010 and 2013, having had its funding cut after a misfire during a live-fire training event in Panjwai, Afghanistan on February 2, 2013. The Army signed a memorandum officially terminating the XM25 program on July 24, 2018, after settling the lawsuit with Orbital ATK that gave the military intellectual property rights to the weapons and ammunition. In 2021, however, the program was revived under President Biden, and all reliability issues were ironed out, producing a reliable grenade launcher. The 40mm grenade could be programmed with a timed or proximity fuse, based on the situation.
Two classes were grouped under the Army Special Forces. Founded in 1952 as the original special forces of the United States Army, the Green Berets took part in covert operations around the entire globe. Highly proficient in the use of the enhanced M16A5 assault rifle, these elite warriors struck fear into the heart of every infantryman faced with the prospect of fighting them, and they could use their under-barrel grenade launchers to fire powerful 40mm high-explosive/fragmentation grenades to obliterate foot-soldiers and lightly armored vehicles with ease. Essentially, the Green Berets were the Rangers on steroids.
Delta Force wasn't just the name of a movie starring Chuck Norris whose main theme was closely associated with the Indianapolis 500, it was a special operations force within the US Army. Members of the 1st SFOD-D were among the most elite soldiers in the United States military. As the most secretive and well-trained special forces unit of the US Army, the Deltas achieved an unparalleled degree of mastery in the use of countless weapons. Their heavy gunners served as fire support specialists and wielded a combination of weapons that enabled them to deal with any sort of threat: Their primary armament was the Mk.48 Mod 3, a machine gun that spewed out lethal 7.62mm rounds at an amazing rate of fire, allowing the Operators to rip through infantry, light vehicles and even low flying aircraft with ease. In addition, they carried a lightweight 60mm commando mortar whose advanced precision guided shells made up for their lack of explosive punch through nigh-pinpoint accuracy.
And finally, no look at the infantry of the US Army would be complete without talking about Colonel John Burton. This absolute unit of a man was a one-man army, able to take out anything that wasn't airborne with deadly efficiency. In combat, he wielded the XM29 OICW (Objective Individual Combat Weapon), a prototype weapon that was meant to replace the M16, but never left the prototype stage. The OICW had two configurations: assault rifle, which allowed Burton to shred infantry and tear through light vehicles, and grenade launcher, which allowed Burton to take on tanks and structures. In addition to his gun, Burton never left the barracks without bringing plenty of explosives. He had two types at his disposal: timed demo charges, which exploded after ten seconds, and remote demo charges, which Burton could trigger on command. And finally, he had his combat knife, which he could use to take out enemy infantry without popping up on enemy radar.
If infantry were the hammer of the US Army, vehicles are the anvil. With the largest tank fleet in the world, the United States also had the most advanced vehicles that, while more expensive than their Chinese, Russian, and European counterparts, were incredibly versatile and had better crew surviveability.
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV, colloquially referred to as the Humvee) was, for years, an essential part to the arsenal of American forces. The newest Humvee model, the M1200 series, was very different from its predecessors. First, its machine gun was replaced by a higher caliber model that delivered superior performance, capable of mowing down infantry and light armored vehicles with ease with the latest technology in electronic targeting thanks to its powerful onboard computer system. The new model could also be fitted with a manned TOW launcher, capable of reducing armored targets to mere scraps. The launcher could be easily and quickly assembled, even in combat conditions, with minimal set up time. The TOW launcher left no room for the machine gun and its electronic sensors however, only allowing generals to customize their Humvees for a single role; this was in sharp contrast to the M1165 Up-Armored HMMWV used early in the Global War on Terror, which could mount the TOW launcher on top of the machine gun.
Another difference with the M1200 series was the lack of fireports. With the M1165, infantry could fire out of the vehicle, but after several lethal accidents, this practice was banned; consequently, quite a few disgruntled commanders submitted complaints to the Pentagon regarding the ban, as a viable strategy they had frequently employed was filling a Humvee with Missile Defenders, allowing the Humvee to handle any threat sent its way, including tanks and aircraft; a Humvee loaded with Pathfinders was also viewed as the most-efficient way to deal with Stinger Sites.
Many M1200s were modified to serve as ambulances, a self-explanatory role. But what set the M1200 Ambulances apart was their "gun", which shot a special foam known as the CBRN Foam (CBRN standing for "chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear"). This foam is shot over a contaminated area, and neutralizes chemical and biological agents, as well as forcing alpha, beta, and gamma radiation to decay in seconds. This proved very useful against the GLA and their biochemical weapons, but it was of grave concern for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, as the ability to stop radioactive fallout made nuclear weapons much more accepted as normal parts of a nuclear arsenal (the adoption of pure fusion nuclear weapons contributed to this line of thinking).
Experience from the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan had a profound effect on US military doctrine, leading to the introduction of the M4A1 Crusader, a lighter, more economical tank much more suited for rapid deployment. Equipped with a 125mm cannon, the Crusader was well-armored for its weight, often being considered the most-lethal tank in the world.
The United States' other main tank during the Global War on Terror was a new upgrade to the venerable M1 Abrams tank. The new variant was called the M1A3, with the System Enhancement Package upgrade, improved networking capabilities, and a new powerplant. A small number of M1s were further upgraded with a laser atop the turret that could shoot down missiles and inflict lethal burns on any infantry that got too close. Other improvements included the Ramjet Assisted Penetrator rounds and an AI suite that allowed the tank to be crewed by a single crewmember. This version was so different and superior to the M1A3 that it was designated as the M1A4 Paladin. The new tank naming convention involving religious names instead of the names of generals wasn't lost on anyone, though it did gain President Biden support from the Bible Belt, because in their minds, the fight against the GLA was a fight against "pagan worshippers".
Ever since the turn of the millennium, unmanned weapons had become a mainstay counter-insurgency tool in the Middle East and Africa. The WASP (
Weaponized
Assault,
Security and
Patrol) Hive was the first breakthrough made by current generation drone technologies, the result of billions of dollars worth of research and their increasing importance to US military operations. Although a plain Stryker APC on the outside, its passenger compartment was completely redesigned to shelter advanced computer systems and a console. Besides the driver, the only other crew member was the drone operator. Thanks to advanced computer assistance controls, the operator functioned more as a "drone commander" than a "drone pilot" as he ordered an entire swarm of WASPs to fight for him and protect the vehicle if necessary. The technology had its limitations, however. Although the operator had what seems to be an unlimited swarm of drones at his disposal, the computer couldn't control more than three drones simultaneously. Due to the expendable nature of the WASPs, the Hive was designed with drone losses in mind and could quickly a replace a drone that is shot down by making a new one with a 3D printer, making it excellent for harassing enemies and supporting more valuable units at a long distance; there was some debate as to whether or not the WASP was considered as a fire support vehicle or self-propelled artillery. Little is known about the drone operators themselves, other than they required to have a high resistance to fatigue due to extended active duty and patience to conduct operations that could last days in scouting, acquiring and neutralizing a single target.
The Microwave Tank, officially referred to as the M12 Templar, was a rather unique weapon. It was a directed-energy weapon using microwave frequencies, but in ways never used before. Instead of being used as an irritant against rioters or to shoot down enemy missiles, the Microwave Tank had a high-powered microwave (HPM) pulse emitter that was powerful enough to shut down any electronics, be they vehicles, structures, or base defenses. The microwave pulse was so powerful, it could set humans aflame; this was quickly exploited to its natural conclusion, as Templar operators would just leave the microwave pulses at their highest latent setting and just let enemy infantry walk within the microwave's radius. The effects of the microwave pulse emitter at its highest latent setting was horrifying, as a person would be set on fire and then literally explode into a pile of bloody limbs, leading many to question if using the Templar in this way constituted a war crime. On a lesser note, the microwave pulse could also disarm mines, and could clear out garrisoned buildings.
The BGM-109M Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) began life as a naval-based cruise missile that could carry a wide range of warheads, including a nuclear warhead. By the time the US faced the GLA, it began test to deploy the Tomahawk missiles onto ground mobile platforms, the second time a ground-based version of the missile had been deployed (the first version had been withdrawn in 1991 under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which had been controversially nullified by the Trump administration months before the start of the Global War on Terror). This, however, was horrible. The launch platform, based on the chassis of the M4A1 Crusader, was slow and poorly armored, the missile didn't provide any advantage over comparable artillery systems, their slow speed made them susceptible to interception even by Stinger missiles, and their range was abysmal compared to the Tomahawks deployed on Arleigh Burke-class destroyers. However, due to the cost of the initial project, the Department of Defense, now free of the constraints of the INF Treaty, gave the project another shot in 2023.
The new version of the Tomahawk was more mobile, more cost effective, and came with a new fire system based on a new chassis design. In its normal mode, the missile travelled fast, being able to hit the target before AA systems could shoot them down, at least when 2-3 Tomahawks were firing. This fast mode also enabled the Tomahawk missile to track its target, guaranteeing a hit and enabling the missile to hit armored columns to devastating effect. In cruise mode, the missile sacrificed speed and tracking for extended range. This enabled the Tomahawk to hit targets well beyond most artillery systems. This range was easily countered by the fact that the missile could now be easily shot down, but the range boost was impressive.
The All-Terrain Vehicle - or simply ATV - was a lightweight, air-droppable modification of the M1200 which incorporated some design features of the vehicles that were at some point intended to replace the entire Humvee fleet altogether. It was fast, very manoeuvrable, and armed with the M268, a lighter triple barrelled successor of the original 7.62mm Minigun that made it an ideal support vehicle for airborne raiding operations. It also had a UAV in the form of the PDL drone, which intercepted incoming missiles, but the drone self-destructed after a short period of time. ATVs would be deployed with Green Berets and Delta Force Operators already aboard.
Late in the Global War on Terror, the United States Army took delivery of another new tank: the M8 Acolyte. This tank was even lighter than the Crusader, light enough to be safely airdropped. Armed with a 90mm smoothbore cannon, the Acolyte was usually dropped in groups of three from a C-17 Globemaster.
One vehicle that didn't see much, if any use during the Global War on Terror was, surprisingly, the M2 Bradley. This infantry fighting vehicle was upgraded to the M2A4 in 2022, upgraded with with an improved 25mm chain gun, advanced TOW missile launchers, modular composite armor and, most notably, the same point-defense anti-missile laser (PDL) that was successfully introduced and field-tested by the Paladin Tank, making the "new" Bradley an ideal supplement in combined arms mechanized warfare thanks to its mobility, firepower, protection, and infantry transport capabilities. However, these same upgrades were its downfall, as the Humvee and Paladin rendered it redundant. As such, the M2A4 Bradley didn't see much combat against the GLA.
First fielded in the early 1990s, the M1097 Avenger was conceived as a light-weight, short-range anti-air system based on a modified Humvee. However, the missiles that acted as the vehicle's primary armament for almost three decades started to show their age in the later stages of the Global War on Terror, often proving wholly inadequate when it came to defeating the infamous Scud missiles launched by the GLA.
It was at this time when General Gregory "Pinpoint" Townes, the head of the Army's R&D branch for laser technologies, came up with a quick and efficient solution in the form of the 'Avenger-L', which replaced the aging missile system with a powerful high-energy laser, supported by a rangefinder and protected by a more powerful version of the same point-defense lasers that were successfully introduced by the M1A4 Paladin tank. The new platform proved to be effective in combat and what was initially meant to be an interim solution until the full-scale deployment of dedicated tactical lasers quickly became a mainstay weapon system of the US military which received further performance upgrades as the years went by.
Of all the militaries in the world, the United States had the largest and most versatile fleet of helicopters. At the time of the 10/5 attacks, the main helicopter gunship of the United States Army was the AH-64 Apache, a beast of a helicopter, but fast becoming an aging relic of the Cold War. By the time the United States threw itself into the Global War on Terror, however, it had a new fleet of helicopters of different types.
The Apache found itself fully retired by the RAH-66 Comanche. Initially, the Comanche was designed as a support helicopter for the Apache, meant to designate targets for it. The helicopter's development history was cursed, so much so that the project was actually cancelled in early 2004. However, in 2021, the decision was made to give the project another whack, mainly by stripping the expensive stealth technology from it. The project bore fruit in 2023, creating perhaps the finest attack helicopter ever. Its primary armament consisted of the Turreted Gun System with a 20 mm XM301 three-barrel rotary cannon, and its internal bays could either hold 6 AGM-144 Hellfire missiles, 12 AGM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles, or 24 70mm Hydra 70 air-to-ground rockets; the Comanche was also designed with optional stub wings that could hold 8 Hellfire, 16 Stinger, or a whopping 56 Hydra missiles (these stub wings were eliminated in early testing). The Comanche quickly established itself as an absolute death machine, and became feared among GLA as a harbinger of death.
But the Comanche wasn't the only helicopter in the US Army. The AH-1Z Viper was introduced in 2010, a descendant of the AH-1 Cobra. It was much more agile than the Apache and Comanche, armed with the 20mm M197 three-barreled rotary cannon in the A/A49E-7 turret and two AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles; it could also be optionally equipped with Hydra 70 missiles. The typical role of the Viper was as an escort for the Comanche; typically, an Army Helicopter Group would consist of three Comanches and two Vipers, and would park over the path of an army. The Comanches would lay waste to ground targets, while the Viper would shoot down any enemy helicopters (enemy aircraft would be dealt with by other assets).
One helicopter that entered service late in the Global War on Terror was the AH-6 Little Bird, a light helicopter gunship meant for recon and special operations. Its armament left a bit to be desired, but it was a speedy little thing, and in the hands of a skilled pilot, it could be used effectively for aerial harassment.
The UH-60 Blackhawk operated in many scenarios all over the globe and proved time and time again, it was an excellent transport helicopter. Not only could it sweep the landing zone clean, it could also lay down a barrage of covering fire for its passengers. The Blackhawk tactical transport helicopter was the army's unrequited quintessence of infantry insertion deep into enemy territory. During the Global War on Terror, the multifunctional CH-47 Chinook had been used to this same end. However, this unarmed and expensive helicopter sustained heavy losses to enemy RPGs and Stingers, and was better suited for logistics. With the Osprey being impractical due to the fact that it, too, was unarmed, the Blackhawk was uncovered and reassigned to the army of General Thorn to guarantee enemy inquietude. It mounted an anti infantry minigun, and arrives with eight Rangers, ready for aerial insertion.
Speaking of the Chinook, as I mentioned, it was mainly used for transport and logistics, collecting supplies from UN Supply Docks. By the time of the Third Gulf War, however, the helicopter was showing its age, another relic of the Cold War, so the Chinook was largely mothballed and replaced by the V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft that was otherwise functionally-identical to the Chinook.
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) had been part of the United States military for years, with the General Atomics MQ-1 Predator gaining notoriety for its use in assassinating high-profile terrorist leaders. But when President Biden began modernizing the United States Armed Forces in the early 2020s, he greatly increased the number of drones being used in all branches, even the Coast Guard. Many conservatives attacked the notion of widespread drone use, believing they were taking jobs away from flesh-and-blood humans, but when they saw just how much the military drone industry was worth in gross revenue, they quickly embraced it.
The first drones used by the Army were simple enough. All vehicles would be assembled with one of two drone options loaded inside, though only one could be deployed at a time due to control signal limitations.
The most-commonly seen drone was the Battle Drone. These simple hover drones were armed with a shortened .30 caliber machine gun that was effective against infantry, providing tanks with critical anti-infantry capabilities. Its most notable use, however, was repair. First tested on light vehicles deployed in Afghanistan, the repair rate of the drones was so effective, every dent and holes was patch up in minutes, as if it was fresh out of the factory. This made field engineers redundant, but nobody lost their jobs, and instead became drone mechanics. Battle Drones were not only used by the Army for their vehicles, but also by the Navy for their surface ships.
Another option was the Scout Drone, which was used for reconnaissance and detecting enemies invisible to radar. These drones, however, couldn't repair their parent vehicle, and thus were seldom used. Later in the war, they were replaced with the Targeteer Drone, which resembled a consumer drone, but was equipped with a target-designation laser, in addition to inheriting the Scout Drone's recon role.
One option introduced late in the Global War on Terror was the Hellfire Drone. This small, delta-winged drone was, as its name implied, armed with a Hellfire missile. The drone could only hold a single Hellfire missile at a time, and after firing it, had to return to its parent vehicle for reloading, and the parent vehicle could only hold so many missiles before it had to be resupplied. After "Zero Hour", this drone was swiftly retired and never saw the light of day again.
But this is only the tip of the iceberg regarding drone warfare in the Army. We're just getting started.
When a new FOB was erected, there would be two units: a construction dozer as part of the Army Corps. of Engineers, and an Oracle Forward Reconnaissance Drone. Otherwise known as the Recon Drone, this drone was the result of the United States Army requiring a fast, easily-deployable eye on the ground. Airborne drones had the disadvantage of being easy prey for anti-aircraft fire, and Recon Drones could be deployed en masse to frontlines to provide crystal-clear reconnaissance for ground teams. Furthermore, Recon Drones were equipped with a targeting laser that could relay information to distant strike bombers and artillery crews. Its sensors could also detect mines hidden in the soil, and a robotic arm could extend and disable them.
One of the first drones aside from the Battle and Scout Drones to be deployed was the Sentry Drone. This particular model came from a long line of failed prototypes. Billions of dollars were pumped into the development of the perfect scout. The first prototypes produced used to be as expensive as a tank and used to break down often. The second line were cheaper, however, they had to be remote controlled by somebody within a hundred miles, and were typically only used as bomb disposal robots by SWAT teams. The third and final version was cheaper, was capable of accomplishing its mission even without supervision, and could operate for over a week without maintenance. The Rottweiler Sentry Drone has been a workhorse of the United States military since the Global War on Terror, and has been given another systems upgrade to keep up with the times. The primary purpose of the Sentry is to detect enemies invisible to radar, and are equipped with a machine gun that can optionally be replaced with a minigun.
The Guardian Drone was a breakthrough in drone warfare, being an anti-tank drone armed with a 40mm cannon. While individually, it will get wrecked by a tank, the Guardian is much cheaper than a tank (and indeed, the Guardian is often considered the American equivalent to the Chinese Hopper), and can be produced in large enough numbers to take on enemy armor columns. The Guardian has the unique ability to dig into the ground; while it is completely immobile in this state, it is also MUCH harder to destroy, and can shoot faster. This makes the Guardian ideal for area denial against enemy vehicles.
If the Guardian was the anti-vehicle component of drone warfare, the Mule was the anti-infantry component. The Mule Ammunition Drone's primary purpose is to bring fresh ammo to infantry in the field, but is also armed with an M134 Minigun and an array of flare launchers to draw anti-aircraft fire away from friendly aircraft and helicopters.
The Repair Drone is simple, repairing other drones. It can also be upgraded to repair vehicles (useful for when a vehicle crew opts to deploy a Targeteer Drone), and with a point defense laser to shoot down missiles.
The AT Drone (Anti-Tank) is...weird. This quadrupedal drone has one goal: to destroy all enemy vehicles and structures in sight. The AT Drone can run at 70 MPH, scale vertical cliffs, and are equipped with a plasma torch that burns through steel at over 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit. They can also burrow into the ground and then pop up to ambush the enemy. There is a very good reason Russian tank crews often referred to them as Terror Drones.
The Termite Drone is an area denial drone equipped with a smaller microwave pulse emitter than the Templar. It digs in, and when an enemy comes near, it emits a microwave pulse, shutting down vehicles and frying infantry. In other words, a glorified landmine.
The United States' main strength was its air force, the largest and most-advanced in the world. Descended from the United States Army Air Forces formed in 1941 months before the Attack on Pearl Harbor dragged the United States into World War II, the United States Air Force was a critical component of the Armed Forces, often being part of the opening strike to clear the way for the Army and Marines.
The Air Force fielded a wide variety of aircraft, from cargo planes to strategic bombers, and everything in between. At the outset of the 2020s, the United States had a large variety of aircraft of different types, but by the time of Operation Final Justice, shrewd cost-cutting had pared this down to a more manageable number. A good example of this was fighters. By the time of the Third Gulf War, most fighter types had been retired from USAF service, including the F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon; the F-22 Raptor was undoubtedly one of the most advanced fighters in the world, but it was also extremely costly, making it impractically expensive to deploy in bulk. A variant known as the F-22B was introduced in 2021; although it had a larger radar cross section and reduced performance in some other areas, the F-22B was much more economical than the A-variant, and retained most of its capability.
Despite this, the F-22B didn't see as much service during the Global War on Terror as was expected, as around the time of the Third Gulf War, the F-35A Widowmaker entered widespread service. While the F-22B was a fantastic aircraft, the F-35A blew it out of the water. As a multirole fighter, the Widowmaker (named so for early, and thankfully false, concerns about the aircraft's survivability in contested airspace, the name soon gaining a new meaning of making widows out of the enemy) could be used for a wide variety of missions, including air superiority, interception, close air support, logistics strike, naval strike, and port strike.
The Widowmaker had a wide variety of weapons: for guns, the fighter had a single 25mm GAU-22/A 4-barrel rotary cannon, and for hardpoints, it had 4 internal stations, 6 external stations on the wings with a capacity of 5,700 pounds internal, and 15,000 pounds external, for a grand total of 18,000 pounds total weapons payload. These hardpoints were loaded with a wide variety of missiles depending on the mission; the Widowmaker could also carry bombs, including the B61 Mod 12 nuclear bomb, thus making the F-35A a tactical nuclear bomber.
The usage of drones extended to the Air Force, with the AQ-360 UCAV, otherwise known as the Hunter-Killer Drone. This is the world's first fully autonomous military aircraft. Introduced in 2025 amidst the AI revolution, the HK Drone is armed with four HGM-65 Maverick missiles. Although a fantastic ground strike aircraft, the AQ-360 was not designed for dogfighting, meaning there was still a need for crewed fighters and bombers.
During the period of modernization of the US Armed Forces under the Biden administration, the USAF requested a design for a new optionally manned strike bomber. The demands were that the new aircraft would be at least as stealthy as Northrop Grumman's B-21 Raider and less expensive than the F/B-40 Aurora (more on that disaster below), and would be carrier-capable. Lockheed Martin and Boeing submitted two final designs: a less expensive but slower variant for the US Air Force and a higher speed penetration bomber for the US Navy. The first model was named the A-19 Nighthawk II, a successor to the F-117 Nighthawk that, by the time the United States committed fully to fighting the GLA, had been largely retired, with four aircraft demoted to trainers. Its blended wing body design and advanced jamming devices made it extremely difficult to detect with nearly any radar or infrared system, and the Nighthawk II in both variants was capable of carrying up to the heaviest forms of JDAMs, missiles, and laser-guided munitions. To save costs, both variants of the Nighthawk II used off-the-shelf avionics from the F-35, and the A-19 variant used high-bypass versions of the F/A-18E's F414 engine.
And now to address the elephant in the room, the F/B-40 Aurora. An outgrowth of the secret Aurora program from the 1980s, the F/B-40 was designed as a supersonic bomber with terrible dogfighting capabilities, but the Air Force gave it an F-designation because they wanted aggressive fighter pilots to fly the thing to its limits. This proved to be a terrible idea (much like the design choices of the Alienware gaming PCs named after the 80s project), and the aircraft was rushed into service against the GLA before it was ready. The Aurora carried a single bomb that, admittedly, did rather well against enemy air defenses, and before dropping its payload, would fly at hypersonic speeds, fast enough that no anti-air weapon system in the world could hit it; a few savvy commanders exploited the hell out of this, and used the Aurora not for destruction, but to distract enemy anti-air while Comanches went in for the kill. Still, the Aurora suffered horrendous losses, quickly becoming very unpopular among pilots to the point that entire squadrons went on strike rather than have to fly what was effectively one-way missions (many of these pilots were detained for insubordination before the Air Force realized just how bad the issues with the Aurora were), and after Zero Hour, it was deactivated without haste, never to see the light of day again.
All of these shiny new planes were all well and good, but there was still plenty of use for the old guard. The A-10 Thunderbolt II, more commonly referred to as the Warthog, was among the oldest aircraft in service of the United States Air Force. After the turn of the millennium, the plane was originally meant to be phased out in favor of the more versatile F-35A. However, perpetual design disputes, technical issues and overflowing costs resulted in a severe scaling down of the Joint Strike Fighter project in the late 2010s. While the F-35 project eventually bore fruit and created an excellent multirole fighter, the A-10 fleet was brought back from the boneyard and refurbished for service during the Global War on Terror. The Warthog was armed with a single 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger rotary cannon, the sound of which was often considered one of the scariest in war, but only for the enemy; for allies, it was a wonderful sound. It could be armed with a wide variety of missiles and bombs, though against the GLA, it was commonly armed with six AGM-65 Maverick air-to-surface missiles, capable of wiping out entire armored divisions.
For bombers, the United States had some of the most famous in the world. The oldest was the B-52 Stratofortress, originally introduced in 1955 to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union, but also widely used for conventional carpet bombing missions, like in Vietnam. The "Big, Ugly, Fat Fucker" proved to be just as lethal as ever during the Global War on Terror, carpet-bombing GLA FOBs to dust and also dropping various fuel air bombs. Quite a few B-52s were shot down by the GLA, but most made it back to base just barely holding together; one crew that survived this way rechristened their aircraft "Old Ironsides".
The B-1B Lancer was another Cold War relic. This supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber was meant to replace the B-52, but ironically, by the time of The Sundering in 2052, no Lancers were being used as nuclear bombers, while quite a few B-52s were, and the B-1B had been demoted to conventional bomber. Not that it didn't do this job well, as its speed meant it could survive a bombing run much more easily than other bombers.
The B-2 Spirit was the quintessential stealth bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. It, too, was designed as a nuclear bomber, but was introduced into service in 1997, too late for the Cold War. Despite this, the B-2 was still often loaded with nuclear bombs, but was usually used for conventional bombing. And boy, was the B-2 good at this. Its nickname was very fitting: too fast to see, too fast to hear, and too hard to defend against. During the Global War on Terror, B-2s carried the GBU-43/B MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Burst, or Mother of All Bombs), often purported to be the most powerful non-nuclear bomb ever created (though Russia claimed its "Father of All Bombs" was even more powerful, though as of today, this claim has never been proven). The B-2 was used more often for conventional carpet bombing, however, as its speed and stealth meant anti-air fire couldn't reliably hit it.
Around the time the Global War on Terror began, the Air Force was knee-deep in developing its next strategic bomber, the B-21 Raider. It first flew on November 10, 2023, but was too late to join the fight against the GLA. By the 2040s, however, it had completely replaced the B-1B and 20 B-2s as strategic nuclear bombers.
First flown in combat during the hunt for Dr. Thrax, the AC-125 Spectre II was the US Navy's ambitious attempt at producing a jet-powered gunship that was faster and lighter than the Air Force's aging AC-130. Adding emphasis on rapid global deployability, the new plane was equipped with variable-sweep wings which made it compact enough to be stored on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. However, the complicated engine and wing setup were prone to mechanical failures. Soon after the war, the USAF, now the only branch that was still in any position for technological adventures (due to doctrine changes and the budgetary issues of the branches), came forward with its own idea of a new gunship which was eventually adopted to replace all previous models.
Based on the C-17 Globemaster transport plane, the AC-17 Spectre III was more economical to produce, as it was merely an elaborate re-fit rather than an entirely new air frame. Despite no longer being carrier-capable due to its enormous size, the swing wings were kept and improved, as they allow the plane to perform its approach at breakneck speed. The larger hull carried enough weapons to devastate an entire division of tanks: A massive 155mm howitzer and pair of 25mm Equalizer cannons. In addition, the new Spectre had external hardpoints for several missiles which were rapidly fired at ground and air targets of opportunity by an automatic computer system.
In addition to combat aircraft, the USAF had plenty of unarmed support aircraft. By the Third Gulf War, the USAF was in the midst of phasing out the aging C-130 Hercules in favor of the C-17 Globemaster III. The Globemaster was used for all forms of logistics, from supply delivery to airdropping troops and M8 Acolyte tanks.
The largest navy in the world, you would think the United States Navy saw little use during the Global War on Terror, but that's where you're wrong. The Global Liberation Navy (GLN) saw a LOT of action against the USN in battles that often resembled the close-range gunfights of old. With a complete and total lack of sonar technology, GLN privateers would often meet their end at the hands of an attack submarine.
There's not much to say about the USN, but one area that's worth looking at is...battleships. Yes, you heard right, battleships. The early 2010s saw the naval gunfire support debate reach its conclusion. For two decades, there was much debate over the type of ship to use in the role, either destroyers and submarines or the aging
Iowa-class battleships that had been built during World War II specifically to counter Japanese battleships. These had last been used during the Gulf War to bombard Iraqi positions, and all four had been struck in 2006. In 2013, however, a decision was made: a new class of battleships would be built. Known as the
Atlanta-class battleship, it was designed first and foremost to bombard inland targets, but also had a sophisticated anti-air weapons suite utilizing lasers.
Two years prior to the battleship decision, a 29-year old US Army captain, Gregory Townes, resigned from his guest scholarship at West Point to accept a new position in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA) new R&D department for laser weaponry. Townes, a bright individual, developed viable anti-air lasers that would first be deployed on the
Atlanta-class battleships. These lasers could shoot down both aircraft and missiles, which gave the Navy the idea to upgrade the class from merely being floating artillery pieces to reviving the idea of a ship of the line, now that guided missile destroyers and carrier-based aircraft would be completely incapable of doing anything. The era of aircraft carrier dominance, it seemed, was at an end.
The new battleships were known as the
Atlanta-class battleships; US Navy tradition was to name battleships after states, but this tradition had been transferred to submarines, amphibious assault ships, and littoral combat ships, so the new ships would instead by named after cities. Design-wise, they were more akin to the "pocket battleships" used by Germany during World War II, only having two gun turrets, each with three 16-inch/50-caliber Mark 7 guns, but also armed with several Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells launching RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles or RGM-109 Tomahawk Ship Attack Missiles (TSAM), and the aforementioned lasers designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles. There were six ships in the class:
- USS Atlanta (BB-65)
- USS Rochester (BB-66)
- USS Salem (BB-67)
- USS Baltimore (BB-68)
- USS Astoria (BB-69)
- USS Tuscaloosa (BB-70)
The Coast Guard often goes unmentioned in retrospectives about the Global War on Terror. GLA privateers were like weeds; you sink one, and six more would pop up, and the waters around the Continental United States were no different. No civilian ship was safe from privateers; one incredibly tragic and sickening attack was against a cruise ship, the
Carnival Elation was attacked by a GLA privateer; the ship was boarded, all passengers and crew were killed (the bodies of many young women showed signs of rape), everything valuable onboard was looted, and, instead of sinking the ship, the
Elation was used as a bomb ship to attack Jacksonville, Florida. Fortunately, the Coast Guard had received a distress signal from the ship, and a cutter intercepted and boarded it before it could reach Florida. The ship was returned to Carnival Cruises, who promptly converted the ship into a floating memorial for those killed in the attack.
After the
Elation disaster, several "pirate havens" in the Caribbean were uncovered by the CIA, and the United States carried out amphibious invasions of these bases that brought an end to piracy in the Caribbean.
Created by the Trump adminstration in 2019, the Space Force was indicative of a new frontier of combat. At its outset, the Space Force was ridiculed for having a name that screamed "1980s Saturday morning cartoon", and its insignia was considered a ripoff of the Starfleet emblem from
Star Trek. Despite this, the Space Force proved to be a very important branch of the United States Armed Forces.
The Space Force primarily operated spacecraft across various programs such as GPS, Space Fence, military satellite communications constellations, X-37B spaceplanes, U.S. missile warning system, U.S. space surveillance network, and the Satellite Control Network. Although linked in many ways, the Space Force was independent of NASA, which was mainly concerned with scienctific research and exploration. The Space Force often flew under the public's radar, but one element would become one of the most famous "superweapons" in human history.
In 2020, the United States publicly unveiled the revitalized Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a project dating back to the 1980s under the Reagan adminstration and often nicknamed "Star Wars" after the popular science-fiction franchise. Publicly, SDI was dissolved in 1993, its goals too lofty and its actual purpose being to trick the Soviet Union into trying to match it, ultimately being a contributing factor to its collapse in 1991. In truth, development on SDI never ceased. Now, in 2020, "Star Wars" had become a reality.
The new SDI was a multi-layered system, employing ground based Patriot missiles, orbital kinetic interceptors, and airborne and surface based chemical lasers to intercept any ballistic missiles calculated to be on a trajectory bound for the continental United States. The centrepiece of the new SDI was the "Particle Cannon Uplink Network", a system of surface based installations and orbit based reflector satellites, to be the first line of defence against any ICBM attack. The orbital reflectors were launched over a series of Delta IV Heavy launches.
In 2025, however, the Strategic Defense Initiative proved to be far more than just a defensive system, when Chinese general Ismail Khan defected to the GLA. The United States subsequently responded by employing a Particle Cannon installation to wipe out the rogue general's forces and his stockpile of nuclear weaponry. Subsequently, the US military would go on to employ the Particle Cannon network against the GLA on several occasions, and soon became a common fixture in US FOBs, being used as a precision weapon to efficiently eliminate high-value targets with minimal collateral damage.
One part of the United States Armed Forces that went completely unused during the Global War Terror was, unsurprisingly, the Air Force Global Strike Command. This Major Command (MAJCOM) of the USAF, descended from the Cold War-era Strategic Air Command, had one mission: nuclear deterrence. Despite a few scares, there was ultimately no need for them in the Global Strike Command, being more focused on deterring Russia from doing anything rash during their invasion of Ukraine.
As mentioned above, the AFGSC had the B-52 and B-2 bombers at their disposal, but their best-known weapon was the LGM-30G Minuteman III, which was, at the time, the only ICBM in use by the United States. At the time of the 10/5 attack, the United States was in the midst of designing and developing the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), later known as the LGM-35 Sentinel, a brand-new ICBM to replace the aging Minuteman.
We'll come back to the nuclear arsenal of the United States and other nations in a future sidestory.
It should come as no surprise by now that the United States, too, had generals who fielded their own special arsenals matching their preferred tactics.
Malcolm Granger was a career general, whose service history stretched back to the First Gulf War, when, as an Air Force Lieutenant, the aircraft under his command destroyed four SAM sites in a single afternoon during SEAD operations around Baghdad. By the Global War on Terror, he was one of the top generals in the USAF, and his fondness of using aircraft reflected this.
None of Granger's infantry were any different from standard United States Army commands, though he only used Rangers, Missile Defenders, and Pathfinders, and Colonel Burton often fought under him.
His ground vehicles were also indicative of his preferences. His only tank was the M551 Sheridan, which had been retired in 1997, but Granger reactivated them to serve as a backup in case his aircraft and helicopters weren't ready yet. And instead of the Tomahawk Launcher, he had the Hurricane, which launched long-range cluster missiles.
As you can infer, Granger wasn't much for using infantry and vehicles, only doing so if he absolutely had to. His primary strategy involved filling the air with eagles. Granger was resistant to adopting the F-35, and instead used his own F-22C King Raptor, which had a bigger payload than the F-22B; certain King Raptors in his arsenal were even equipped with point-defense lasers that could shoot down any missile that came their way, much to the frustration of every Stinger Soldier.
His Comanches were also upgraded to King Comanches, which had the stealth capabilities promised in the original project. After the retirement of the F-117 Nighthawk, Granger took them in, and upgraded them into King Stealth Fighters.
His F/B-40 Auroras were called "Hypersonic Auroras", and were a lot more surviveable than the regular basket case Auroras. And finally, Granger's army was the only one in the United States Air Force that used the Panavia Tornado, taking all of the Tornados that had been retired by the Royal Air Force months before the 10/5 attack.
Granger also had a variety of helicopters beyond the King Comanche. Instead of the Chinook or Osprey, he used the Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low for logistics and transport, but also had the Acolyte Drone (not to be confused with the M8 Acolyte tank) for the same purpose, albeit with a rotary cannon for self-defense. Granger's Blackhawks were designated for medivac, and were also often used as air ambulances in disaster-stricken areas.
Despite using the Pave Low for logistics, Granger still used Chinooks, but with a different purpose in mind. His Chinooks were Combat Chinooks, modified with Chinese-style fireports to allow up to six infantry to fire out, as well as with a rotary cannon. He was particularly proud of the Combat Chinook, and used it for a good portion of his attacks. His favorite strategy involved three Combat Chinooks, with two being loaded with Missile Defenders, and one being loaded with Pathfinders. The Missile Defenders would destroy every vehicle, aircraft, and structure they came across, while the Pathfinders would rip apart infantry and clear out Stinger Sites. It was a nearly-unbeatable strategy.
One unique helicopter in Granger's arsenal was the Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane, which he would often use to assist in constructing FOBs.
As a logistics staffer in the Second Korean War, Alexander attracted the notice of her superiors with her ability to acquire almost anything. Alexander harnessed this ability further to win a scholarship, followed by a long and distinguished career in the Marines. During the earlier stages of the Global War on Terror, Alexander developed a tiered system of defenses that did not allow a single strike on her supply columns. Alexander became known for her strong emphasis on resource acquisition and defense in the early stages of a conflict, going on the offensive only when she has overwhelming firepower that was untouchable by the enemy.
Alexander was all about various superweapons, though the definition of "superweapons" in this context is contentious.
For infantry, Alexander had multiple options. One unique class in her arsenal was the Biohazard Tech, who were equipped with handheld nozzles that shot the above-mentioned CBRN foam. Her Rangers and Pathfinders were no different from the norm, neither was Colonel Burton whenever he fought under her, but her Missile Defenders were provided with EMP Missiles that would shut down enemy vehicles; aircraft would just drop out of the sky, making her a menace to GLA pilots.
In terms of vehicles, Alexander had some rather unique options. Her's was the first army to use drones to a large degree, namely the Medic Drone (which carried medical equipment) and Repair Drone (this early version repaired vehicles), but this extended to her tanks, with the Robo Tank and Enforcer Drone replacing the Crusader and Paladin tanks. The Enforcer, in particular, fired plasma shots or a steady plasma beam; in groups, these plasma bolts had a tendency to cause what Alexander called "unstable effects", namely a ball of plasma that would travel a short distance in a random direction and then explode; people who witnessed this phenomenon, present company included via a video online, called it one of the coolest thing they ever saw. Her Humvees were armed with a mortar launcher instead of a machine gun or TOW launcher (which could be optionally swapped out for a minigun), her Tomahawk missiles had experimental plasma warheads, her Avengers fired plasma beams instead of lasers, and she also had the unique Lockdown MLRS, which fired HE or EMP missiles.
For aircraft, Alexander had two unique options. Like Granger, she tried to make sense of the Aurora, creating the Aurora Alpha, which used a fuel air bomb that made it much more lethal. Her other unique plane was the Support Stealth Bomber, which was like the normal F-117 Nighthawk, but also dropping medkits. For some reason.
While most FOBs used the Protector Missile System, and Granger toughed it out with the older Patriot, Alexander had the EMP Patriot System, which shut down vehicles and literally one-shot aircraft. Her Particle Uplink Cannons were enhanced to deal more damage, but as a consequence, were much more power-hungry and had a shorter firing cycle.
An early champion of laser technology in the USA Armed Forces, "Pinpoint" Townes developed comprehensive offensive and defensive strategies for the 21st century around laser-based weapons. However, Townes found academic life too slow and returned to a battlefield command in 2010. Relying on inexpensive, powerful laser technology throughout his forces and his unique knowledge of its strengths and weaknesses, General Townes consistently received superior marks during war games and live-fire actions. This four-star general continued to push the technology envelope in harnessing energy and improving power efficiency throughout the Global War on Terror, and the Army counted heavily on him.
Townes used lasers wherever he could. His Rangers carried laser rifles instead of the M16A5, his Missile Defenders had their SRAWs equipped with a passive laser guidance system, and Colonel Burton, whenever called upon by Townes, would be given a laser rifle to use instead of his OICW (though he could still use his grenade launcher). His Pathfinders used the standard Desert Tech SRS.
His vehicles went hog-wild with lasers. His Crusader and Paladin tanks had their cannons replaced with lasers; the Crusader had a normal laser cannon, while the Paladin had a laser beam cannon that fired continuously, in addition to still having the standard point defense laser. His M1200 Humvees had the normal machine gun, but instead of a TOW launcher, it could mount a laser cannon on top of the machine gun. His Templar Microwave Tanks were similar to Kwai's ECM Tanks, having a larger microwave pulse radius. Instead of the Tomahawk Launcher, Townes used the Railgun Artillery. And finally, he had the old Avengers with anti-air missiles instead of the newer lasers, though it still had the targeting laser.
Even Townes' aircraft had lasers. His Comanches used laser cannons instead of Hellfire missiles, he took in the cancelled FB-22 project and created a ground attack bomber with laser-guided munitions, and he had a unique stealth bomber armed with two rapid-fire autocannons.
Unsurprisingly, Townes' perimeter defenses were lasers, and instead of the Particle Cannon, he had the Laser Cannon, which did less damage than the Particle Cannon, but was less power-hungry and therefore could be fired for longer.
A rather enigmatic general, Ironside was Ta Hun Kwai's American counterpart, also dealing in tanks, but also ballistic weaponry.
Ironside, unlike Kwai, didn't neglect his infantry. His Rangers had better combat armor, and used the Colt Automatic Rifle instead of the M16A5. Instead of Missile Defenders, he had Javelin Soldiers, similar to the Javelin Teams of the main Army, but carried by a single man. He also had the Blue Arrow Defender, an anti-air infantry. And finally, when called upon by Ironside, Colonel Burton would use an anti-tank sniper rifle instead of his normal OICW.
Tanks were Ironside's specialty, and unlike Kwai, his tanks were truly exotic, being so completely unlike anything in not just the US Army, but the world. Ironside was not one to abandon the M2 Bradley so easily, using it instead of the Humvee. Instead of the Avenger, he used the M14 Gladiator, an anti-air tank equipped with four autocannons; unlike the Avenger, the Gladiator could attack ground targets and was rather effective against infantry. He also had the Stryker, but instead of turning it into the WASP Hive, he used it as an armored ambulance. His standard tank was the Wraith, similar in concept to the Crusader, but optionally equipped with Sabre missiles that gave it extra punch. The Predator Drone was an early version of the Guardian Drone, unable to burrow. The Vulcan Tank was an anti-infantry tank equipped with an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon that absolutely shredded through infantry; a single Vulcan Tank could completely neutralize a Stinger Site in seconds by killing all Stinger Soldiers within.
In lieu of the Tomahawk Launcher, Ironside had the M109A7 howitzer. He also had a half-track Tank Destroyer of indeterminate model.
But Ironside's biggest, baddest tank was, without a doubt, the Mammoth Tank. Designed as a direct response to the Overlord, the Mammoth was a dual-barrel, quad-tracked tank that could be upgraded with Sabre missiles and a shield that would negate incoming missiles and rockets. It was an absolute beast, and many opine that the GLA wouldn't have been able to cause as much damage as it did in Europe had they been present.
Ironside didn't neglect his aircraft, either. His was the first army to accept delivery of F-35, and he brought the F-16XL out of retirement, correctly forseeing just how bad the Aurora was. His only helicopter was the V-44 Starlifter, a transport helicopter that could transport twelve infantry or several vehicles; in the 2040s, the Army at large would adopt the Starlifter for aerial vehicle transport.
His FOBs were also different from any other FOB. Instead of Chinooks, Ospreys, or Pave Lows, Ironside used trucks for logistics. His defenses were also unlike any other. His primary defense, when first erected, looked like a simple concrete slab, but in truth, it was a defense module that could be equipped with either an anti-tank Guardian Turret, an anti-infantry Vaporizer Turret, or a Gazer Turret that would detect stealthed units and assist air defenses with a targeting laser, also being equipped with a Federal Signal Model 2 siren to warn the base of incoming air attacks (which, against the GLA, was actually more often than you think). For anti-air defense, he had Phalanx System, which used bullets instead of missiles, and was therefore immune to aerial countermeasures.
And finally, completing the theme of mold-breaking, Ironside had a missile silo that launched a missile (whose designation I have found zero record on) with a cluster munition payload.
And so our exhaustive look at the United States Armed Forces during the Global War on Terror comes to an end. In the next sidestory, we'll be looking at advances made by the United States, China, and the GLA in their military arsenals following the war, and how it shaped geopolitics in the 2030s and 2040s...
