M48 Chaparral

The M48 Chaparral is the most powerful air defense platform available to the US Army. It usually doesn't destroy vehicles due to its unwieldiness when compared to the M2 jeep or the M163 VADS, but it excels at creating a large death zone for flying vehicles which can't enter it due to risk of immediate destruction.
==History==
The M48 Chaparral, introduced in 1969, was a ground based surface-to-air missile (SAM) platform used by the US Army. Designed to complement the M163 VADS, it covered the long-range aspect of air defense as opposed to the VADS' short range capabilities.
==In game==
The M48 plays the same as a M113 TOW, with the only difference being the fact that the TOW covers ground threats and the M48 takes care of airborne ones. You shouldn't expect to actually take out aircraft unless the opponent makes a severe mistake but the mere presence of a Chaparral makes one-helicopter harassment runs impossible, which eliminates a lot of the danger helicopters pose to your squishier units such as jeeps, artillery and/or mortars.
While the Chaparral can be overwhelmed by two helicopters with exceptional luck the addition of a second one spells doom for all but the largest air raids. The sheer amount of effort and points your opponent has to spend to get through your two-point SAM site is simply not worth it, which leads us to the conclusion that the M48 is a very good area denial tool against aerial threats.
Category:Möbius Front '83