Aegis cruiser

The **Aegis cruiser** is an Allied anti-air vessel in *Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2* and *Yuri's Revenge*.

## Background

A marvel of Allied naval technology, the cruiser is essentially three missile batteries mounted onto a standard cruiser hull, integrated with a sophisticated array of targeting systems, radio-location devices, and other sensors, allowing the Aegis to track, engage and destroy any missile or aircraft in its vicinity. However, the focus on anti-aircraft weaponry has left it vulnerable to sea-based threats, especially Soviet Typhoons and squids.

### Aftermath

The Aegis cruiser is not known to operate after the events of the Psychic Dominator Disaster. After Einstein's erasure in the new timeline, the Aegis cruiser was erased from time and replaced by the Hydrofoil during the final iteration of the Third World War.

## Game unit

The cruiser can only engage air units, including the rockets launched from the V3 Rocket Launcher and Boomer submarine; it cannot attack the nuclear missile from the Nuclear Missile Silo.

The Aegis fires faster if the player manually controls it rather than letting it fire automatically (see last Trivia point below). Its missile barrage increases dramatically at Elite status and is capable of completely destroying a group of three Kirov Airships (and maybe more) in seconds, making it become the most powerful anti-aircraft unit in game, especially if it has collected a firepower upgrade crate.

It cannot harm ground-based units, or interfere with them in any way other than potentially distracting them from attacking a more valuable target (e.g. the Construction Yard). This makes the Aegis Cruiser a mobile Patriot Missile System, though the cruisers can only be used in the sea and are much stronger than the patriots.

Its Soviet counterpart is the Sea Scorpion, a smaller and faster ship with a weaker armor and AA attack, however it costs half the price of an Aegis and can engage sea and ground targets.

This anti-air naval vessel is deadly against flying enemies, but cannot target foes on the ground. Place it wisely to cover as much airspace as possible.

### Counters

The Aegis cruiser is a natural target to attack first, as clearing them helps pave the way for an air assault. Most aircraft are very vulnerable to Aegis cruisers, destroying this unit with tanks before sending aircraft is recommended. They are easily destroyed by any ground-based troop, as they cannot fight back.

It is advisable to keep Kirov Airships away from Aegis cruisers, as they are capable of destroying most Kirovs quickly from a great distance.

A great way to overwhelm the Aegis cruiser is using a large group of Rocketeers or Hornets from the Aircraft carrier since the Aegis cruiser can only target one air unit at a time.

Ironically, any ship can sink an Aegis Cruiser save from an enemy version of itself, but it is best to use vessels which do not use aircraft as means of attack, as the Aegis cannot defend itself from anything other than air threats. Therefore, they are easy prey for Allied Destroyers and Dolphins, Soviet Typhoons and Giant Squids, and Yuri's Boomers. If necessary, even a small fleet of Soviet Sea Scorpions is enough to sink an undefended Aegis Cruiser if there are no dedicated anti-ship units available.

### AI behavior

The Aegis cruiser is not used by the AI in skirmish.

## Quotes

*Note: in* Red Alert 2*, the Aegis cruiser shares its quotes with the destroyer.*

### When selected

* *Scanning for aircraft.*
* *Aegis reporting.*
* *Protector of the Allied fleet.*
* *Allied cruiser ready.*
* *Missile systems operational.*

### When moving

* *Guiding systems set.*
* *Adjusting for currents.*
* *Navigating waterspace.*
* *Plotting course.*
* *Rudder set.*

### Attacking

* *Bring 'em down!*
* *Rockets' red glare.*
* *Let loose the Allied fury!*
* *Launch the heat seekers!*
* *Clearin' the skies!*
* *All hands on deck.*
* *Launching heat seekers.*
* *Target confirmed.*

## Trivia

* A modified stock model of a *Nanuchka*-class corvette was used for the alpha icon of Aegis Cruiser.
* The Aegis system depicted in *Red Alert 2* greatly differs from the real-life Aegis combat system. Firstly, the game's Aegis cruiser has three huge missile launchers resembling the Patriot missile system over the main deck, wherereas the real-life system launchers are buried *under* the main deck. Secondly, the game's ship can only engage air targets, while the real-life Aegis can be used to launch missiles at air or surface targets.
* The Aegis cruiser is one of the few units in the game that cannot attack an enemy version of itself.
* The voice line "Rockets' red glare" is derived from a verse in the US national anthem *The Star-Spangled Banner*:

> *And the Rockets' red glare, the Bombs bursting in air,*
>
>

> *Gave proof through the night that our Flag was still there;*
>
>

### Technicalities

* The Aegis cruiser has a mechanic in place that effectively makes it aim, fire once, "forget" target, aim, fire once, repeat. This doesn't happen if the target is set manually by the player.
	+ The mechanic was originally intended to be used on garrisonable buildings to "To shoot all within range equally", but it is commented out on them.

### Cameos

Pre-release cameos, in order: alpha, beta.

## References

1. ↑ Westwood Pacific, *Red Alert 2* official site: Allied Units, page 3 (archived). Retrieved 22 December 2007.