Guardian SAM

The Guardian SAM is an Allied Nations eight-wheeled armored surface-to-air missile vehicle featured in Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

Overview
"The air-defence version of the Allied APC carries SAMs and a heavy minigun for excellent protection against pesky copters."

- Stockpile caption

This Guardian has a SAM turret added onto it, similarly to the Guardian 25mm but the Guardian SAM has much more power.

The turret is equipped with two surface-to-air missile launchers with sixteen missiles in each, along with a 7.62mm minigun. The SAMs work well on heavy helicopters and the minigun works well on light helicopters.

Since it is on wheels, the turning is slightly harder than tracked vehicles, but it still moves faster. This vehicle is quite rare to find, but can be purchased from the Allied Nations.

A Guardian SAM can be found parked right next to a High Value Target for the People's Liberation Army that is located south of the Allied HQ. Note that the vehicle is close enough to the HVT that it may be impossible to retrieve without angering the HVT and in turn the Allied Nations. Otherwise one can be purchased from the AN's shop.

This can be considered the Allied Nations counterpart of the Chinese Iron Dove Heavy AA.

Specifications

 * Unlocked by:
 * Cost: $
 * Fuel: 140 gallons
 * Guidance: Smoke
 * Delivery: Helicopter

Tactics
This vehicle has the most SAMs that any vehicle can have in the game, the only vehicle that has as many is the Messenger SAM, which doesn't have the minigun, but a less effective .50cal with only 600 rounds. This leaves a lot of room for misses or shooting at buildings and ground or sea vehicles. The missiles have an insane rate of fire and can inflict damage to buildings and vehicles. At close range, the missiles can even be used to destroy heavy armor if need be. However, with it being such a specialised vehicle, it isn't a good choice if you expect any enemy armored resistance, due to the very light Type-2 armor.

Be careful of attack helicopters, if a helicopter manages to get an anti-tank guided missile lock, the Guardian's weak armor make it as good as dead (unless the missile misses), similar things can be said about dumb-fire rockets. After all, this vehicle only has type 2 armor; even a sneaky Rogue or even some fortified positions (.50cal bunkers) can inflict heavy damage. Its main weakness is the lack of armor.

When fighting this vehicle, the main concern should usually be the SAMs. If the player sees a hostile Guardian SAM while in a helicopter, it should a priority to destroy it by popping in and out of cover, or by exiting the helicopter and destroying the Guardian SAM using support, such as artillery.

Real life
The Guardian SAM is based on a heavily modified IAV Stryker Armored Personnel Carrier, or more likely, the LAV-AD, the air-defense derivative of the LAV-25, which mounts a 20mm Vulcan cannon instead of the Guardian's lighter minigun.

Related pages

 * Iron Dove Heavy AA
 * Guardian APC
 * Guardian 25mm
 * Guardian AT
 * Guardian Artillery
 * Guardian Jammer