T3 anti-air SAM launcher

v • e Anti-air defenses
T1 anti-air turret
T2 anti-air flak artillery
T3 anti-air SAM launcher

UEF T3 Anti-Air SAM Launcher:  Flayer
High-end anti-air tower. Designed to engage all levels of aircraft.[ e ]
Build costs	-12000  -1400 1500
Max health	10500
Veterancy	12 ( +3/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 28
Weapon: Flayer SAM Launcher Anti Air - Projectile
Damage per second	336
Projectile damage	200
Salvo size	6 Projectiles (in 0.5 s)
Reload time	3.6 seconds
Range	60

Cybran T3 Anti-Air SAM Launcher:  Myrmidon
High-end anti-air tower. Designed to engage all levels of aircraft.[ e ]
Build costs	-12000  -1400 1500
Max health	10500
Veterancy	12 ( +3/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 28
Weapon: Nanite Missile System Anti Air - Projectile
Damage per second	336
Projectile damage	300
Salvo size	4 Projectiles (in 0.6 s)
Reload time	3.6 seconds
Range	60

Aeon T3 Anti-Air SAM Launcher:  Transcender
High-end anti-air tower. Designed to engage all levels of aircraft.[ e ]
Build costs	-12000  -1400 1500
Max health	10500
Veterancy	12 ( +3/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 28
Weapon: Zealot AA Missile Anti Air - Projectile
Damage per second	336
Projectile damage	600
Salvo size	2 Projectiles (in 0.5 s)
Reload time	3.6 seconds
Range	60

Seraphim T3 Anti-Air Defense:  Iathu-ioz
High-end anti-air tower. Designed to engage all levels of aircraft.[ e ]
Build costs	-12000  -1400 1500
Max health	10500
Veterancy	12 ( +3/s)
Intel (radius)	Vision: 28
Weapon: Losaare AA Autocannon Anti Air - Projectile
Damage per second	336
Projectile damage	600
Salvo size	2 Projectiles (in 0.5 s)
Reload time	3.6 seconds
Range	60

T3 Anti-Air SAM Launchers or just SAMs are the highest tier static anti-air tower and also the most expensive. These should be built to supplement T2 Flak AA rather then replace it.

Uses

SAMS are good defenses for your main base as well as other things you would expect T3 bombers to attack, as no non-experimental unit can survive being hit by multiple SAM rockets (gunships are an exception). There are inconvenient things though such as the fact that SAMS have a slower reload time and target a single unit, thus SAMS are prone to overkilling a target and aren't as good at taking out swarms of low-tech units as flak is.

Countering

SAM positions are easiest to destroy from the ground since they don't fire at ground units, however they are almost always defended. If you encounter a SAM that you can capture easily though it is almost always good to capture since where it's placed to be an inconvenience for you it will now hurt your foe. The other way to destroy a SAM is by swarming by presenting too many targets for its single target rockets to shoot at, or, and this is extremely costly you can send a first wave of cheap units to distract it and then hoping the second wave comes fast enough then destroy it with better units in wave 2.

Factional Differences

In the original game, SAM launchers have the same range, vision, buildtime and cost but differed in health, DPS, and projectiles. The Cybran Myrmidon has less health but does more damage while the Aeon Transcender has more health but does less damage while the UEF Flayer sat in the middle.

Each SAM launcher in Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance has the same health, range, DPS, vision, buildtime and cost. The only difference is in the projectile – specifically, the number and speed of them. Note that all missiles are single-target, unlike Flak units.

The Aeon Transcender has a low rate of fire, but highest accuracy - making it the most effective at taking down both types of advanced aircraft: fast ASFs, and "large" aircraft such as experimentals and heavy gunships. However this means it needs the most support when pitted against weaker aircraft in larger numbers.

The Cybran Myrmidon has a higher rate of fire. Its missiles are fast and accurate, although not quite as fast as the Aeon's version, the number of them more than make up for it.

The UEF Flayer fires the most projectiles. Its missiles are not as fast, nor as accurate as either the Aeon, nor the Cybran versions, it is still a very respectable structure in its own right. It will work acceptably against large numbers of enemy aircraft and is perhaps the least likely to need backup flak for area of effect, but will still operate best with them for scaling damage support against large numbers of slower aircraft (such as a low tier spam).

The Seraphim T3 Anti-Air Defense is widely accepted to be the worst of the four. While it has the same DPS, its projectiles do not track, leading to a far, far lower Effective DPS. However, while it may be inferior against fast fliers such as Spy planes or ASFs, it's high muzzle velocity increases the chance of killing Strategic Bombers before they have a chance to drop their bombs. It's stats are the same as it's seraphim counterpart, but it has tracking projectiles and does not immediately show up on radar like seraphim structures, making it superior in every way.

The text below was imported from the page "SAM".
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SAM stands for Surface to Air Missile. SAMs are fast-travelling and highly accurate defenses, great for shooting down faster moving aircraft. While not seen as often as Flak, SAMs are essential for killing T3 air such as strategic bombers in order to stop their attacks.

Defence buildings

SAM defences are built at tech level 3 in Supreme Commander, either by an upgraded Commander, a Support Commander or T3 engineer.

There are four SAM launchers in Supreme Commander:

• UEF Anti-Air SAM Launcher: Flayer
• Cybran T3 Anti-Air SAM Launcher: Myrmidon
• Aeon T3 Anti-Air SAM Launcher: Transcender

The Forged Alliance expansion added a fourth defence launcher, belonging to the Seraphim faction:

• Seraphim T3 Anti-Air Defense: Iathu-ioz

Unlike other factions' T3 static anti air, Seraphim use a high damage, high velocity projectile rather than tracking missiles.

Units

SAMs are rarely built at sea, despite being aquatic. This is because SAMs are equipped on Aeon and UEF Cruisers, and a variant is aboard the Cybran Siren Class also. Certain aircraft carriers, such as the Aeon Keefer and UEF Experimental Aircraft Carrier Atlantis carry them as their AA defence .

There are SAM-like launchers installed on individual units, such as the Cybran Experimental Spiderbot Monkeylord.