| Tech 3 Air Units | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spy Plane |     | |||
| Air-Superiority Fighter |     | |||
| Strategic Bomber |     | |||
| Gunship |     | |||
| Other |   | |||
| Gunships | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tech 1 Light Gunship |  | |||
| Tech 2 Gunship |     | |||
| Tech 3 Heavy/AA Gunship | | |||
| Experimental |  | |||
 UEF T3 Heavy Gunship: Broadsword | |
 | |
| Build costs |  -35000 -1680 8400 |
|---|---|
| Max health |  6000 |
| Speed Fuel | 8 (Air) 13:20 |
Veterancy  |
 12 (+3/s) |
| Intel (radius) | Vision: 32 |
Weapon: Heavy Plasma Cannon Direct Fire - Projectile |
|
| Damage per second | 300 |
| Projectile damage | 100 |
| Rate of fire | 3 Projectiles/s |
| Range | 25 |
Weapon: Linked Railgun Anti Air - Projectile |
|
| Damage per second | 3 |
| Projectile damage | 2 |
| Salvo size | 2 Projectiles |
| Reload time | 1.3 seconds |
| Range | 44 |
Weapon: Air Crash Death |
|
| Damage | 300 |
| Damage radius | 1 |
The UEF T3 Heavy Gunship, nicknamed the Broadsword, is a UEF gunship. These units can be used to counter almost any ground assault, even if AA is present in the area, due to their high armor and HP. In groups, they can tear through armies like a hot knife through butter as long as Interceptors aren't hanging around. En masse, they can take out any experimental unit in a heartbeat, and usually without taking enough return fire to justify R&R.
Its Plasma Cannons do not have good tracking capabilities in the vanilla game; it often has a hard time destroying really fast ground units, such as Land Scouts , and can take upwards of five shots sometimes to do so. Even units with medium speeds sometimes can avoid a shot due to the poor accuracy. Their shots travel a lot faster in Forged Alliance, enabling them to have a decent chance of eliminating fast ground units.
However the Broadsword really shines as a raider, thanks to insane Dps (True with Cybran gunship also). The Broadsword makes quick work of buildings and high-value targets, and comes with enough Hp to safely get back to repair. In large numbers, it truly becomes one of the most powerful forces in Supreme Commander; a group of 50 is able to destroy a GC in less than 6.7 seconds - That's firepower! The best part is that as long as you have air superiority, this group can be used over and over again, justifying their cost in only a few attack runs.
Broadsword AA is really, really, really bad. With 3 Dps, and really low accuracy, it is rare for this gun to even kill a interceptor; even in large numbers, Broadswords can't do much to defend themselves from AA attack. This makes it essential to have air superiority or ASF escort along for the run.
They can also be used for rush tactics; getting one up very early in the game can be a huge threat and can clear early-game battlefields.
Tier Differences[]
The Broadsword lacks the transport hook of the UEF T2 Gunship, but is much more powerful and armored.
Tips[]
“The upgrade to the Stinger, the Broadsword features two Tactical Rocket Launchers, which fire armor-piercing ordinance, and an Anti-Air Railgun. It is a ground-attack platform without equal.”—Broadsword Vanilla SupCom description
- Broadswords make an excellent escort for a Fatboy. A group of 10-20 Broadswords can protect a Fat Boy against all but the heaviest ground assaults, especially once the Fatboy thins out any light units with its artillery guns. The Fatboy can also refuel and repair the Broadswords, allowing you to keep them "on station" at all times. Finally, the Broadswords are aircraft, so they won't get in the way when using the Fatboy as a factory, unlike most ground escorts. Do not forget the broadswords' AA is basically worthless and won't amount to anything, even in large numbers.However, the Fatboy's AA should be enough to ward off anything short of massed ASFs long enough for the Fatboy to produce T2 Land AA units to assist. And if not, you can always tell your Broadswords to hold fire and land under the Fatboy's shield until reinforcements can arrive.
- Remember that Broadswords are gunships, and therefore can target other gunships and transports with its main gun, as well as vice-versa.
- In the original Supreme Commander game, the Broadsword is very weak to Renegades (Cybran T2 gunships), three Renagades will kill two Broadswords. So 900 mass kills 3360 mass. This tactic only works if they are unescorted by fighters due to the Broadsword's primary weapon firing slow-moving projectiles.
- In Forged Alliance, the Broadswords will swiftly annihilate the Renegades due to their far superior HP and DPS.
- In Forged Alliance Forever (FAF), the Broadsword gained a radar jamming capabilities that are stripped off from the Cybran Wailer and replacing it with personal stealth
