As the close of the first year of the Hai Shi Dao conflict approached, the Right Brothers had suffered numerous defeats in battles with both the Hai Shi Dao and the Pacific Rim Forces. The superior distance engagment and close combat capabilities of each respective faction could not be overcome by the VTs then fielded by the Right Brothers military. Time and again, the only tactic that consistently worked for the Right Brothers was guerrilla combat. With this in mind, the Electronic Warfare R & D team set out to create a VT with abilities that could upset the balance of power in their favour.

The Sheepdog is a highly sophisticated mobile Electronic Warfare and Surveillance platform developed with top-secret radar and infrared sensor technologies. All modern Vertical Tanks are equipped with radar suppression coatings, ablative hull structures, and shielded exhaust ports which minimise their thermal and radar return signatures. The surveillance electronics package mounted on the Sheepdog uses a sophisticated combination of signal focus and amplification technology to overcome standard VT stealth technologies. Accompanying the advanced surveillance features is a broad-spectrum communications intercept and decrypt package which allows enemy communications to be covertly monitored. The expense and complexity of the electronics package outfitted on the Sheepdog makes it a very costly VT to deploy, and thus quite rare to find in normal field operations. Sheepdog units are typically deployed by scout and recon squadrons in support of primary combat forces.

The first known Sheepdog deployment has not been declassified for general public dissemination at this time. It has been suggested that a prototype model was present with covert Yellow Jacket units during the battle for Wa Lo Pass along the Er Ting foothills during December 2084.




Last surviving member of the 34th Special Panzer Battalion, PRF

The Sheepdog is entirely unique within the game as the only VT which can view the locations of all enemy VTs on radar at all times. This would have made the VT a potentially unbalancing element (as would the Earthshaker) to the Right Brothers faction if inter-faction VT trading where not possible.

The effectiveness of fielding a Sheepdog is directly dependent upon the level of communication between team members and the piloting practises of the player who takes the VT. While it may seem very cool to be able to see the locations of every enemy team player on the map, this information is pretty much useless to the Sheepdog pilot because they lack the necessary weapons and durability to carry out offensive play against them. Thus, the primary responsibility of the Sheepdog pilot is to keep a continuous stream of verbal coordinates going out to their team members regarding enemy positions. In addition to this, the Sheepdog pilot should take a Marker Launcher along to light up enemy VTs for their teammates on the radar map whenever possible. Sheepdog pilots are also responsible for keeping themselves out of view and out of direct combat as much as possible. The fragility of the Sheepdog cannot be overstated; it only takes one Rail Gun A round to destroy it. Simply remember that the VT being piloted is more fragile than a Vitzh. Advice here is to use the radar display of enemy positions to determine a safe path. This may even involve finding a quiet spot and shutting down while enemies pass by, then coming back online for a surreptitious marker round into their backsides.

The Peeping Spear was great idea in theory, but in practise I have never seen it used very effectively to spy on enemy communications/plans. This is probably due to teams establishing tactics in the sortie room prior to the mission, with only reactionary changes being made while in game. Some pilots use the Peeping Spear in place of a Marker, which has the benefit of freeing up additional mount weight for weaponry. The downside is the lock must be maintained in order to illuminate the enemy for team members, and the Sheepdog must remain within 2000m meters of the target, a dangerous tactic on certain missions. I always recommend the Marker Launcher as a supplement.

Sheepdogs are rarely seen in Campaign mode due to their extreme rarity, but in Free Mission Conquest and Capture the Container they are used fairly regularly. Their raw speed cannot be matched by any other VT in the game, and when coupled with the impressive torque rating make this a very good base run/capture and container carrier VT.