Salamander Thermobaric Mortar

The Salamander is the siege piece for the turtle Tier 3 builds: Bastion Cannons behind Missile Interrupters, where a Tempest's rockets are shot out of the sky. Its round is a shell, so point defence never touches it, and its blast has a 2.25-tile radius and hits everything inside at full value; every emplacement in a turret cluster takes the whole thing. The catch is in the weapon: the blast does not know whose side it is on. The Mammoths escorting it burn if they stand in the footprint.

Quote

Operation	Voice lines
Selection	Mortar crew ready.
Movement	Moving the tube. On our way.
Attack	Plotting the fire mission. Engaging the target.
Hold / stop	Holding position.
Board / pick up	Moving to board.
Protect / escort	We've got your back.

Trivia

• The Soviet TOS-1 fires thermobaric rockets from a T-72 hull, and its range is so short, a few kilometres, that the crew's only protection from the guns it is shelling is the tank under them. The troops called it Buratino, the Russian Pinocchio, for the long nose of launch tubes.

• The Salamander launched with a range of 4.5 tiles. On September 17, 2026, that became 6.5, letting it fire from farther away; its thermobaric blast can still catch friendly vehicles.