Falconer AA Tank

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Falconer AA Tank
Vehicle in Just Cause 4
Type	Anti-aircraft tank
Weapons	AA autocannons and unfunctional missiles
Rarity	Rare
List of owners	Black Hand Army of Chaos Demons
Top speed (km/h)	139
Top speed (mph)	Unknown

The Falconer AA Tank is a tank in Just Cause 4.

Appearance

This vehicle is a light tracked vehicle with four anti-aircraft autocannons mounted in pairs on the sides of the turret. It also has eight missile launch tubes, but these are never used in-game. It's the smallest of the four tanks measured by the length and width of the hull/chassis but the Pointman Scout Tank has a smaller turret.

The hull is a little higher at the rear and the sprocket wheel is at the front of the tracks, indicating a rear-mounted engine and front-mounted gearbox - an older layout but one that was very common for tracked armored vehicles until the end of the 1940s. The tracks have 6 road wheels and an identical idler with five return rollers (small wheels above the road wheels to hold the track up). The sides have thin skirts that break off easily when damaged. The engine-deck at the rear is a little higher than the rest of the hull, but it doesn't obstruct rearward gunfire.

The hull front is asymmetrical with a vent-like opening on the right and a hatch on the left. The hatch can be broken off to reveal a cut-out with some mechanical parts inside. Rico ignores this hull hatch and the angular one on the right side of the turret, always entering through the turret's round left hatch.

Its chassis resembles that of the American M8 light tank while the turret combines elements of the German Flakpanzer Gepard and the Russian 2K22 Tunguska including the nose radar from the latter.

Performance

Unrealistically for a weapon of such small caliber and fire rate, the Falconer's cannons can easily blow up helicopters and other tanks with 3 to 4 hits and most other vehicles with a single hit, which makes it as powerful as a "standard" explosion. This is a result of the equalization system that makes a majority of explosions deal equal amounts of damage and make most armored vehicles have equal hitpoints. Its four guns fire much more quickly than the single guns of the Pointman, Prizefighter and Warchief. These two traits combined likely give it the highest combat effectiveness of all JC4 ground vehicles. The trade-off is that its ammo supply runs dry much more quickly than that of other armoured vehicles - it has 300 rounds of cannon ammo, the same as other tanks, but the higher rate of fire means that 75 rounds per gun don't last very long. However, NPCs in this vehicle only fire the guns once every two or three seconds.

If used in its intended anti-air role, the Falconer is pretty effective against helicopters, but definitely not against planes. It is very hard to shoot down fighter jets unless they are flying in a straight line, which they mostly do not, and even then you would need a good lead to bring them down.

This vehicle's maximum speed is 139 km/h, quite fast for a tank, but this vehicle is also very slow to accelerate. The maximum reverse speed is 63 km/h. It can turn around on the spot; like the other tanks the tracks are a bit glitchy and spin in the opposite directions as it does this.

Like all other armored vehicles in the game, it can survive two "standard" explosions before the third makes it blow up. Once again, this is a result of the equalization system.

Versions and locations

Black Hand:

• At Prospero Tanques.
• Has to be hijacked in the mission Windwalker: Diversion.
• At Aeropuerto General Benitez.
• Appears in the mission Qacha Breakout.
• Can rarely be found in traffic, even in Army of Chaos-controlled regions.
• Used to chase Rico during high level of heat.

Army of Chaos:

• Probably at the front in some areas. Not near the start of the game.
• Is unlocked for supply drop after completing the mission Training: Sacred River.
• Can rarely spawn in traffic in the mountainous area of Solís.

Wrecks:

• At many junkyards among wrecks of civilian vehicles.
• Sometimes at the front.

Los Demonios:

• Appears in some infestation domes as a captured Black Hand version that still retains its original function as an anti-aircraft weapon. This one can not be hijacked or driven. It's a stationary enemy weapon that normally has to be destroyed.
• Appears in the mission Extermination. Some of them in this mission/location have to be destroyed as a mission objective and some respawn infinitely until the mission is over.

Trivia

• As an armored vehicle with a gun-based anti-aircraft armament, it's the successor to the Harland DTWV-2 AA gun and the Ballard Centronel AAWV - 21 from Just Cause.
• The combination of features from different armored vehicles from around the world into a single composite design broadly resembles many real hybrid vehicles deployed by countries which have imported both Western and Soviet/Russian military hardware.
• A gun that fires that quickly with such a small bore diameter would realistically be classified as an autocannon rather than just a cannon. In-game the falconer's guns are as powerful other other cannons due to how the game engine handles explosions and vehicle damage. In reality any autocannons are much less powerful per hit than tank guns simply due to being much smaller.
• The Falconer's greater efficiency against helicopters as opposed to planes is a surprising touch of realism in a Just Cause game. Gun-based anti-air systems became obsolete for shooting down planes by the 1950s due to the increasing speed and altitude of jet-propelled aircraft, but fast-tracking AA-guns are still widely used for close range defense against low-flying helicopters and drones.

Gallery

Front. The hatch on the front wall has been broken off, revealing the dark cut-out area.

Left front corner. The mudguards have broke off, revealing the top of the track.

Rear.

Wreck and Black Hand versions, as seen for the first time in game trailers.

In some pre-launch gameplay video.

In some pre-launch gameplay video.

As seen in the mission Windwalker: Diversion.

As seen in the mission Windwalker: Diversion.

As seen in the mission Windwalker: Diversion.

Rusted Falconer AA Tank near Prospero Tanques

Black Hand Prizefighter and Falconer AA tanks training at Prospero Tanques

Targeting an enemy aircraft.