M145D Rhino

The M-145D Rhino is an artillery tank used by the United Nations Space Command. A version armed with a reverse-engineered plasma cannon saw limited service in 2531. It saw its first known deployment on Arcadia, where five Rhinos assigned to the were used to break through a Covenant energy shield dome and to destroy a Covenant Scarab.

Description
The Rhino is similiar in to the M808B Scorpion, though there are noticeable differences. The hull is larger than that of the Scorpion and its Zeus-class 320mm cannon is much larger than the M512 90mm cannon mounted on the Scorpion. While its tracks are arranged in a similar bogey configuration, it has six track sets, with two additional tracks in the rear. Two stabilizers are deployed from the rear of the vehicle during long range bombardment.

Gameplay
The Rhino is meant to be a building destroyer, similar to the Destroyer class from Ensemble's earlier Age of Mythology: The Titans. Although the Rhino's firepower is weaker than that of the Scorpion, it has superior armor. A group of these tanks is powerful enough to destroy heavy armor, but the vehicle is intended to play a fire support role alongside a large UNSC force. Its secondary ability deploys it into a 'lockdown' mode like that of the SP42 Cobra and Elephant, giving the Rhino a more powerful attack with increased range.

The Rhino is exclusive to two campaign missions in Halo Wars: Dome of Light and Scarab. Besides its importance to the plot, the Rhino functions almost identically to the the Cobra in terms of speed and firepower. The sound effect of its deployed artillery cannon is shared with the Cobra.

Alpha build stats

 * Air Damage: 0
 * Vehicle Damage: 19
 * Infantry Damage: 15
 * Structure Damage: 42
 * Defense: 36

Trivia

 * Though it appeared in several screenshots of the pre-alpha test version of Halo Wars, later screenshots failed to show any sign of the unit, leading some to believe it had been cut from the game. It returned in later screenshots, and the presence of the Rhino Hugger achievement for the game confirmed its presence.
 * The Rhino's turret and gun barrel resembles the turret from the Tiger II heavy tank used by the German Army during World War II. Both are designed based on long range bombardment, with a large caliber cannon to perform that role, and both have heavy armor. The Rhino and the Tiger II also both feature slowly rotating.
 * The Rhino resembles the Scorpion as seen in the pre-Xbox version of Halo: Combat Evolved.
 * A faint Legendary symbol is painted on the side of the in-game Rhino's turret.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars