Designation: VC-01 HOOD Anti-Aircraft Set
Zoid(s) For: Shield Liger, Blade Liger, Elephander, Shadow Fox, King Liger, Hound Soldier, Red Horn, Cannon Tortoise
Equipment Added: 102mm AA Shrapnel Cannon, 8-Barrelled 40mm ‘Pom-Pom’ Cannon, 12.7mm Vickers Machinegun, Naval Wire Barrage Pod, Flare Pod
Cost: $70,500

The HOOD Anti-Aircraft Set was designed using plans from old sea-fairing carrier Zoids during the ancient wars, whose only big threats were aerial bombers. The original set, being for bigger Zoids, contained multiple pieces of hardware, but the ZBC-licensed version sports just one of each weapon design, all lumped together into one big back-mounted turret. The turret can be divided into four main parts, the middle, the top, the left and the right.

The centre part of the turret is the proverbial mofo of the HOOD, a 102mm Shrapnel Cannon. This cannon fires shells that explode at a set height, chosen by the pilot, spraying the air with shrapnel, and excels in bringing down aerial Zoids. If you would prefer normal shells, the fuse can be disabled at the click of a button, for a normal 102mm cannonry shell. The Shrapnel Cannon is mounted on a 360 degree base, allowing it full coverage of the sky, and can turret vertically up to 80 degrees, so it is very capable of shooting down aerial Zoids. However, the minimum inclination of this cannon is set to 5 degrees above horizontal, meaning that it can be a bit harder to use than a normal cannon, at least against ground targets. The other disadvantage is the slow fire rate. Capable of firing only one shell every three seconds, the Shrapnel Cannon is not exactly a fast gun.

Mounted onto the right of the Shrapnel Cannon, on a 360 vertical mount, affording the unit full vertical and horizontal coverage is a large armour-plated cube. The front face of this cube is open, to allow the eight barrels of the ‘Pom-Pom’ cannon extend outwards. The eight barrels are lined up in three rows, with three on the top and bottom rows, and two in the central row. These are standardized 40mm cannons that fire at a semi-automatic rate, but because there are eight of them you get around 16 shells a second. Mounted in between the two Pom-Pom cannons in the central row is the 12.7m Vickers Machinegun, which alone is capable of firing 18 rounds a second. Each cannon alone is pretty accurate, and even the machinegun has impressive accuracy.

Mounted on the left side of the Shrapnel Cannon, on a 360 degree mount identical to that of the Pom-Pom cube, is a large armoured box, divided into two columns and five rows. This box is the Naval Wire Barrage Pod. Each of the ten divisions in the pod contains three rockets, called ‘Livewire Rockets’. The pod fires in salvos of ten, meaning that you are afforded three salvos total. When the rockets reach a set height of 500 meters, 1000 meters, 1500 meters or 2000 meters, depending on the settings, they stop propelling themselves, and release small parachutes. The rockets themselves then split open to reveal small mines attached to the parachutes by 200 meters of nearly invisible wire. The theory is that these aerial minefields will snag on the flying Zoids, and be dragged into the Zoid as it flies by.

While sound in theory, in practice, the Naval Wire Barrage Pod rarely works. The laying of the minefields is a relatively slow and cumbersome process, and the parachutes are clearly visible, making the mines easy to avoid. The other big risk is having the mines float back down onto the Zoid that fired them, or on allies. The mines require some force to detonate, so when they hit the ground they will tend to just sit there, creating a normal minefield to navigate through.

Finally, mounted on top of the Shrapnel Cannon is a small box that contains twelve flare rockets. When one is fired, it ignites, creating a very large heat signature, and hopefully causing heat-seeking missiles to veer away from the targeted Zoid, though the ratio of this happening is around 50-50. Each rocket can be fired at the same time, or at any time, but they are the only twelve in the pod. Once they are used, the HOOD must be reloaded.