Helicopter pad
From Command and Conquer Wiki
The Helipad is a support structure designed to build, refuel and rearm small aircraft such as Apaches or ORCAs. Without it, the aircraft would be left without ammunition to perform any offensive role.
The structure was first introduced in the Great World War II by both the Allied Forces and the Soviet Union, who required it to field and sustain AH-64 Apaches Mi-24 Hinds respectivelly. It was a circular platform with armories and fuel tanks located in integrated bunkers.
After the war, the Brotherhood of Nod as well as the GDI used them as staging areas for their air forces during both the First and Second Tiberium Wars. While originally designed to support only rotary wing aircraft, these pads were adapted by GDI to support the new ORCA Assault Craft. The design little changed since the Great World War II, as it has proven itself to be effective and allowed for quick rearming and refueling of the aircraft.
However, as the technology became more sophisticated, the helipads evolved. In the Second Tiberium War, the weapons were much more complex and required longer reload times due to them being integrated within the frame of the aircraft at a greater level than previous generation gunships. Nod redesigned the original circular platforms, relocating the fuel tanks and weapon racks to the outside to allow swift rearming and refueling of Harpy assault helicopters and Banshee fighters, while GDI developed what essentially was a bunker with a helicopter landing pad on it's top, which was compatible with most ORCA aircraft, this including Orca Fighter, Orca Bomber, and Orca Carryall.
Following the war, with further advancement in aircraft technologies, single helipads were no longer useful, as they couldn't support multiple fighters nor could they rearm them fast enough. In response, GDI developed Airfields that could support up to four different aircraft, while Nod built towering Air Towers that had folding pads for up to four Vertigo stealth bombers and an indefinite number of Venom patrol craft.
