From Command and Conquer Wiki
| Limpet Drone
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| Weaponry
| N/A
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| Armour
| N/A
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| Type
| Stealth intellgence-gathering Drone
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| Faction
| GDI and Nod
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A limpet drone was an interesting piece of technology that both GDI and Nod developed shortly before the Firestorm Crisis. It was basically a stealthed mine, used for spying on enemy bases.
It incorporated both GDI and Nod technology. While undeployed it could hover and cross bodies of water as well as difficult terrain types. While deployed it could burrow into the ground and turn on a personal cloaking device. Any enemy vehicle that passed over it would be hit with the mine, and the mine would attach to the vehicle. Mines could only be removed through repairing the unit, either with a service depot or a mobile repair vehicle. Of course, destroying the unit in question would also destroy the mine. While attached, the mine leeched power from the targeted unit's electrical systems, slowing it to a crawl, and provided sight for its owner. This was a favored tactic for scouting out Nod stealth bases.
Limpet drones were used at least once during the Firestorm Crisis, as Nod deployed a half dozen of them during their assassination attempt of Tratos. They were instrumental in getting reconnaissance behind enemy lines, and a limpet drone eventually revealed the location of Tratos inside the GDI fortress, so that a Nod force could then assassinate him.
Sometimes, certain commanders would use the deployed stealthed state of the limpet drone to spy on enemy movement or bases.
With the refinement of sensors and scout units, as well as increasing electronic countermeasures, the limpet drone eventually fell out of use. GDI, for example, replaced them with more powerful, immobile sensor pods. The concept of an electromagnetic landmine was also largely abandoned; except for the Marked of Kane, who replaced normal land mines with ones that would cling to a vehicle; damaging it until it either exploded or returned to base for repaires.
