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The Shagohod (Russian Шагоход, "step-walker") is a fictional weapon featured in the video game Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It is a crawling rocket-boosted tank with nuclear weapon launch capability. It is the predecessor of Metal Gear systems.
The Shagohod is armed with two machine guns, two ground-to-ground missile launchers, and a volley gun. Combined with heavy armor, the Shagohod is basically a mobile fortress.
(interrogate a guard in the Shagohad hanger and he tells you it translates into "The Threading Behemoth")
Though originally meant to be a theater-to-intermediate range nuclear weapons platform operable from any type of terrain, the final "Phase 2" design of the Shagohod uses rocket boosters to propel the behemoth to a speed of over 500 km/h (300 mi/h) before firing off its nuclear warhead, essentially acting as an additional stage, doubling the range to ICBM levels. The tradeoff from the original design is that Shagohod requires 5 km (3 mi) of flat, even land (preferably runway) to make effective use of the rocket boost.
The percieved advantage of Shagohod over traditional silos is its mobility and thus relative stealth. As a mobile weapon, it is also suited to more aggressive posturing, leading to the threat of a nuclear first strike with the new system.
The Shagohod does have weaknesses; Its treads are susceptible to damage by explosives, immobilizing it, and its rear armor is thin enough to be penetrated by rocket propelled grenades.
The first and only Shagohod model was destroyed by Naked Snake during Operation Snake Eater.
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