The H.I.S.S., or High Speed Sentry is a powerful assault vehicle that has been a mainstay of the Cobra arsenal for years. The H.I.S.S. is Cobra's equivalent of a tank, bearing a set of twinned, 90mm cannons on its turret. Versatile in many operations, the H.I.S.S. has a maximum speed of 75 miles per hour, and an operating range of 275 miles. The Mark 1 H.I.S.S. has the following features and vehicular statistics:

C Ex 20

S Ex 20

B Am 50

P Rm 30

Armor Plating: built to go toe to toe with most American and Soviet tanks, the H.I.S.S. is naturally heavily armored. It is possessed of high density armor plating on most surfaces, and is also equipped with a shell-proof, tinted canopy to protect the driver from 'called shots'. These measures account for the High Speed Sentry's overall Body and Protection ratings.

Gear Cases: the H.I.S.S. has, spread throughout several lockers mounted in the vehicle's armor plating, various cases filled with useful gear. It has fully stocked first aid kits, tool kits, and ground working equipment, allowing the H.I.S.S. driver or any infantry working alongside the vehicle to take care of most minor emergencies in a pinch, and even quite a few major ones when necessary.

Infrared Detectors: though the H.I.S.S. tank canopy provides a rather wide view of the surrounding terrain, that is occasionally not enough to win in a firefight. As such, the High Speed Sentry has been equipped with full infrared frequency detectors, allowing it to spot, target, and eliminate foes that would otherwise be invisible to the driver. These sensors function at Good (10) rank.

Self-Sealing Fuel Canisters: these handy gas tanks, mounted right over the H.I.S.S.' odd tread structure, have an intermediate layer between the gas and the tank itself, a layer of material that immediately seals the can in the event that it is punctured (or shot), preventing a loss of fuel or explosion. These tanks offer the High Speed Sentry's fuel the vehicle's full Protection rating.

Twinned 90mm 'Diablo' Cannons: the principal weapon of the High Speed Sentry (aside from a ramming attack), these two 90mm cannons can be fired in sync to inflict Incredible (40) Shooting damage in a short, controlled burst, raised to Amazing (50) Shooting damage in a fully automatic, tank-penetrating hail of lead. It is fueled by a 2000 round ammo drum, so it can fire away for a long, long time.

Tungsten Lamp: while similar vehicles built in the High Speed Sentry's day and age had moved over to more efficient Halogen bulbs, the designers of the H.I.S.S. preferred to go with old-fashioned, highly effective tungsten filaments for this front mounted light. Functioning at Remarkable (30) rank, this array of light emitters can illuminate an area at similar rank.

The Crimson Guard H.I.S.S. tank is one of two components of the Sentry Missile System utilized to a limited extent by Cobra forces in 1985. In addition to the rather conspicuous color change on the vehicle, making it no secret which unit makes use of the thing, the Crimson Guard H.I.S.S. also received a serious weapon upgrade as well. See the Sentry Missile System entry for more information on this H.I.S.S. variant.

At the end of the millennium, Cobra revived its original, most effective ground assault vehicle. Discarding the various 'improvements' on the line that came with both the Crimson Guard and Mark 2 versions of this vehicle, Cobra has essentially reverted to their original, most dependable design. The only real difference between the Mark 1 and Mark 3 H.I.S.S., when you get down to it, is the new, Cobra blue color scheme.