Canon

Space fighter

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

This article is about starfighters employed within the Halo universe. For the 343 Industries internal game pitch, see Halo: Starfighter.
F-41 Broadswords engaging Elsedda-pattern Banshees in front of the UNSC Infinity.

A space fighter,[1] strike fighter,[2][3] or simply fighter,[2][3][4] known by the Covenant as Strikecraft[5][6] and to the UNSC as an interceptor,[7][3] are small, versatile, and maneuverable spacecraft, primarily used for exoatmospheric interception, interdiction, or space-supremacy operations.

Overview[edit]

These ships are unable to enter slipspace by themselves, and need to be launched from planetary bases, orbiting space stations, or capital ships to conduct strike-operations against enemy warships, intercept fighters, and provide escort for warships and dropships.[8][9] Their size varies from a few meters to well over 50 meters. Most known space fighters are spaceplanes, capable of operating in both atmospheric/exoatmospheric (A/X)[10] and suborbital/orbital (S/O) environments. The Forerunner Warrior-Servants often used space fighters in combat. Some space fighters, called weapon-ships, could be remotely-controlled at a ratio of up to a million ships per warrior.[11]

Warships primarily designed to transport and maintain fighter-squadrons are commonly known as carriers.[12] In the UNSC Navy, starfighters were deployed from all warships larger than a corvette, as corvettes were too small to carry anything larger than a shuttle.[13] Marathon-class heavy cruisers are capable of reconfiguring themselves as light carriers by sacrificing weapons installations and cargo bays for increased fighter capacity.[14] UNSC doctrine typically dictates the launching of a fighter assault against an enemy fleet employing wolf-pack tactics before it can swarm a capital ship.[15]

During the Battle of Biko, Nizat 'Kvarosee deployed his fighters in a tight "shell" around their motherships, ensuring that any attempt to board his vessels would be met with failure, considered an unusual deployment tactic by the UNSC.[15] This differed from usual Covenant deployment tactics, which would see fighters deploy straight to attack the enemy, leaving their capital ships relatively undefended.[16]

Types[edit]

Covenant[edit]

Human[edit]

Forerunner[edit]

Gameplay[edit]

Halo: Reach[edit]

During the level Long Night of Solace, the player has the opportunity to fly the YSS-1000 Sabre over Reach. Through the Pilotable Seraph glitch, players are able to fly the Morsam-pattern Seraph as well. For the "Thorage" update in Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the Sabre and Seraph were added to the Forge inventories of Forge World and Tempest - marking the first time a Seraph has been flyable without glitches or exploits.

Halo 4[edit]

In the final level Midnight, the player is given the opportunity to fly the F-41E Broadsword through the Forerunner ship Mantle's Approach. For the "Thorage" update which saw Halo 4 brought to PC platforms, the Master Chief Collection version of Halo 4 was updated to make the Broadsword useable in multiplayer. The Broadsword can be spawned in Forge on the maps Impact, Ravine, Erosion and Forge Island.

Production notes[edit]

During the development of Halo 2, the UNSC were intended to have a dedicated space fighter during the Battle of Earth. The fighter was nicknamed the "strike fighter", though was cut from the game.

Prior to mid-2018, an internal prototype was worked on at 343 Industries known as the "Halo: Starfighter". The prototype was designed to expand upon the fighter combat ideas seen in the Halo: Reach level Long Night of Solace and explore its use in a full game.[28]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b Halo: Warfleet - Frigates, page 38
  2. ^ a b Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide, p. 114
  3. ^ a b c d Halo: Warfleet - Fighters, page 28-29
  4. ^ a b Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Logs, Forerunner ship
  5. ^ Halo: Warfleet - Glossary, page 92
  6. ^ Halo: Warfleet - Strikecraft, page 58-59
  7. ^ a b Halo: Warfleet - Carriers, page 40
  8. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), p. 266
  9. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 6
  10. ^ Halo Waypoint, The New Halo Encyclopedia is Out Today (Retrieved on Mar 11, 2023) [archive]
  11. ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 174
  12. ^ Halo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe, p. 259
  13. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 64
  14. ^ Halo: Fleet Battles - Core Rulebook, page 125
  15. ^ a b Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 17
  16. ^ Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 21
  17. ^ a b Halo: Reach, campaign level Long Night of Solace
  18. ^ Halo: Reach, game stats
  19. ^ Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 169
  20. ^ a b Halo 3 - Appearance - Armor - Armor Classification: Elite - Head - Flight description
  21. ^ Halo: Oblivion, chapter 21
  22. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, chapter 16
  23. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), p. 261
  24. ^ Halo: Oblivion, chapter 12
  25. ^ Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 19
  26. ^ Halo: Retribution, chapter 1
  27. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Digsite Dissection (Retrieved on Jul 28, 2023) [archive]
  28. ^ ArtStation, 343 Industries Team Pitch: Last Star Fighter (Retrieved on Jan 17, 2021) [archive]