Canon

Rampart point defense gun

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

This article is about the line of point-defence weaponry used by the UNSC. For other uses of the term "rampart", see rampart (disambiguation).
The M870 Rampart point defense gun on the Mulsanne-class light frigate UNSC Mortal Reverie as seen on Halo Infinite's campaign map Outpost Tremonius.
An M870 Rampart PDG in the crash site of the Mulsanne-class light frigate, UNSC Mortal Reverie.

The Rampart point-defense network is a line of point-defense guns heavily utilised by the warships of the CMA Navy and UNSC Navy. They are one of the most commonly-utilised point-defence weapons in naval service, with multiple models in service.[1]

Overview

Design details

Armoured dual-gun M870 Ramparts aboard the Paris-class heavy frigate UNSC Savannah firing during Operation: UPPER CUT.

Ramparts are 50mm coilguns used for the purposes of point-defence. Due to the sheer speed that space warfare takes place at, targeting inbound missiles and space fighters is impossible for a human operator.[2] As such, Ramparts are generally fully-automated and controlled by a ship's artificial intelligence - though control can be surrendered to manual operation if deemed necessary.[3]

A single Rampart turret consists of twin-[4] or quad-mounted 50mm[1] rapid-fire coilguns and a targeting scanner.[5] Some models may be additionally fitted with a boxy armoured housing surrounding the gun mechanisms, while other models lack the housing entirely.

Point defense guns such as these are used for the engagement of incoming threats, including the warding off of strikecraft and the disruption of plasma torpedoes;[2] each emplacement actively switches between sub-caliber armor-piercing sabots or proximity detonation fragmentation shells based on a threat-analysis of its current target in order to maximise effectiveness.[5]

Models

M800 Rampart

The M800 Rampart point defense gun is a kinetic point-defense gun utilized by the UNSC Navy. The refitted Phoenix-class support ship UNSC Spirit of Fire is armed with forty of these turrets.[6]

M870 Rampart

Quad-mount M870s on the Strident-class heavy frigate.

M870s are most commonly mounted on lighter vessels of the UNSC Navy and CMA Navy, particularly corvettes and frigates. They also see some use on destroyers and carriers, with no known usage on cruisers and supercarriers. They are primarily employed on the warships constructed between the late-24th century and early 26th century, with their earliest known usage being on the Mako-class corvette, launched in 2388.[7] They seem to have been mostly succeeded aboard larger and more modern ships by the M910 Rampart model, which began to see service aboard the Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser in 2493[8]

Despite this, the M870 did see constant usage as a common fixture in the Human-Covenant War of the early-mid 26th century, and a handful of post-war era vessels have made use of it.

Stations
Carriers
Destroyers
Frigates
Corvettes
Prowlers

M910 Rampart

An M910 Rampart turret atop UNSC Pillar of Autumn, as depicted in the Warfleet cross-section.
An M910 Rampart PDG mounted atop UNSC Pillar of Autumn.

The M910 Rampart is a heavier alternative in the Rampart series of point-defense guns, primarily outfitted on the heavy warships of the UNSC; cruisers and battleships. It was in service as early as 2493 aboard the Valiant-class super-heavy cruiser and was later a standard instalment on successor cruiser classes - with the notable exception of the Marathon-class heavy cruiser. The foremost exception to the trend of M910s installed on large combatants is the usage of the M910 aboard the Point Blank-class prowler, a stealth warship class often itself nicknamed a "stealth cruiser".

For smaller combatants and carriers, the M870 Rampart is often used in a similar role. On at least the Halcyon-class light cruiser, the M910 Rampart is capable of being interchangeably replaced with the M810 Helix point defense gun.[18] It is unknown whether this capability extends to the rest of the fleet; if so, the M910 may also be capable of being fit onto the ships listed here.

Battleships
Cruisers
Prowlers

Production notes

The Rampart PDNs have had a fairly inconsistent appearance throughout the various visual media they have appeared in. This is due to the naval armaments' lore being written long after most of the spacecraft artwork was made for the original Halo games. In general, this article preferences the depictions covered in the 2017 starships reference guide Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo, due to its exclusive and dedicated focus on naval weapons and several pieces of artwork designed to feature them.

Of particular note is an inconsistency present in Halo: Fireteam Raven's first level, Escape, and its third level Alpha Base. During these levels, a heavily-armoured weapon mount is called out as an M910 Rampart turret for use by the player for shooting down enemy fighters. In reality, this weapon uses the model of the Sentry and Spitfire models of naval autocannon, and should note be taken as canonically-accurate. Halo: Warfleet's page on UNSC Pillar of Autumn provides a more true-to-form depiction of an M910, featured above in this article.

Gallery

M870 Rampart

M910 Rampart

List of appearances

Sources

  1. ^ a b Halo Waypoint, UNSC Frigate (Retrieved on Jun 30, 2021) [archive]
  2. ^ a b c Halo: Warfleet, page 19
  3. ^ Halo: Fireteam Raven, campaign level Escape
  4. ^ Halo 3, Charon-class frigate in-game model
  5. ^ a b c Halo: Warfleet, page 39
  6. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 48-49
  7. ^ a b c d Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 128-129
  8. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 118
  9. ^ Halo: Reach, Anchor 9 in-game model has 7 point-defence turrets of the same design as the Paris frigate's M870s
  10. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 40
  11. ^ a b c Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 127
  12. ^ a b c Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 124-125
  13. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 32
  14. ^ Waypoint, The Halo Bulletin: 10.10.12 (Retrieved on Mar 30, 2013) [archive]
  15. ^ a b c d e Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 120-123
  16. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 37
  17. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Foundations (Retrieved on Jan 12, 2022) [archive]
  18. ^ a b c d Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 118-119
  19. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 26-27
  20. ^ Halo: Warfleet, page 24-25
  21. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 128