Main-Forerunner.png
Halopedia Era UNSC.png
HaloArray.png
Reclaimer - H4.png

Space fighter

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

F-41 Broadswords engaging Type-27 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

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) 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.[10]

Warships primarily designed to transport and maintain fighter-squadrons are commonly known as carriers.[11] 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.[12] Marathon-class heavy cruisers are capable of reconfiguring themselves as light carriers by sacrificing weapons installations and cargo bays for increased fighter capacity.[13] 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.[14]

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.[14] This differed from usual Covenant deployment tactics, which would see fighters deploy straight to attack the enemy, leaving their capital ships relatively undefended.[15]

Types

Covenant

  • Seraph - Seraph is the name of several different space fighters.[18] Two design patterns of that fall under it are the Morsam-pattern (known as the Type-31 Seraph) and the Kai-pattern.

Human

  • YSS-1000 Sabre - The Sabre is a swift, versatile, and utterly lethal interceptor. Only several hundred were manufactured before the war ended.[7] It could launch from the surface of a planet via a single-stage-to-orbit system.[16]
  • OF92 Booster Frame - The OF92 Booster Frame is a type of open frame space fighter designed for Spartan operatives.[1]

Forerunner

Gameplay

Halo: Reach

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

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

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 "Last 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.[26]

Sources

  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: Cryptum, page 174
  11. ^ Halo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe, p. 259
  12. ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 64
  13. ^ Halo: Fleet Battles - Core Rulebook, page 125
  14. ^ a b Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 17
  15. ^ Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 21
  16. ^ a b Halo: Reach, campaign level Long Night of Solace
  17. ^ Halo: Reach, game stats
  18. ^ Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 169
  19. ^ a b Halo 3 - Appearance - Armor - Armor Classification: Elite - Head - Flight description
  20. ^ Halo: Oblivion, chapter 21
  21. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, chapter 16
  22. ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), p. 261
  23. ^ Halo: Silent Storm, chapter 19
  24. ^ Halo: Retribution, chapter 1
  25. ^ Halo: Oblivion, chapter 12
  26. ^ ArtStation, 343 Industries Team Pitch: Last Star Fighter (Retrieved on Jan 17, 2021) [archive]