Editing Moncton-class orbital weapon platform

{{Title|''Moncton''-class orbital weapon platform}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{Infobox/Ships
|name            = ''Moncton''-class
|image           = [[File:H2A CairoStation Loadscreen.png|300px]]
|caption         = ''Cairo Station'' (OWP-142) and its battle cluster over [[Earth]] on October 20, 2552.{{Ref/Reuse|H2CS}}
|modules         = <!--/Individual or /Class sub-modules should be placed here-->
{{Infobox/Ships/Class
|hide-class           = 
|class identification = [[Hull classification symbol]]: '''OWP'''{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|class operator       = [[UNSC Air Force]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|OSFM}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22AF}}
|class manufacturer   = [[Vosper Engineering]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|class architect      = 
|class built          = 300+{{Ref/Level|Id=H2CS|H2|Cairo Station}}
|class in service     = Prior to or circa [[2517]]-present{{Ref/Reuse|HTFORBC}}
}}
|hide-characteristics=
|nocollapse      = yes
|type            = [[Orbital defense platform]]
|length          = {{Convert|536|m|ft|sigfig=3}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Warfleet|HWF|Page=30-31}}
|width           = {{Convert|2580|ft|m|sp=us|sigfig=3|disp=flip}}
|height          = {{Convert|1336|m|ft|sigfig=3}}{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|mass            = 2.9 million metric tons{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|power           = 
*Reactor{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
*Liquid-metal capacitance cells{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|maneuver drive  = Station-keeping thrusters{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|slipspace drive = 
|crew            = 152 [[UNSC Air Force|Air Force]] and [[UNSC Navy|Navy]] personnel.{{Ref/Book|Id=OSFM|OSFM|Page=136}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22AF|Enc22|Page=60}}
|complement      = 
*16+ [[SKT-9 Bumblebee]]s{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
*Various aircraft:
**10 [[Pelican]] dropships or [[F-41 Broadsword#F-41D|Broadsword A/X strikecraft]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
**[[GA-TL1 Longsword]]s{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
**[[D82 Darter]]s{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|troops          = *136 [[UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marines]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|hull            = [[Durasteel]] armor{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|shielding       = 
|sensors         = 
|ew              = 
|armaments       = 
*1 [[MAC#"Super" Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|14D4A1 Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
*7 [[M606 Goalkeeper point defense gun]]s{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
|aircraft        =
|air facilities  = 
*2 [[UNSC frigate|light warship]] docks{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
*Multiple [[hangar bay]]s (varies){{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}
}}
{{Quote|That MAC gun could put a hole clean through a Covenant capital ship. Coordinated fire from the Athens and the Malta, nothing's getting through this battle cluster in one piece.|Avery J. Johnson}}
The '''''Moncton''-class orbital weapon platform''' ([[hull classification symbol]]: '''OWP''') is a line of [[orbital defense platform]]s in the service of the [[United Nations Space Command]].{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} They have been a staple of the UNSC's planetary defence strategy for decades, seeing service in the [[Insurrection]], the [[Human-Covenant War]] and [[Post-Covenant War conflicts|post-war era]].

==Overview==
=== Powerplant ===
The ''Moncton''-class, unlike its cousin in the {{Class|Erőd|orbital weapon platform|}}, was built with an on-board power source. As well as a [[fusion reactor]], the lower stalk of the station was composed of stacked liquid-metal capacitors, which allowed for the rapid firing of its MAC so long as there is charge in their cells. If the reactor is damaged, the docking umbilicals could parasitically leach charge off a docked UNSC warship to power its weapon.{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

===Armaments===
''Moncton''-class platforms are equipped with a 14D4A1 [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]], a power-hungry 802.2 meter (2,632&nbsp;ft) long coilgun that fires a ferric-[[tungsten]] round traveling at several kilometers per second, which carries enough energy to punch clean through a Covenant [[capital ship]]. The shell is accelerated by hundreds of asynchronous linear induction motors, which all line the barrel of the weapon. They were also equipped with seven [[M606 Goalkeeper point defense gun]]s to protect them from enemy fighters, bombers and boarding craft.{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

===Crew and complement===
[[File:H2D MenuBackground Earth.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A battlecluster of ''Moncton''s over Earth.]]
152 [[UNSC Air Force]] and [[UNSC Navy|Navy]] personnel man ''Moncton''-class platforms, all living within the cramped crew quarters on the station's ring section. This crew can include a number of senior officers who reside in an exposed command center, which can be modified with the equipment and facilities needed to coordinate entire defensive efforts around the planet at which they are stationed. 136 [[UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marines]] are stationed within security wings. These could be overwhelmed by Covenant boarding teams, provided enough of them are able to reach the station. For emergency evacuation, at least sixteen [[SKT-9 Bumblebee]]s are stowed away in launch bays around the docking section.{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

To temporarily supplement their on-board complement, two purpose-built docking ports can be fitted on each side of the station, both of which can accept a [[UNSC frigate]]. Eight horizontally-articulated corridors can connect to airlocks to allow for the exchange of personnel.{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

In addition, multiple [[hangar bay]]s can be fitted. During the [[Human-Covenant War]], each individual station in a given battle cluster was optimized to accept a specific type of aircraft. One would be equipped to service light [[space fighter]]s and utility craft, carrying up to ten [[F-41 Broadsword#Variants|F-41D Broadswords]] and [[D77 Pelican]]s. Another would carry interceptors such as [[GA-TL1 Longsword]]s. The third is specialized towards [[D82 Darter]]s and maintenance drones.{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}

==Stations of the line==
[[File:HW cairo station.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Cross-sectional view of Cairo Station.{{Ref/Reuse|Warfleet}}]]
*''[[Athens Station]]'' (OWP-144)
*''[[Bengaluru Station]]''{{Ref/Note|Id=Bengaluru|While never directly stated to be a ''Moncton''-class in ''[[Halo: Empty Throne]]'', Sgt. Johnson states in ''Halo 2''{{'}}s "The Armory" level that ''Cairo Station'' is one of 300 ODPs in orbit of Earth as of late 2552. Page 37 of the ''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]]'' states that (presumably as of 2559) there are 300 ''Moncton''-class ODPs orbiting Earth. As there has been no indication that any other class of ODP has been installed in Earth's orbit, it is highly likely that Bengaluru Station is a ''Moncton''.}}
*''[[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo Station]]'' (OWP-142)
*''[[Malta Station]]'' (OWP-143)
*''[[Nassau Station]]''
*''[[Oaxaca Station]]''

==Operational history==
===Insurrection===
By around [[2493]], the orbital defence grid of [[Earth]], consisting of over 300 ''Moncton''-class OWPs,{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=37}} was in the planning stages - later derisively referred to by Sergeant [[Avery Johnson]] as "''all theory and politics''".{{Ref/Reuse|H2CS}}{{Ref/Note|In ''Halo 2''{{'}}s "Cairo Station" level, Sgt. Johnson mentions the orbital defence network around Earth as being "theory and politics" when he shipped out for basic training. ''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'' clarifies that he enlisted in the military at the age of nineteen, meaning that he would have been undergoing basic training around the year of 2493, given his birth year of 2474.}} By [[2517]], at least one such platform was operational in orbit of [[Reach]].{{Ref/Comic|Id=HTFORBC|HFoRBC|Issue=1}}

===Human-Covenant War===
Alongside its sister classes, the ''Moncton''-classification of OWP played an instrumental role in the defence of numerous [[human colonies]] during the [[Human-Covenant War]]. Multiple were present around [[Camber]] during the planet's [[Battle of Camber|invasion]] in [[2542]].{{Ref/Game|H2A|Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminal 2}} They continued to see service into the war's final weeks, taking part in the [[Fall of Reach|defence]] of [[Reach]] (albeit, having mostly been supplanted by the more powerful {{Class|Erőd|orbital weapon platform|OWPs}} there).{{Ref/Comic|HFoRInv}}

''Moncton''-class orbital weapon platforms made the entirety of the three hundred orbital defense platforms that formed [[Earth]]'s orbital defense grid in October [[2552]].{{Ref/Level|Id=H2TA|H2|The Armory}} These installations formed a key part of Earth's orbital defense grid, an ambitious plan that combined ground-based aerospace fighters, low-orbit satellites, and warship squadrons into a multi-layered integrated system. During the [[Battle for Earth]], when the [[Prophet of Regret]]'s [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration]] stumbled into Earth's defenses, ''Moncton''-class platforms engaged the Covenant fleet at range, with [[Cairo Station (station)|Cairo]] serving as [[Terrence Hood|Lord Hood's]] command center to coordinate the defense of Earth, devastating the unusually small force despite the Covenant being able to board and destroy the [[Athens Station|Athens]] and [[Malta Station|Malta]] stations and slipping [[Solemn Penance|a single]] {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} through the defense grid to [[Battle of Mombasa|deploy]] forces throughout [[Mombasa]] after exiting [[slipstream space|slipspace]] over the city.{{Ref/Reuse|H2CS}}{{Ref/Level|Id=H2Out|H2|Outskirts}}{{Ref/Game|Id=sscirc1arc2|ODST|Sadie's Story|Detail=Circle 1, Arc 2}}
[[File:Cairo Mac firing.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Cairo Station firing its MAC.{{Ref/Reuse|H2CS}}]]
The ''Moncton'' platforms would continue to defend Earth even as more additional [[Covenant fleet]]s began to be dispatched to the [[Sol system]] and later when a final [[Truth's fleet|overwhelming armada]] led by the [[Prophet of Truth]] finally arrived in November. Despite particularly strong defenses, the final Covenant invading fleet overrun much of the orbital defense grid and the Home Fleet, disabling or destroying the mass of remaining orbital defense platforms as it was weakened by the previous Covenant fleets.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}{{Ref/Level|Id=H3CN|H3|Crow's Nest}}{{Ref/Reuse|Id=H2TA}} Cairo Station remained intact, but was left damaged after the final space battle.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} When the [[Forerunner]] [[keyship]] ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]'' jumped to Earth on November 17, [[Nassau Station]] tracked the [[Tykos 30]] in [[Ruwan Ackerson]]'s bloodstream to identify ''[[Harbinger of Piety]]'' as a priority target and destroy it, killing the [[Minister of Inquisition]].{{Ref/Comic|HU|Issue=4}}

===Post-war===
By the war's end, Cairo Station was one of the very few ''Moncton''-class OWPs to survive the month-long orbital [[space warfare]] campaign in late 2552. It remains a key part of of Earth's orbital grid, alongside newly-constructed replacements for the Athens and Malta platforms.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} 

An unknown number of platforms continued to serve in Earth's defense grid until they were targeted and disabled by [[Cortana]] during her [[subjugation of Earth]].{{Ref/Comic|HEsc|Issue=7}}{{Ref/Level|H5G|Guardians}}

== List of appearances ==
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes}}
*''[[Halo 2]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Uprising]]''
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp]]'' 
*''[[Halo: Escalation]]''
**''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 7|Issue 7]]''
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Lone Wolf]]''
*''[[Halo: Empty Throne]]''

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

== Sources ==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Human Ships}}
[[Category:Orbital defense platforms]]
[[Category:Space stations]]