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Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle

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Okarda'phaa-pattern Rifle
A Sangheili Minor with an Okarda'phaa-pattern plasma rifle during the battle at Szurdok Ridge. From Halo: Reach campaign level Tip of the Spear.
H2A T25DER.png
Production overview

Manufacturer:

Iruiru Armory[1]

Type:

Directed-energy rifle[2]

Variants:

Kewu R'shi'k-pattern plasma rifle[3]

Specifications

Length:

62.1 centimeters (24.4 in)[1][3]

Width:

15.4 centimeters (6.1 in)[3]

Height:

37.3 centimeters (14.7 in)[3]

Weight:

5.9 kilograms (13 lb)[2]

Ammunition type:

Superheated plasma[3]

Feed system:

100 battery units

Rate of fire:

Fully automatic (360–540 RPM)[2]

Muzzle velocity:

126 m/s (413 f/s)[2]

Effective range:

50 metres (160 ft)[2]

Service history

In service:

War of Beginnings
Human-Covenant War
Great Schism
Blooding Years
Post-Covenant War conflicts

 

"You know, it looks delicate and so you feel like you need to hold it kinda gingerly—but then you see an Elite crack a Bravo Kilo's head with one—the things are built tough."
— Anonymous UNSC serviceman[2]

The Okarda'phaa-pattern Rifle[4] (UNSC Type classification: Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle, T-25 DER),[2][5] more commonly known as the plasma rifle or plasma gun, is a fully automatic rifle, formerly serving as a Covenant infantry weapon. The Type-25 DER was the primary weapon of the Covenant's officer corps,[2] standard issue to Sangheili and Jiralhanae. However, lower-caste species within the Covenant who had attained significant rank within the Covenant military were also issued this weapon during operations. The Type-25 DER was one of the earliest and most frequently encountered Covenant plasma weapons. It occupies a role very similar to the human assault rifle.[5]

The earliest iterations of the plasma rifle have been in use by the Sangheili warrior class for several millennia as of the 26th century and were in service long before the Covenant itself was established. Human researchers of the UNSC's Office of Naval Intelligence believe that the plasma rifle's current design dates back at least five hundred years, with only slight modifications made to the rifle over time.[3] In the post-Covenant War era, though, it has been largely phased out for the Kelos'vaarda-pattern storm rifle.[6]

Overview[edit]

Design details[edit]

"It's got no sight-line, it's awkward to hold, and if it overheats it'll cook the hair right off of your wrists."
— Anonymous UNSC serviceman[2]
The schematics of a plasma rifle

The Okarda'phaa-pattern Rifle is a battery-powered directed-energy weapon that is capable of fully automatic fire.[2] The two segmented portions of the rifle function as large plasma generator subassemblies.[3] The pair of curved bodies are joined via the trigger guard,[7] creating the rifle's distinctive smooth, streamlined shape.[3] The rifle, like most Covenant weapons, is smooth and aerodynamic, almost organic in appearance.[7] The plasma rifle's design has only changed slightly over its centuries of service. The weapon's contemporary design was the result of Forerunner technology, Sangheili craftsmanship, and San'Shyuum artistry.[3] The plasma rifle's design was noted to be jawlike, a design that perhaps unconsciously mimicked a Sangheili's mandibles.[8]

Placed atop one another, the rifle's generators fire in a "stagger" pattern taking the slow automatic fire of each individual collimator and combining it at the charging and accelerator poles. This design allows for a faster rate of fire and more rounds per second. Despite the efficiency of the plasma rifle's design, a significant amount of waste heat is produced by the rifle's generator