Canon

User:BaconShelf/Sandbox/PlasmaCannon

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Plasma cannons are a broad kind of heavy plasma weaponry commonly used by the Covenant empire and its remnants. Plasma cannons are typically heavy ordnance, mounted aboard vehicles, aircraft, and starships - or used as a mounted stationary weapon in various forms of crew-served and automated turret system.

Overview

Plasma cannons are a broad classification of heavy weaponry used by the Covenant, ranging from infantry-portable crew-served weapons similar in role to a machine gun up to artillery systems and naval cannons.

Plasma cannons can be "overclocked".[1]

Classifications

In the classification systems developed by the Office of Naval Intelligence for cataloguing Covenant materiel recovered during the Human-Covenant War, plasma cannons are generally designated as Directed Energy Cannons. When catalogued in ONI records, the plasma cannon classes roughly correspond with the following:

  • Class-1 directed energy cannons[2] - Light plasma cannons
  • Class-2 directed energy cannons[3] - Medium plasma cannons[4]
  • Class-3 directed energy cannons - Heavy plasma cannons
  • Class-4 directed energy cannons[5] - Ultra-heavy plasma cannons[6]

Light plasma cannons

Light plasma cannons, or Class-1 Directed Energy Cannons, typically take the form of rapid-fire and infantry-portable weapon systems.[2][7] These are the most common manifestation of plasma cannon, and are intended for use as a defensive weapon operated by personnel at chokepoints. They maintain an internal plasma generator that can power the weapon for an extended period before requiring a recharge - detaching the turret from its base mounting results in a security override being activated that limits the power generation capabilities.[8] In Covenant lexicon, these weapons may also be known as Sweeping Turrets.[8]

Although their use as infantry-carried and operated weapons is the most common application, light plasma cannons are often mounted as a secondary weapon among heavy vehicles and dropships to serve as a light weapon for fending off infantry attacks and potential borders.[8]

List of light plasma cannons
Weapon UNSC classification Deployment(s)
A cropped screenshot of the Shepsu-pattern plasma cannon from Halo 2: Anniversary's campaign.
Shepsu-pattern plasma cannon		 Type-42 Directed Energy Support Weapon[2] Deployable turret
A cropped screenshot of a detached Pek-pattern plasma cannon.
Pek-pattern plasma cannon		 Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon[9] Deployable turret
Vehicle-mounted
Scarabs (Deutoros-pattern and Sumda'te-pattern),[6] Kmiro'sish-pattern Lich and Ru'swum-pattern Phantom secondary gun
H5G - Plasma turret render.png
Shea'p-pattern plasma cannon		 Type-58 Directed Energy Support Weapon[7] Deployable turret
Vehicle-mounted
Wraiths (Kemu-pattern and Muv'te-patterns), Ekesan-pattern Umbra and Phantoms (Mikpramu-pattern and Eklon'Dal)
Wraith plasma cannon Type-26 Directed Energy Weapon Emplacement[10][11] Vehicle-mounted
Wraith (Zurdo-pattern and Ogab'd-patterns)[Note 1]
H2A-Spectre.jpg

Spectre light plasma cannon		 T-46 Directed Energy Weapon/Mounted[12] Mounted aboard the Wuzum-pattern Spectre[4][13]
Concept art of the Phelent-pattern Revenant c.2011.

Scout Revenant light plasma cannon		 N/A Mounted aboard the Phelent-pattern Revenant[4]
ProwlerTurret.jpg

Prowler light plasma cannon[14]		 N/A Mounted aboard the Qavardu Workshop Prowler[4]

Medium plasma cannons

Medium plasma cannons, or Class-2 Directed Energy Cannons,[3][15][16] generally tend to be plasma cannons mounted on the vehicular fleet of the Covenant - both ground and airborne. As their naming suggests, they are generally heavier weapons in nature - though still exhibit broadly similar properties. Medium plasma cannons are, like their light brethren, rapid-fire, automatic weapons in nature though lack the man-portability element that characterises light plasma cannons.

Class-2-equipped vehicles include:

Ground vehicles
Aircraft

Heavy plasma cannons

Heavy plasma cannons have never been officially assigned a Class-designation, though given their position they are presumably Class-3 Directed Energy Cannons. Heavy plasma cannons are typically mounted on heavy aircraft, or used in the Covenant's sky striker artillery systems in both ground attack and air-defence roles. Heavy plasma cannons are comparable in scale to starship-scale plasma cannons, with the Hesduron Chwich-pattern Saker taken of starship-grade plasma cannons stripped off aging Vestige hulls and repurposed as ground artillery.[27]