Cheru-pattern Tyrant

The Cheru-pattern Sky Striker, nicknamed the Tyrant, is a large anti-aircraft artillery emplacement firing devastating bolts of superheated plasma at high velocities. The Tyrant can engage atmospheric craft in the air defense role and may also target starships in-orbit for planetary defense. Manufactured at the Assembly Forges, the Type-38 has been employed in the military forces of the former Covenant, its remnants, and even in the service of the human Venezian Militia.

Design details
The Tyrant differs considerably from the more sleek. It is significantly heavier in construction, and as such is more difficult to transport and deploy, though its firepower is generally considered to make up for these disadvantages. The weapon is able to fire three bolts in a rapid succession before cooling down. Unlike the unprotected observation balconies of the Mantis cannon, the Tyrant's heavy base structure effectively doubles as a covered defensible fortification. The base structure has two levels, with a small command center on the first level, with sloped ramps leading to the second level which serves as an observation platform.

Atop the base structure is a single ultra-heavy plasma cannon. Each time the cannon fires, a bolt of plasma is generated in the core and fired up into the gun. The gun's vulnerable pinch fusion reactor is encased in a shielded power core in the center of the base structure. Destroying this will cause the gun to explode. Alternatively, the back of the cannon is fatally vulnerable to heavy weapons fire, such as the M808 Scorpion's 90mm main gun or the plasma mortar system commonly mounted on the Wraith tank. To prevent this, the Covenant will assign a detachment of infantry and armored vehicles around the battery.

Although usually deployed alongside a considerable defensive crew, the Tyrant requires no manual crew to operate the gun itself. The weapon is serviced by local command forces, over a remote link.

Usage
As with the Mantis AA, the Tyrant is predominantly deployed on worlds in which the Covenant has an interest in occupying for extended periods of time - usually due to the presence of Forerunner artifact sites on the surface. The Tyrant is deployed as a semi-permament installation designed for use primarily in an anti-warship role - in contrast to the similarly-used cannon which features a modular construction for easy deployment and in-field construction. Its gun is capable of firing from the surface of a planet into space, and can be used to clear planetary orbit of hostile spacecraft.

Human-Covenant War
Several Type-38's were used by Covenant forces during the Fall of Reach. At least two guns were deployed at Szurdok Ridge on August 12, 2552. Both emplacements were dispatched quickly by NOBLE Team. Two more were seen defending SWORD Base overlooking Airview Base after the Covenant had secured the area; both of these guns were similarly destroyed by NOBLE team member SPARTAN-B312.

Post-war conflicts
By early 2553, Insurrectionists on Venezia had acquired a number of these cannons, likely from a group of Kig-Yar operating in the Venezia sector. In January 2553, one of the cannons was fired on the ship. The ship was able to evade, however, and used missiles to destroy the cannon.

During the Battle of Draetheus V in 2554, Covenant commander Merg Vol surrounded his base on X50 with Tyrants. Having learned of Spartan Sarah Palmer's theft of Parg Vol's personal transport, Vol ordered all but the officers' ships shot down by the Tyrants. However, Palmer's Trojan Horse succeeded and she was able to fly past the Covenant fleet in orbit and landing in Vol's camp Upon her later return to the moon to investigate a strange signal from a Forerunner structure, Palmer destroyed two heavily-guarded Tyrants in order to clear a landing zone for other UNSC forces.

In 2557, Jul 'Mdama's Covenant made use of several Tyrants during the conflict on Installation 03.

During the Battle of Ealen IV, Paul DeMarco and his fellow Spartans of Fireteam Bailey captured a Tyrant to cover the escape of a delegation of human, Jiralhanae, and Sangheili leaders.

Halo: Reach
During the first encounter with the emplacements during the Battle at Szurdok Ridge, the player has to eliminate the Covenant forces around the cannon and get inside. Once inside the emplacement, the player must take down the shield around the reactor core, which can be done with a simple melee attack. Once the shield is down, they must then throw a grenade into the core or, if they still have it, use the M319 grenade launcher. This causes the cannon to overload and be destroyed. Alternatively, if the Rocket Warthog is still available, barraging it relentlessly will cause it to overload and explode.

During the encounter with the Tyrants at Airview Base, the player is driving a Scorpion tank and so can destroy the emplacements by firing multiple shots into the rear of the cannon itself, ultimately causing it to overload and explode.

Halo: Spartan Assault
During the first encounter in the game with a Tyrant, the player only has to worry about the forces emerging from it. Later in the game, when they must actively destroy two the player needs to destroy the door blocking the entrance into the cannon which has a health gauge similar to the turrets and vehicles found in the game. Once the door is destroyed, the player only has to approach the door for Spartan Sarah Palmer to automatically enter and destroy the Tyrant without any further command input from the player.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: Spartan Assault
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo: Spartan Strike