Archive:Halowars.com/UNSC

''This is a word-by-word replication of the soon-defunct original page at Halowars.com. As such, any errors or irregularities are simply carried over from the original page.''

In Halo Wars you’ll find that the UNSC field a very versatile arsenal. You can enlist the aid of Marines, Warthogs, Scorpions and Hornets to strategically control areas of the map or advance on new ones. Specialized UNSC leaders offer you further tactical abilities such as calling in support from Spirit of Fire above and highly specialized units that can make the difference between winning and losing.

Whether its close air support, infantry, or heavy armor, the UNSC can field the units to get the job done.

UNSC Firebase
The UNSC firebase combines the needs of a tactical communication command center and expansion into both a barrack and a production facility capable of assembling combat vehicles. The firebase itself is a variant of the old colony starter units constructed out of polycrete and powered by a small hydrogen reactor. Because gaining a foothold quickly was key to fighting insurrection throughout the colonies, Spirit of Fire can directly deploy the entire assembly unit of a firebase making it immediately useful. That ability has also proven invaluable in the ongoing war with the Covenant and is often considered a key advantage of the UNSC on the ground.

Turret
"The best offence..." (MBT)

Turret defenses are available for Command Centers only, while battlefield commanders will have to defend their Fire Bases with their military units. Turrets are assembled below ground and then elevated into one of four available slots. A virtually unlimited supply of ammunition flows to the turret from below the base, allowing it keep firing as long as it’s exposed tower and weapon remains intact.

The base turret mount supports the very versatile M202 XP Machine Gun. It can be upgraded to the vastly superior M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun that is found on most Warthogs, firing the 12.7x99mm rounds. They can also be upgraded with Anti-Air Missles, Anti-Personel Flame Mortors, and Rail Cannons

Armament: M202 XP Machine Gun, Bombard, Rail Cannon

Crew: Automated

Role: Anti-Armor

Field Armory
The UNSC's Field Armory is a cross beatwean a machine \ fabrication shop, and a research labratory. This is where the most advanced technology for the UNSC is created by dedicated engineers and scientists.

UNSC can increase it's population cap here, as well as improve the turrets, and boost the speed of its infantry. There are also special technology that can only be researched by individual leaders.

Reactor
Power is everything. A UNSC firebase is powered by a small hydrogen reactor which allows it to operate some pretty sophisticated systems. In order to set up a base quickly, it has to be small, but these power plants are modular. As you expand your base of operations and field more complicated weapon systems you are going to need more power. Base sockets can facilitate the addition of larger hydrogen reactor units which provide the juice to allow you to field more and more sophisticated weaponry. These additional reactors built into your base sockets are even modular and can be upgraded, but at great expense, to double their output. Protect your base reactors. They are prime targets for enemy raids. When they are destroyed, you will no longer be able to field your heavy hitting Scorpions or Vultures.

Supply Pad
The UNSC Supply Pad allows a base to recieve shipments from orbiting ships. The supplies are dropped shipped onto the pads where they are gathered by robot cranes and brought into the base. These crates contain the resources needed to build units, reasearch upgrades. Supply Pads are the economy behind the war machine of the UNSC, and can be upgraded to produce more resources faster.

Warthog - M12 LRV
Even the most minimal of firebases is able to produce the Warthog, and for good reason. These versatile vehicles are incredibly valuable for reconnaissance and can be refitted to fill a number of supporting roles for UNSC forces. The most basic of these variants doesn’t have the standard M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun equipped, sacrificing this firepower for speed, vital for recon patrols. Fire Bases have the ability to not only add the M41, but also the M68 Gauss Cannon to seriously boost the firepower of this unit against armored vehicles.

Barracks
This is no UNSC academy. The Barracks is a rustic shack compared to the comforts of a real training center, but then again a Marine in the field isn’t generally thinking about creature comforts. They make you soft.

The Barracks simply houses the raw recruits and equipment needed to field squads of UNSC Marines. A quick briefing, visit to the armory, and you’ve got boots on the ground.

Marines
“Boots on the ground.”

The backbone of UNSC ground forces is the Marine. The UNSC Marine Corps can trace its roots back all the way to the United States Marine Corp, formed in the 18th century. The people behind the triggers haven’t changed a great deal in all these years, far less so than the theaters of operation. Marines first started setting foot on other planets during the Interplanetary War (2160-2170), taking the fight to Mars and officially becoming the UNSC Marine Corps after their victory in that conflict.

Marines come equipped with a variety of weapons, but generally it’s the MA5 series of rifles. A squad of marines can lay down some impressive firepower, and can even damage armored vehicles with a volley of grenades or rockets if they’re available. Versatile, relatively cheap to equip, and fast get on the ground, Marines are a potentially strong force to put into action. En masse, they haul around enough firepower to put the hurt on just about anything an enemy can field.

Armament: MA5 series battle rifle, Grenades

Crew: 5 person squad

Role: All purpose

Flamethrower
“Hellbringers”

These specialized Marines are outfitted with a Napalm spewing NA4 Flamethrower. First seeing action during World War I, flamethrowers have changed remarkably little since those early days in the trenches. These specialized Marines carry a potent mixture with them in a tank that is spewed through a gun onto the target. A variety of mixtures have been created for work in various atmospheric and gravitational conditions, but they all work similarly to fry just about anything.

Squads of Flame Marines aren’t particularly common in the UNSC arsenal. Usually they are only called in to exterminate the most firmly entrenched enemies, which means that they also take plenty of casualties themselves. They know it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Armament: NA4 Flamethrower, Flash Bang

Crew: 2 person squad

Role: Anti-infantry

Spartan
“If they want war, we’ll give ‘em war.”

The Master Chief, John-117, didn’t always fight alone. He was part of the SPARTAN-II program that started with 150 child candidates, 33 of which made it through the intensive training and physical augmentation procedures. On November 1, 2525, the program was accelerated with the discovery of the Covenant threat and the Spartans adopted their MJOLNIR armor. The war was underway, and the UNSC had over thirty of these super soldiers at their disposal.

Summoning a Spartan to the battlefield is not a guarantee of victory, nor is it something to be taken lightly. It requires a significant investment of time and energy to field Spartans, so they’re not a commonplace sight. When they do end up on the scene though your opponent will have to learn to take the threat of a Spartan on the battlefield seriously, or suffer the consequences.

Armament: MA5 series rifle, MJOLNIR armor

Role: Special Forces

Vehicle Depot
A Vehicle Depot contains the heavy equipment and crew to assemble vehicle kits. Hydraulic cranes serve as the muscle to move everything from Cobra chassis, Scorpion armored plates, and the impressive selection of weaponry that these vehicles can bring to bear. The parts may take awhile to arrive, but when the engine from a new Scorpion fires up in the Vehicle Depot, the rumble is felt all across the base.

Scorpion Tank
M808B Main Battle Artillery Tank (MBAT)

The Scorpion Main Battle Tank is a mainstay of UNSC forces. It is a flexible weapons platform that can take a beating as well as dish out a great deal of damage, although its main gun can have difficulty penetrating some heavy armor vehicles. Some would call it a jack of all trades, but a Scorpion can truly be the ace up your sleeve when it comes to breaking through an enemy position.

The Scorpion can be upgraded with a variety of technologies that allow it to pack more of a punch. Whatever flavor they come in, your enemy will learn to respect the Scorpion or end up under its treads.

Armament: 90mm Main gun, 7.62mm Machine Gun

Crew: 1 Driver, 1-2 Gunner(s)

Role: Main Battle Tank

Wolverine
Wolverine – MAAT-9 Wolverine Main Anti Air Tank (MAAT)

Wolverine is a fast moving maneuverable anti-air vehicle. In its arsenal are two pods of Argent V Missiles that are located on the left and right of the driver and gunner seats. These missiles are specialized to target and deliver their warhead to an aircraft with great speed and maneuverability. The missile pods are quite large and can be reloaded via a mechanical system in the Wolverine, which stores a small supply of missiles onboard.

The targeting systems and anti-air capabilities of the Wolverine are second to none, but it can also angle its missile pods to launch missiles at ground targets. Stationary targets and buildings are your best bets for actually hitting anything. Although air vehicles generally know to steer clear, the Wolverine is quite vulnerable to anti-armor attacks both from vehicles or heavily upgraded infantry. The driver has the use of a XM511 Heavy Grenade Launcher for defense from ground attacks, which can potentially wreck soft targets, but truly this support vehicle relies on heavier units to defend it from a determined attack.

Armament: Argent V Missile Pod X 2, XM511 Heavy Grenade Launcher

Crew: 1 Driver, 1 Gunner(s)

Role: Anti-Air

Cobra
Cobra – SP42 Cobra (MBT)

Although the Cobra has the ability to fill two roles, it is a specialized fighting vehicle. It has specialized armored panels that are designed to deflect hardened projectiles and absorb massive amounts of damage from explosive shells. Although it is not particularly fast, the Cobra is highly maneuverable. It totes around a pair of Rail Cannons on its turret that fire a high-density slug designed to penetrate enemy armor.

Alternately the Cobra crew can choose to lockdown the vehicle and deploy the larger Rail Cannon which fires a more high velocity explosive artillery shell. The sacrifice of mobility is made up for in the range advantage that elevating the big gun can offer. The artillery round is multipurpose and can cause a great amount of damage to just about anything it hits, including enemy fortifications.

Armament: 2 X Rail Cannons, Bombard Rail Cannon

Crew: 1 Driver, 1 Gunner(s)

Role: Anti-Armor

AirPad
Air superiority can be of vital importance, not only for intelligence gathering but also for tactical strikes at your enemy’s weak points. A UNSC Airpad is a surprisingly sophisticated structure that not only houses the maintenance crews required to refit, repair, and rearm Hornets, it also houses banks of simulation pods to train pilots in everything from the basics to advanced tactical maneuvers. Desperate times can call for desperate measures, and on more than a few occasions Fire Base Commanders have thrown any able bodies they’ve had at their disposal into the simulators for a crash course in operating the Attack VTOL-14. With the Spirit of Fire at your disposal to provide trained air crews, chances are you won’t have to resort to these sorts of unorthodox procedures.

Vulture
"Death From Above"

The Vulture is one of the UNSC's most powerful units. Basically a highly armed flying assault tank packed to the brim with weapons. The UNSC Vulture is the largest aircraft fielded by the UNSC. It is designed to deliver massive damage to enemy ground troops after air superiority has been achieved. It is slow moving but carries an impressive armament of 2 twin-autocannons and rocket silos that can be used to deliver a devastating barrage to enemies in a wide area. Crewed by highly trained UNSC pilot and gunners, the Vulture is an expensive unit and is usually reserved for difficult or lengthy battles. Being slow, it is vulnerable to anti-aircraft fire and enemy aircraft, but it is surprisingly resilient.

Armament: Dual Autocannon Turrets, Rocket Barrage Ability

Crew: 6 Crew Members

Hornet
Hornet - Attack VTOL-14

These single-seat support aircraft are tremendously versatile. The Hornet is often used as close air support to UNSC forces and can also be seen flying alongside larger craft such as the Pelican in a supporting role.

This fast attack vehicle is a versatile anti air unit, but can also take the fight directly to the enemies ground units. Having a few hornets in a battle can really change the battle in favor of the UNSC.

Armament: Twin Heavy Machine Guns, Missile Pods

Crew: 1 Pilot, 2 Marine gunners

Role: Antipersonnel