Z-8060 particle cannon

Particle cannons are heavy directed energy weapons used by the Forerunner Prometheans as anti-air defenses.

Description
Forerunner particle cannons are enormous floating weapons platforms. They are spherical in shape, surrounded by three curving "arms" spaced at equidistant points around the main gun assembly. Particle cannons project a beam of energy similar to a Sentinel beam to disintegrate any target in range. They are slow to turn, however, and are vulnerable to ground-based attacks. A well-placed hit from a small MAC in the central beam port will destroy the device.

History
A number of these weapons were encountered on Requiem in use by the Prometheans as anti-air defenses; one of the cannons obliterated a squad of Pelicans in a single hit. Two cannons were destroyed by a Mammoth siegework platform deployed to the surface by the UNSC Infinity, with the Master Chief providing targeting for the Mammoth. These cannons were controlled from a central core via an AI, before it was deactivated by Cortana; causing the remaining two to fire on each other.

A larger variant was used as a ship-to-ship weapon on the Forerunner flagship Mantle's Approach. Unlike their planetside counterpart, this version is powered by an external energy core. John-117 used this vulnerability to neutralize the Mantle's point-defense capacity with his F-41 Broadsword, allowing the to attack the ship.

During the Second Battle of Requiem, the Covenant on Requiem led by Jul 'Mdama made use of a number of these particle cannons to complement their anti-air defenses. Throughout the course of the battle, these cannons posed a constant threat to the UNSC air forces. As a result, Spartan Fireteams often had to be deployed to take out these cannons.

Trivia
The particle cannon's overall design bears a great deal of resemblance to the description of an Onyx Sentinel.

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops