Particle cannon

A particle cannon is a type of Forerunner directed energy particle beam weapon that fires a hyper-dense beam of negatively charged ions. Ranging from a few meters to hundreds of meters long, particle cannons were installed on a multitude of ecumene worlds and used in the defense of important Forerunner installations.

The Z-8060 High-Impact Particle Weapon, as it is designated by the United Nations Space Command, is a model of particle cannon almost five-hundred meters in length which consists of a spherical firing assembly surrounded by three curved "arms." Several Z-8060s were used to defend the gravity well generator of the Forerunner shield world, Requiem.

Smaller particle cannons identical in appearance to the Z-8060s were installed on the Didact's vessel, Mantle's Approach, and used for point-defense against other ships. In 2557, after being dormant for one-hundred millennia, the weapons were reactivated for use against the UNSC Home Fleet.

Particle cannons were also positioned across the surface of Installation 00, "the Ark." The firing mechanisms of these cannons were embedded in the surface of the Ark and fired a blue particle beam upwards between three "prongs." In 2559, Professor Ellen Anders of the assumed control over one of the particle cannons in order to immobilize and take down the energy shields of the Banished assault carrier, Enduring Conviction.

Multiple several-meter-long particle cannons similar in appearance to Z-8060s were positioned around an access point to the Domain on an artificial Forerunner world, known as Kamchatka to humanity. The cannons were reactivated during an invasion by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and fired bursts of particle energy at the attacking aircraft and spacecraft.

List of appearances

 * Halo 4
 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo Wars 2