Covenant starship



Covenant starships are the ships used by the species of the Covenant through its various ministries.

Pre-Writ of Union
Millenia prior to the forming of the Covenant, the San'Shyuum were a spacefaring civilization, allied with humans.

Prior to joining, the Sangheili had a number of starships. This included the Hekar Taa-pattern fast interdictor, the Carrack merchant cruiser, Man O' War, and the Brigantine.

Early Covenant
A number of starships were designed following the signing of the Writ of Union. One of the earliest ship designs was the, designed during the earliest Age of Conflict and Age of Doubt. Another ancient ship was the.

Around the time of the Rending, an unnamed class of Covenant ship was used.

Human-Covenant war
One of the first engagements prior to the outbreak of the war was the Skirmish on Minor Transgression.

Post-war
"Every vessel counts. We can't yet replace what we lose, so the war against the Arbiter and the other blasphemers may be won or lost on a single hull."

- Shipmaster Avu Med 'Telcam of the Servants of the Abiding Truth

With the Covenant war over, and the Schism breaking into a multitude of conflicts, Covenant ships began finding themselves in the hands of a number of remnant factions, like the Jul 'Mdama's Covenant, Merg Vol's Covenant, Rojka 'Kasaan's faction, Servants of the Abiding Truth, Swords of Sanghelios, and the Banished.

Management
The starships of the Covenant were commanded under different ministries. The Ministry of Resolution commanded ships, and was responsible for directing offensive actions by the Covenant. The Ministry of Tranquility managed the fleet of relic hunting and missionary ships.

Tactical groupings
Covenant Starships have been known to be grouped in multiple ways. These include Fleets, Battle Groups, and Flotillas.

Identification
Covenant ship classes can be identified by the Covenant ship classification system.

Design
Different species have different design philosophies for starships. The Sangheili preferred starships that echoed the aggressive nature of various animals from Sanghelios and other Sangheili colonies. The San'Shyuum preferred more ornate designs, something that carried into the Covenant, as well as preferring multi-role vessels.

Covenant starships, like most Covenant technology, were constructed using the Design pattern method.

Power
Covenant starships were powered by Pinch fusion reactors.

Armor & Defense
The hull of Covenant starships is composed of the durable and heat resistant Nanolaminate. Most Covenant ships also make use of Energy shielding to prevent damage from affect the hull.

Energy Projector
Covenant warships often had Energy Projectors. An energy projector is a large beam of plasma which can be used to devastating effect in either ship-to-ship combat or in ground operations.

In ship-to-ship scenarios, they are known to slice through UNSC ships. The and the  were two ships to fall prey to its destructive power.

Often during ground campaigns, it was used in a method called glassing, whereby a Covenant starship burns the surface of a planet in order to render it lifeless.

Turrets
Covenant warships also used a variety of turret emplacements. This includes the Plasma turret and the Pulse laser turret.

Torpedos
Covenant starships also make use of the Plasma Torpedo.

Small craft
Several types of space fighters were used in conjunction with larger ships. These include the Tarasque-class heavy fighter and the Gigas-class fighter-bomber, it's replacement, the Type-31 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter, and the Type-27 Exoatmospheric Multi-role Fighter.

Dropships were also in use acting as troop, vehicle and supply transport. These include the Type-25 Spirit, the Type-44 Troop Carrier and the Type-52 Troop Carrier. As well, the Type-28 Intrusion Vehicle helped the Covenant board enemy ships.

Support ships
The Covenant have operated a number of support starships. These include the s and the food providing.

Warships
The Covenant operated a number of lighter capital warships. These include some of the smaller Covenant cruisers, like the s and the s. As well as the various corvette, frigate, and destroyer classes the Covenant operated.

The Covenant were known for their larger capital ships including the, the and the Unidentified Covenant warship. On top of this, they operated various large carrier classes. Finally, they were known to use heavily armed battleships.

Other Ships
Covenant ships were not exclusively designed for war and often operated in a number of non-warfare based situations. This can include the Missionary ship, operated by the Ministry of Tranquility. The Covenant also operated a number of tithe fleets, which were often filled with Sangheili Brigantines.

List of Covenant starships
The following is a list of the starships that belong to and are used by the Covenant. Carriers

Carriers
Cruisers

Cruisers
Destroyers

Destroyers
Frigates

Frigates
Corvettes

Corvettes
Other

Production notes
During the development of Halo 2, a level was planned to take place on board a Covenant ship.