Point-defense gun: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Origins - Defensive Measure.png|300px|thumb|A {{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}} firing its point-defence loadout upon inbound [[Covenant]] boarding craft.{{Ref/Film|HLeg|Story=Origins}}]] | |||
| | '''Point-defense weapons''' are a classification of weaponry used on [[Warship|military spacecraft]], and occasionally on ground installations. They serve as a primarily defensive tool for the spacecraft in question, and are designed for shooting down incoming projectiles (such as debris or [[missile]]s) and [[Space fighter|strikecraft]]. They may be used in a limited role for engaging enemy warships, though their smaller scale means they are less effective in this role than larger, more dedicated heavy weapons. | ||
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Point-defence weaponry is found on both [[human starship]]s and [[Covenant starship]]s, and serve in broadly the same roles - though with vastly different operating principles. | |||
== | ==Human point-defense== | ||
For [[human]]ity, the vast majority of point-defence weapons are Magnetic Linear Accelerators (MLAs){{Ref/Book|Id=Enc11|Enc11|Page=315}} - typically [[coilgun]]s - firing fully-automatic streams of high-velocity projectiles at inbound targets.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22Human}} They are generally mounted on [[Human starship|warships]] of the [[UNSC Navy]] and [[CMA Navy]] in vast "'''point-defense networks'''"{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22Human}} consisting of dozens of individual guns spread across the ship with overlapping fields of fire to cover all potential approach vectors. An exception to this is fittings alongside a ship's [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]] system; the constant magnetic bursts of the coilguns may interfere with a MAC and risk the ship's operation in combat.{{Ref/Reuse|FOR29}} | |||
These weapons are fully-automated due to requiring reaction times faster than those capable of any human, instead controlled by a [[Human starship|starship]]'s given controlling [[artificial intelligence]] [[ship director]]. The automated systems calculate firing solutions in the heat of battle and are able to rapidly reorient the guns to fire at newly-acquired targets.{{Ref/Book|Id=WF19|HWF|Page=18-19}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22Human|Enc22|Section=Human Spaceships|Page=111-133}} Without an AI to control point-defence systems, a ship is as good as defenceless against inbound threats{{Ref/Novel|Id=FOR21|HTFoR|Chapter=21}} - though manual control may be surrendered to a human operator if absolutely necessary.{{Ref/Level|HFR|Escape (Halo: Fireteam Raven level)|Escape}} In extremely special cases such as that of {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} in [[Operation: RED FLAG]], a vessel may even equip a secondary backup AI solely to handle point-defence, with the primary smart AI freed up for other more specialised tasks.{{Ref/Novel|Id=FOR29|HTFoR|Chapter=29}} | |||
Exceptions to the MLA paradigm include the Scythe series of [[Wikipedia:Close-in weapon system|close-in weapon systems]] (particularly the [[M71 Scythe]] used for defending ground bases) and the [[Streak missile]] - a series of small, mass-deployed missiles which can be used to track down and intercept inbound munitions. Some more recent additions to the fleet of the [[UNSC Navy]] have additionally begun to experiment with the integration of [[laser]] point-defence systems - particularly the {{Class|Winter|prowler}} and {{Class|Anlace|light frigate}}. | |||
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===List of human point-defense weapons=== | |||
{{Col-begin}} | |||
{{Col-2}} | |||
;Magnetic Linear Accelerators | |||
*[[Mark 57 Arena point defense gun|Mark 57 Arena]] | |||
*[[M710 Bulwark point defense gun|M710 Bulwark]] | |||
*[[M965 Fortress point defense network|M965 Fortress]] | |||
*[[M606 Goalkeeper point defense gun|M606 Goalkeeper]] | |||
*[[M810 Helix point defense gun|M810 Helix]] | |||
*Rampart | |||
**[[M800 Rampart point defense gun|M800 Rampart]] | |||
**[[M870 Rampart point defense gun|M870 Rampart]] | |||
**[[M910 Rampart point defense network|M910 Rampart]] | |||
;Conventional ballistic weapons | |||
*Scythe | |||
*[[ | **[[M71 Scythe]] | ||
**[[M85 Scythe]] | |||
{{Col-2}} | |||
;Missiles | |||
*Ship-launched | |||
**[[Streak missile]] {{C|M340A4 and M390 Streak-II}} | |||
*Surface-to-air | |||
**[[Anaconda surface-to-air missile|Anaconda]] | |||
**[[M260 Multiple Launch Rocket System|M260 MLRS]] | |||
**Lance | |||
***[[M95 Lance]] | |||
***[[M97 Lance]] | |||
**[[Surface-to-air missile launcher]] (unidentified) | |||
;Energy weapons | |||
*[[ | *[[AN/SEQ-11 point-defense laser array]] | ||
*[[M995 Backstop point defense laser]] | |||
{{Col-end}} | |||
== | ==Covenant point-defense== | ||
The point-defence systems used by the [[Covenant starship|military spacecraft]] of the [[Covenant]] and its [[Covenant remnants|splinters]] differ greatly from their human counterparts. Rather than firing projectiles to intercept inbound threats, they instead operate as [[directed-energy weapon]]s of various kinds - using [[plasma]] and [[laser]]s to destroy their targets.{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22Covenant|Enc22|Section=Covenant Spaceships|Page=260-271}} | |||
Covenant point-defence weapons can be broadly classed into two weapon classes; [[plasma beam laser]]s and [[pulse laser turret]]s. While broadly similar in principle, they have significant operational differences; a plasma beam laser is fires a continuous beam of [[plasma]] at its targets, able to pick out and destroy dozens of targets in short order. By comparison, a pulse laser has a relatively low rate-of-fire and fires in multiple repeated bursts to accurately pick off inbound targets - though repeated strikes on the same area can also be used to breach the exterior hulls of enemy warships if needed.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22Covenant}} | |||
Outside of the aforementioned examples, the Covenant may use rapid-fire [[plasma cannon]]s in a role comparable to human MLAs for defending ground installations; the twin rapid-fire heavy plasma cannons of the {{Pattern|Upisa'weri|Shrike}} or the rapid-fire explosive plasma bolts of the anti-air variants of the {{Pattern|Preksheda|Shade}} and {{Pattern|Bmur'resh|Shade}} turrets can be used in a CIWS role to great effect against enemy aircraft. | |||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
<gallery> | <gallery> |