Archer missile: Difference between revisions

{{Ratings}}

{{Era|UNSC|HCW}}  

{{Weapon

| image=[[File:13101574-Medium.jpg|300px]]

| manufacturer=[[United Nations Space Command]]

| type=Missile

| affiliation=[[UNSC Navy]]

| size=

| damage per hit=Very high

| fire=Tube fired

| operation=Ship-to-ship missile

| rate of fire=

| accuracy=Computer guided

| range=

| era=[[Human-Covenant War]]

| counterpart=Covenant [[plasma turret]]

| counterwep=Covenant pulse laser turret

| affiliation= [[United Nations Space Command]]

'''Archer missiles''' are ship to ship missiles carried by [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] [[UNSC Navy|Navy]] [[warship]]s for engaging enemy warships in space combat. UNSC ships usually carry large numbers of them, their sheer numbers making up for their underperformance against [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] [[Energy shielding|shield technology]], though unprotected ships are able to be destroyed by Archer missile strikes to the hull and superstructure.

==Use==

Prior to the [[Human-Covenant War]], the UNSC found the missiles to be effective against [[Insurrectionist]] combatant ships.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'''</ref> Against the Covenant, however, they realized that the defensive measures employed by the enemy ships such as energy shields and [[pulse laser turret|point defense lasers]] suddenly rendered Archer missiles near-obsolete - lasers were able to pick off up to half of the missiles launched, and those that hit were rarely enough to penetrate the shields.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]'''</ref> At least one Covenant ship class, the [[Covenant stealth corvette|stealth corvette]], possesses [[Electronic countermeasures|jamming measures]] that interfere with the guidance systems. Tactics were developed to counter this, using the more devastating but slower-firing [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]s to break through the shields, rendering the hulls vulnerable, but on the whole Archers proved to be ineffective weapons against the Covenant. Smaller ships, such as [[Covenant boarding craft|boarding craft]] or fighters, are much easier targets,<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'''</ref> and Archers may be used in support of ground forces, launched from orbit to strike a ground-based target.<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'''</ref>

Archer missiles are usually stored in pods of thirty, although [[UNSC destroyer|destroyers]] and cruisers employ oversized missile pods to carry a larger payload. Both [[UNSC frigate|frigates]] and destroyers carry twenty-six pods, though as mentioned, destroyers carry a larger number per pod. The [[Halcyon-class cruiser]] {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} may have possessed as many as 300 missile pods.

==Trivia==

*''Halo: Contact Harvest'' quotes that "A single Archer missile can disable all but the most heavily-armored UNSC ships." The UNSC fires hundreds of missiles at ''each'' Covenant ship giving testimony to the incredible defensive capabilities of their shields.

*When the ''[[UNSC In Amber Clad]]'' arrived at [[Delta Halo (level)|Delta Halo]] from Slipspace, a bridge officer under the command of [[Commander]] [[Miranda Keyes]] says, "Archer pods are cold. I'll need to rekey the system." This is the first of the 2 mentions of Archer missiles in all the games. The second reference is in [[Halo 3]] during the [[Battle of Installation 00]].

*During the [[Fall of Reach|Battle of Reach]], there was an enormous and deadly [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] ship that Captain [[Jacob Keyes|Keyes]] tried to stop. The Archer missiles only "scratched" the armor. He later destroyed it with a [[Shiva-class nuclear missile|Shiva nuclear warhead]].

*There is a "Radioactive" symbol on the silver plates opposite of every Archer pod opening.

{{Appearances|Halo: The Fall of Reach|Halo: The Flood|Halo 2|Halo: First Strike|Halo: Ghosts of Onyx|Halo 3|Halo: Contact Harvest|Halo Wars: Genesis|Halo: Evolutions}}

<references/>

{{Template:UNSC Heavy Weapons}}