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Kerel-pattern assault carrier

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Template:Ship Class Infobox

"Look at the size of that thing!"
— Edward Buck after an assault carrier arrives over New Mombasa.

The CAS-class assault carrier[1] is a large capital ship used by the Covenant. The CAS is designed for ship-to-ship combat, command and control of fleet operations, and support for ground occupation forces. Such vessels are typically deployed during invasions of worlds with high strategic value.[2]

Function

These ships possess an expansive hangar bay, capable of transporting large numbers of Seraph fighters, Phantom dropships, boarding craft, and large fleets of Ghosts and Wraiths, along with a number of Scarabs. In November 2552, the UNSC frigates Forward Unto Dawn and Aegis Fate docked inside the launch bay of Shadow of Intent, an assault carrier, demonstrating the immense size of the class.[3]

Assault carriers are often used as flagships, leading Covenant fleets into battle. Though designed for planetary combat, they also excel at ship-to-ship combat, possessing multiple pulse laser batteries, plasma turrets, and at least one energy projector.[4] Along with the larger CSO-class supercarrier, the CAS is designated a "Class-Five flagship carrier" by the UNSC due to its common use at the center of fleets.[2]

Background

The massive launch bay of the assault carrier.

Assault carriers are much larger than CCS-class battlecruisers and standard DDS-class carriers; they are more rare and more heavily armed than either of them. They are armed with at least two energy projectors[4][5], as well as plasma torpedo launchers[6] and pulse lasers.[7] They also possess gravity lifts, used for ferrying supplies, personnel, and vehicles from the ship and to the planet's surface.[8][9]

Two such vessels led the Fleet of Sacred Consecration to Earth, where they engaged the UNSC Home Fleet in orbit above Africa. The first one, carrying the Prophet of Regret himself, managed to penetrate Earth's orbital defenses. The second attempted to follow, but was subsequently destroyed by SPARTAN John-117.

The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier fled to slipspace, as the UNSC forces were likely to recapture the city of New Mombasa with the UNSC In Amber Clad following close behind in its slipspace wake, leading human forces to Installation 05.

Another assault carrier, Shadow of Intent, later became the flagship of the Fleet of Retribution. 'Vadum, in command of the ship, led his fleet to Earth in pursuit of a surviving Flood ship, arriving in time to glass the infected area of the planet. Shadow of Intent and its escorting cruisers joined the remnants of the UNSC Home Fleet to launch a joint attack on the Covenant remnant at Installation 00, destroying their fleet and providing a distraction while ground forces engaged the loyalists that had landed on the installation. It later evacuated the UNSC and Sangheili personnel and returned to Earth for a short time before returning to Sanghelios.

By 2554, Jul 'Mdama, a shipmaster and leader of the revived Covenant commanded the assault carrier Song of Retribution during his attempts to enter the Forerunner shield world Requiem.[10] Three years later, the Song of Retribution led a fleet of numerous CRS-class light cruisers.[11]

Specifications

Hull and Propulsion

A carrier glassing New Mombasa.

The CAS-class has a length of 5,347 metres (17,540 ft) , a beam of 2,118 metres (6,950 ft), and a height of 700 metres (2,300 ft). This makes it the second largest ship of the line the Covenant Navy employed throughout the Human-Covenant War. Although the CAS-class carrier's keel length is inferior, its width and volume are in the realm of twice as large as even the UNSC's prototype flagship UNSC Infinity, the largest vessel in human history.

The class' hull is comprised of an unknown Covenant alloy, however its greatest assets are its shields. The CAS-class assault carrier's energy shielding, is amongst the strongest in the Covenant Fleet. During opening hours of the Battle of Earth, the Prophet of Regret's flagship Solemn Penance was able to penetrate Earth's orbital defense grid in spite of Cairo Station focusing fire on it.[4] Furthermore Rtas 'Vadum employed the tactic of ramming CCS-class battlecruisers during the Battle of Installation 05 with no visible damage being inflicted upon his flagship[7]

The vessel is propelled by three massive engine units, and possess, like all Covenant vessels, the ability to make pinpoint slipspace jumps in atmosphere. As shown in the Battle of Earth, such slipspace jumps cause massive discharges of EMP, rivaling those set off by nuclear devices.

Characteristics

The bridge of an assault carrier.

Assault carriers, like the majority of Covenant ships, are characterized by their bulbous, whale-like front, sleek silhouette and pale white-blue hull. However, they also tend to be characterized by their unique swollen and bulbous "hooked" bow section that is frequently characterized to be similar to the head of a whale and would (theoretically) be a massive weakness as the ship could be blown in half comparatively easily, given its shields were down. Rather than possessing multiple smaller hangar bays, like smaller cruisers, assault carriers use a single, gargantuan hangar bay for storage of fighters, dropships, boarding craft and small capital ships, at least 500 meters long, 320 meters wide and 120 meters high. In Halo 3, however, there is a second hangar bay visible, near the stern of the cruiser, above the main engines. For propulsion, assault carriers rely on large deuterium-tritium pinch fusion reactors, housed in cavernous chambers,[4] which power the ship's vital systems, as well as the three aft-mounted plasma drives that propel the ship, capable of operating in a vacuum or in an atmospheric environment. They also employ non-reactive gravity drives for standard maneuvering and hovering above the surface of a planet, resisting its gravity.

The assault carrier is also fitted with Modular Dispersal Technology, giving it the ability to completely detach sections of its outer hull as well as whole corridors, as seen during Operation: WARM BLANKET. They can also separate into two distinct sections which leaves the rear section (with the main engines) behind and allows the fore-section to move away with previously hidden engines, the fore section, and likely the rear, are still Slipspace-capable. Unlike its unorthodox means of use by the Fleet Master in an attempt to disperse the advancing SPARTAN forces, the dispersal feature is actually intended to be used in order to detach sections of the carrier that sustained extensive damage in order to increase the chances of saving what is left of the ship and its crew for future use.

The UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn was small enough to fit inside Shadow of Intent's hangar. Therefore, it is possible that the assault carrier could carry small Covenant ships, such as a light cruiser.

Known assault carriers

Trivia

  • An early draft of Halo 2 was intended to feature a level tentatively called Covenant ship, in which John-117 would board an assault carrier and destroy it from within.[12]
  • In the modern US Navy, the term "assault carrier" refers to the Amphibious Assault Ship, which is used to transport troops over water and offload them via hovercraft or helicopter.
  • In Halo 2, Regret's carrier has visible structures on the surface above the engines. However, in Halo 3: ODST, these structures are not visible, but are rather obscured or replaced by what seems to be a second hangar bay.
  • In Halo: Reach, assault carriers and supercarriers share the same model in order to save in-game resources. This is why the assault carriers appear to be colored purple in the ending cutscene of the campaign level Long Night of Solace.

Gallery

  • H2 Assault Carrier render.png

    Front view of the CAS-class assault carrier.

  • An overview of the assault carrier.

    An overview of the assault carrier.

  • Covenant Assault Carrier FanArt.jpg

    An assault carrier entering slipspace.

  • An assault carrier firing its dorsal energy projector at John-117 during the Battle of Earth.

    An assault carrier firing its dorsal energy projector at John-117 during the Battle of Earth.

  • Solemn Penance over New Mombasa as seen from the Rookie's SOEIV.

    Solemn Penance over New Mombasa as seen from the Rookie's SOEIV.

  • The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier hangs ominously in the clouds over New Mombasa.

    The Prophet of Regret's assault carrier hangs ominously in the clouds over New Mombasa.

  • Numerous assault carriers around portal to the Ark in the Halo 3 announcement trailer.

    Numerous assault carriers around portal to the Ark in the Halo 3 announcement trailer.

  • A forward view of Shadow of Intent.

    A forward view of Shadow of Intent.

  • A UNSC frigate flying under an assault carrier. Note the size of the carrier's hangar.

    A UNSC frigate flying under an assault carrier. Note the size of the carrier's hangar.

  • A side view of the assault carrier Shadow of Intent. Note that there is a second hangar above the engines at the stern of the ship.

    A side view of the assault carrier Shadow of Intent. Note that there is a second hangar above the engines at the stern of the ship.

  • A top-down view of the assault carrier Shadow of Intent. Note that there is a second hangar above the engines at the stern of the ship.

    A top-down view of the assault carrier Shadow of Intent. Note that there is a second hangar above the engines at the stern of the ship.

  • A full view of the carrier's underside.

    A full view of the carrier's underside.

  • Assault carrier scale.

    Assault carrier scale.

  • A forward view of Clarity of Faith.

    A forward view of Clarity of Faith.

  • The bridge of Shadow of Intent.

    The bridge of Shadow of Intent.

  • An assault carrier's interior.

    An assault carrier's interior.

  • The supposed second hangar bay of an assault carrier.

    The supposed second hangar bay of an assault carrier.

  • Concept art of an assault carrier's fore and aft sections separated by Modular Dispersal Technology.

    Concept art of an assault carrier's fore and aft sections separated by Modular Dispersal Technology.

  • An assault carrier's pinch fusion reactor.

    An assault carrier's pinch fusion reactor.

  • An overhead view of an assault carrier and two CCS-class battlecruisers.

    An overhead view of an assault carrier and two CCS-class battlecruisers.

  • A carrier escorted by two battlecruisers.

    A carrier escorted by two battlecruisers.

  • A CAS-class carrier in the Halo 4 Prologue.

    A CAS-class carrier in the Halo 4 Prologue.

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List of appearances

Sources

  1. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named visual
  2. ^ a b Halo Waypoint, Data Drop Four
  3. ^ Halo 3, campaign level Floodgate
  4. ^ a b c d Halo 2, campaign level Cairo Station
  5. ^ Halo 3: ODST, campaign level Coastal Highway
  6. ^ Halo 3, campaign level The Covenant
  7. ^ a b Halo 3, campaign level The Ark Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Ark" defined multiple times with different content
  8. ^ Halo 2, campaign level Metropolis
  9. ^ Halo 3: ODST, campaign level Uplift Reserve
  10. ^ Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide
  11. ^ Halo Waypoint: Halo 4 Terminal: Jul 'Mdama
  12. ^ Halo 3 Legendary Edition developer commentary

Template:CovenantShips

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