Space warfare: Difference between revisions

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'''Space warfare''' is the conduct of conflict between belligerents in space. The scale of space warfare ranges from exoatmospheric [[Space fighter|fighter]] skirmishes and [[boarding]] actions to battles between [[fleet]]s of [[warship]]s, which often decide the outcome of a given [[Battle|engagement]] or [[War|conflict]].

Space warfare evolved from engagements on a world's surface or in its atmosphere. With the invention of [[human]] space travel in the 20th century, many organizations and nations began to consider or invest in possible military operations conducted in space. In the late 21st century, humanity had become an interplanetary-faring species with colonies established in their [[Sol system|home system]]. The new outlet of travel and exploration would eventually lead to conflict.<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''', ''page 266'' (2011 edition)</ref> The dawn of the [[Interplanetary War]] and its associated engagements saw the formation of the [[United Nations Space Command]]'s [[UNSC Navy|Navy]] following the [[Mars Campaign]]. The campaign marked a turning-point in space warfare through dedicated utilizations of [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine]] forces in ground assaults and ship-[[boarding]] operations that would follow during the war.<ref name="xbox">''Xbox.com'': The Halo Timeline (defunct, [[Archive:Xbox.com/Halo/Timeline|Archived]])</ref>

The [[Covenant]] races, meanwhile, have been spacefaring for significantly longer than humanity. The [[Sangheili]] had been a spacefaring civilization for some time by [[938 BCE]], when they encountered the [[San'Shyuum]]. The [[San'Shyuum-Sangheili War|resulting conflict]] was fought on both planetary surfaces and in space engagements, where the San'Shyuum held the distinct advantage due to their use of the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]], a [[Forerunner]] [[keyship]] fitted by the San'Shyuum with offensive armament. In [[1342]], the Covenant fought the many [[Kig-Yar]] pirate and militia groups around [[Eayn]], including naval engagements against space-based raiders in their homeworld's asteroid belt, where their smaller ships and intimate knowledge of their environment benefited the Kig-Yar until they agreed to be employed by the Covenant. Covenant warships also took part in the glassing of [[Balaho]] during the [[Unggoy Rebellion]], though likely faced little serious naval opposition. The [[Jiralhanae]] were a spacefaring species, before they were reduced by their [[First Immolation]] to a pre-atomic stage, and it is likely that this war included space combat.<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''': ''[[Bestiarum]]''</ref>

Human starship weapons are, for the most part, projectile-based, consisting of guided missiles with variable conventional or nuclear warhead yields or magnetically accelerated unguided projectiles. In combat, UNSC warships employ [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]s as their primary armaments, powerful [[Wikipedia:Coilgun|coilguns]] built into the superstructure of the ship capable of accelerating a ferric tungsten shell to a significant fraction of the speed of light.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 129''</ref> These are supplemented by a range of missile types, from smaller-yield ship-to-ship [[Archer missile|Archer]], [[Rapier missile|Rapier]] and [[Howler missile|Howler]] missiles to more powerful nuclear [[M4093 Hyperion nuclear delivery system|Hyperion]], [[Rudra-class nuclear missile|Rudra]], [[FENRIS nuclear warhead|FENRIS]], [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|HAVOK]] or [[Shiva-class nuclear missile|Shiva]] missiles.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/infinity '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Infinity'']</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 128''</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 133-134''</ref><ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level, ''[[Dawn]]''</ref> UNSC naval strategy emphasizes massed firepower to overwhelm the Covenant's powerful defenses - typically an initial missile salvo to penetrate Covenant point defense, followed up with a timed MAC strike against the vulnerable ship. Single MAC strikes by even smaller UNSC warships are capable of crippling or destroying an unshielded Covenant vessel. The velocity of a MAC round can be adjusted to deliver ordnance from orbit against planetary targets, though the still-powerful kinetic energy they impart on impact means their use is limited.<ref>'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level ''[[Tip of the Spear]]''</ref> UNSC [[prowler]]s are the only known UNSC warship class to use [[XEV9-Matos Nonlinear Pulse Cannon|pulse laser turrets]], though as stealth ships their primary offensive role is their ability to lay [[HORNET mine|HORNET space mines]].<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 50''</ref><ref name="Halo pages 325-326">'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 325-326''</ref>

The Covenant, on the other hand, employ more arcane weaponry derived from even more advanced [[Forerunner]] technology. The typical offensive armament for a Covenant warship consists of [[plasma torpedo]] turrets and [[energy projector]]s to engage enemy combatants. Plasma torpedoes are a form of superheated [[plasma]] contained and shaped by a magnetic field and guided to the target.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 132-133''</ref> While the magnetic field has been created by the ship, plasma torpedoes have been known to continue tracking their targets after the destruction of the warship that launched them.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 336''</ref> A single plasma torpedo is capable of burning through UNSC hull plating and even through several deck layers in a matter of seconds.<ref>'''The Fall of Reach''', ''page 170''</ref> Energy projectors are powerful particle accelerators, akin to a larger [[Type-52 focus rifle|focus rifle]], typically used as long-range armaments.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 334-335''</ref> They have been known to cut through even UNSC carriers with little difficulty, but require more power to operate, especially on warships with more than one energy projector.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 359''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 194''</ref> Both of these weapons systems can be used by the Covenant to bombard planetary positions from orbit, in a process known as [[glassing]].

[[File:CCS weapons.png|thumb|left|250px|A {{Class|CCS|battlecruiser}} firing its pulse laser turrets.]]

[[File:HM SpaceBattle ColourAdjusted Small.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A {{Class|Stalwart|light frigate}} and {{Class|Paris|heavy frigate}} engage Covenant ships over a human colony.]]

Most space warfare is conducted by warships, supported by resupply ships, fighters and dropships, and space stations that serve as static defenses around planetary orbit. The UNSC Navy designate their ships along similar lines to planetary-based navies. [[UNSC corvette]]s are generally the fastest warship classification,<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 63-64''</ref> too small to carry craft larger than an [[SKT-13 Shuttlecraft]], used by the UNSC Navy and colonial system defense forces.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 60''</ref> [[UNSC frigate|Frigate]]s and [[UNSC destroyer|destroyer]]s are larger combat warships equipped with heavier armaments, used for fleet escort and recon, and tend to make up the bulk of the UNSC fleets because they are cheaper to build, faster to replace, and can cover a greater volume of space than larger ships. Frigates tend to be faster and more evasive,<ref>'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', ''campaign level [[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]''</ref> while destroyers feature thicker armor and heavier armaments.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 139''</ref> Larger [[capital ship]]s are build for dedicated ship-to-ship combat. [[Cruiser]]s tend to form the cores of UNSC fleets, serving as fleet command and control ships in the absence of larger carriers.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/unsc-cruiser '''Halo Waypoint''': ''UNSC Cruiser'']</ref> [[UNSC carrier|Carriers]] are large but lightly armed warships that transport and deploy large numbers of fighters and dropships in support of both space combat and planetary assaults.<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''', ''page 249 (2009)''</ref> After the Human-Covenant War the UNSC operated at least one [[battleship]] class.<ref>'''Halo Waypoint:''' ''The Halo Bulletin 5.14.14''</ref>

The Covenant operate a number of warship classes, but their classification systems are more esoteric, and the UNSC have struggled to correctly determine their roles. The Covenant designate their own ships according to primary, secondary and tertiary roles, using a [[Hull classification symbol#Covenant|three-letter designation system]].<ref name="Have S'Moa">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-have-s-moa '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder: Have S'moa'']</ref> The UNSC designate them according to their estimated roles analogous to their own ships. Covenant fleets tend to be built around powerful cruisers of various sizes designed to engage enemy fleets and support ground forces and bombard enemy positions from orbit,<ref>'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 41''</ref> escorted by smaller but powerful frigates and destroyers.<ref>'''''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''''', ''page 192''</ref><ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/covenant-destroyer '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Covenant Destroyer'']</ref> Covenant fleets tend to use carriers, assault carriers or supercarriers as flagships,{{Ref/Reuse|Have S'Moa}} though the largest ships are also the rarest. While the Covenant deployed its modern ships against the UNSC during the Human-Covenant War, it also kept a large number of pre-Covenant Sangheili-designed ships in service in rear-echelon duties escorting shipping, deterring and responding to piracy, and responding to local problems to free up modern ships for active duty.<ref name="Holiday Shipping">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/canon-fodder-holiday-shipping '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder: Holiday Shipping'']</ref> In the post-war era, these ships have assumed frontline roles among both Covenant and Swords of Sanghelios service as both sides have struggled to maintain and replace combat losses of newer, more powerful ships.<ref name="web.archive.org">[https://web.archive.org/web/20180525024345/http://www.haloarchive.com/forum/topic/9-canon-fodder-and-random-lore-chat/?page=59&tab=comments '''Halo Archive''': ''Canon Fodder thread'']</ref> They use a different designation system to either the Covenant or the UNSC, tending to be named for pre-twentieth century ships, such as the {{Pattern|Hekar Taa|blockade runner}} and the [[Man O' War]].{{Ref/Reuse|Holiday Shipping}} While upgraded to modern technological standards,{{Ref/Reuse|web.archive.org}} these ships are built for specific mission roles, like UNSC ships, and less capable in multirole service.{{Ref/Reuse|Holiday Shipping}}

While naval combat is the purview of capital ships, smaller craft are used by the [[UNSC Navy]], [[UNSC Air Force]], and [[Covenant fleet]] in a number of roles. The most common human starfighter, the [[GA-TL1 Longsword]], is able to perform a wide range of combat operations including escort, minelaying, spacefighter interdiction and direct action against even capital ships, using a range of variable armaments.<ref>'''Halo: The Essential Visual Guide''', ''page 112''</ref> The smaller [[F-41 Broadsword]] is similarly capable of performing a number of mission roles.<ref>'''Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide''', ''page 114''</ref> The advanced [[FSS-1000 Sabre]] fighter saw use during the [[Fall of Reach]] and is still employed in more limited numbers by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] to protect classified sites.<ref>'''Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide''', ''page 147''</ref> The spacefighter class pioneered the use of energy shielding on human spacecraft, which was later adopted by modernized Broadswords.<ref>'''Halo Waypoint''': The Halo Bulletin: 9.24.14</ref> Both use a combination of 30mm and 35mm autocannons (respectively) and [[ST/Medusa missile]] payloads to engage enemy forces. During [[boarding]] operations, UNSC forces use specialized [[Pelican]] dropship variants to cut through the outer hull of a ship and deploy forces within to secure it.<ref>'''Halo Wars: Genesis'''</ref>

The Covenant's primary spacefighter is the [[Type-31 Seraph]] fighter, used in a similar role to the Longsword in escort, interdiction and direct action engagements by the less durable but more numerous [[Type-27 Banshee]] and heavily armed [[Phantom gunboat]]s.<ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe''', ''page 283 (2011 edition)''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level ''Long Night of Solace''</ref> Covenant troops use [[Type-44 Phantom|Type-44]] and [[Type-52 Phantom]] dropships and [[Type-28 boarding craft|other boarding craft]] to deliver boarding teams to secure hostile ships or space stations.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Cairo Station]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Dawn]]''</ref>

Space engagements carried out by [[Forerunner]]s and their technologically equivalent contemporaries—most prominently [[ancient human]]s—were dazzlingly complex yet controlled affairs, involving seamless coordination across large distances as well as weapon systems and defenses extending through higher space-time branes.<ref name="s211">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 211-212''</ref> These battles unfolded at speeds impossible for baseline individuals to follow<ref name="c161">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 161-162''</ref> and often involved copious numbers of often automated attack craft, with each maneuver adjusted to fit the current tactical situation according to constantly shifting predictive higher-dimensional calculations;{{Ref/Reuse|s211}} biological commanders could effectively contribute to these engagements due to sophisticated neurocognitive enhancement and mind-machine integration, enabling them to simultaneously perceive numerous differing viewpoints.{{Ref/Reuse|c161}}<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 316''</ref> Individual [[Warrior-Servant|Warriors]] would typically command up to a million [[weapon-ship]]s during fleet engagements,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 174''</ref> while the numbers of attack ships such as [[harrier]]s could easily be in the hundreds of thousands.{{Ref/Reuse|s211}} In addition to physical weaponry, opposing ships also deployed [[AI suppressor|weaponized AI systems]] and [[confinement field]]s against one another with the intent of eliminating the enemy vessel's capacity for resistance.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 193-194''</ref> Higher-level [[combat skin]]s such as [[war sphinx]]es blurred the line between infantry, aerial attack craft and space fighters and were used to a great effect in battles waged over planets.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 66, 95, 163''</ref>

The [[Didact]] devised a well-known strategic doctrine known as "[[star-hopping]]" which involved the selective targeting of strategically significant worlds while ignoring less important targets. This strategy allowed the Forerunners to gradually dismantle the prehistoric human empire piecemeal during the [[human-Forerunner wars]], eventually leaving only their capital [[Charum Hakkor]] as a significant military bastion.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 187-188''</ref> During fleet engagements, the Didact favored the [[fleet spiral]] formation which enabled a fleet to respond to threats from any direction.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 267''</ref> Late into their war with ancient humanity, the Forerunners took advantage of their superior understanding of [[slipstream space]] to catastrophically increase their human opponents' [[Reconciliation|space-time debt]], effectively cutting the [[Charum Hakkor system]] off from the rest of the ancient human empire. Over three years, the Didact fought the [[Forthencho|Lord of Admirals]]' forces across the Charum Hakkor system in a constant battle of attrition for superior orbital paths and optimal slipspace pathways.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 239-240''</ref>

Naval engagements between the UNSC and the Covenant have typically been one-sided affairs. During the Human-Covenant War, the Covenant possessed an overwhelming technological advantage, with superior weaponry, defenses and slipspace navigation.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 168-169''</ref> In large-scale engagements, the UNSC has been forced to rely on overwhelming numerical superiority just to fight the Covenant to a standstill. In its first engagement with the Covenant at Harvest, the UNSC fielded forty warships and lost thirteen to destroy a single [[Covenant super-destroyer|Covenant warship]].<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"''', ''pages 462-467''</ref> By [[2530]], it took a fifteen UNSC ships to destroy three Covenant ships.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', '''2010''', ''Adjunct''</ref> By 2552, an advantage of three-to-one was the general rule to ensure a UNSC victory.{{Ref/Reuse|Halo page 333}}

Human fleets have also been forced to rely on innovative use of strategy and tactics to counter Covenant naval doctrine, which has largely remained unchanged throughout the war, resulting in surprising UNSC victories. Admiral [[Preston Cole]] won the [[Battle of Psi Serpentis]] by using complex slipspace maneuvers, and unexpected [[UNSC Bellicose|Insurrectionist help]] to cover the retreat of the UNSC fleet and lure a Covenant fleet around the gas giant [[Viperidae]], then launching a hundred Shiva nuclear missiles, triggering stellar fusion and briefly turning Viperidae into a brown dwarf, annihilating more than three hundred Covenant ships to seventy UNSC and 14 Insurrectionist ships and the presumed loss of {{UNSCShip|Everest}} with Admiral Cole aboard her.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole"''', ''pages 476-482''</ref> During the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]], Captain [[Jacob Keyes]]' use of a complicated and risky maneuver allowed a single [[UNSC destroyer]] to defeat two Covenant frigates and a destroyer, forcing the unsupported [[Covenant carrier|carrier]] to withdraw after deploying ground forces. In the second large-scale engagement, the UNSC massed its fire for a coordinated MAC salvo, using a [[Cradle|repair station]] as cover against the Covenant's plasma torpedoes to buy time for a second, devastating salvo, reducing the Covenant fleet from twenty ships to eight, allowing the forty eight UNSC ships to engage the enemy in a clear advantage, a tactic repeated on a larger scale during the [[Fall of Reach]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 219-223''</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 332-333''</ref> During the Battle of Onyx, [[Carl Patterson|Admiral Patterson]]'s [[Patterson's battle group|battlegroup]] used innovative tactics to destroy a disproportionate number of Covenant warships. After using intelligence gathered by the prowler {{UNSCShip|Dusk}} to destroy a destroyer, the battlegroup encountered a much larger force attempting to ambush them.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 292-296''</ref> Faced with a plasma torpedo salvo, the fleet accelerated into it to forestall a second volley, allowing five ships to survive to escape ''through'' the Covenant fleet.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 297''</ref> A number of Covenant ships were destroyed by the self-destruction of the {{UNSCShip|Iwo Jima}}, taking two warships with it and damaging another six.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 298''</ref> While the Covenant fleet was distracted fending off an attack by the native [[Onyx Sentinel]]s, the ''Dusk'' laid a HORNET minefield.{{Ref/Reuse|Halo pages 325-326}} The battlegroup lured the Covenant fleet into the field, destroying all but two before Covenant reinforcements arrived, destroying all UNSC ships except for ''Dusk''.<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''pages 328-332''</ref> In all, the UNSC battle group, consisting of one carrier, one Marathon-class cruiser, six destroyers and a prowler managed to destroy a total of twenty Covenant warships, a staggering number.

In general, the Covenant employ straightforward strategy and tactics, standing their ground, even to the death, and accepting no surrender.<ref>'''The Fall of Reach''', ''page 180'', Jacob Keyes: ''"He had never seen the Covenant run. in every battle he had seen or read about, they stayed to slaughter every last survivor...or if they were defeated, they always fought to the last ship."''</ref> More complicated maneuvers are generally unnecessary given the Covenant's overwhelming edge in most engagements. This is not a hard rule, however. The withdrawal of the carrier from Sigma Octanus after deploying ground forces was remarked upon as unusual, a tactic repeated during the main invasion of Reach, and the Covenant used a number of innovative tactics during the Fall of Reach, managing to insert a cloaked {{Class|CSO|supercarrier}} past Reach's defenses to surreptitiously land ground forces and heavy corvette support in its search for [[Babd Catha Forerunner vessel|Forerunner artifacts]] in advance of the main Covenant fleet.<ref>'''The Fall of Reach''', ''pages 181-182'', Jacob Keyes: ''"It was a curious thing: the aliens dropping their ground forces and then retreating. That was not their usual mode of operation. Commander Keyes suspected this was just an opening move in a game he didn't yet understand"''</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 337''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level, ''[[Tip of the Spear]]''</ref> Then-Supreme Commander [[Thel 'Vadam]]ee was considered by the Office of Naval Intelligence as the Covenant's best strategic asset, resulting in the loss of at least seven colonies and more than a billion casualties, and was marked for assassination before the end of the war concluded hostilities.<ref>'''Halo 2: Anniversary''', ''Terminal 3''</ref>

In the post-war galaxy, humanity's adoption of accurate slipspace drives and energy shields have considerably improved their capabilities against warships employed by [[Covenant remnant]] factions. Notably, the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} intervened to support Thel 'Vadam during the [[Blooding Years]], effortlessly destroying a number of ships loyal to the Servants of the Abiding Truth.<ref>'''Halo: The Thursday War''', ''page ''</ref> During the [[New Phoenix Incident]], the UNSC fleet engaged the Forerunner warship ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'' and the ''Infinity'' used its MAC weapons to create a hole in the ship's hull large enough for [[John-117|the Master Chief]] to pilot a Broadsword fighter deep into it.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Midnight]]''</ref> During the [[Requiem Campaign]], ''Infinity'' collided with an [[RCS-class armored cruiser]], plowing through it with no hull damage and shields intact.<ref>'''Spartan Ops''', S1E1 Departure</ref> It should be noted however that the ''Infinity'' is the UNSC's most advanced current starship, and uses Forerunner technology to power its systems, and is likely not representative of overall UNSC naval capabilities.

File:HReach-CapitalShipBattle.jpg|{{UNSCShip|Savannah}} engages the [[SDV-class heavy corvette]] ''[[Ardent Prayer]]'' during the Fall of Reach.