Archer missile: Difference between revisions

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| image=[[Image:13101574-Medium.jpg|300px]]
| image=[[Image:13101574-Medium.jpg|300px]]
| name=Archer Missile Pod
| name=Archer Missile Pod
| manufacturer=[[UNSC]]
| manufacturer=[[United Nations Space Command]]
| model=Unknown
| model=Unknown
| type=Missile
| type=Missile
| cost=
| cost=
| affiliation=United Nations Space Command
| affiliation=[[UNSC Navy]]
| size=
| size=
| damage per hit=Very High
| damage per hit=Very High
| fire=Tube Fired
| fire=Tube Fired
| ammotype=High Explosive  
| ammotype=High Explosive  
| operation=
| operation=Ship-to-ship missile
| rate of fire=
| rate of fire=
| accuracy=Computer Guided
| accuracy=Computer Guided
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}}
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'''Archer Missiles''' are fired from [[UNSC]] capital ships. They can fire at very high rates and are armed with varying payload yields. They are found on almost all ships and the round shape of the Archer missile pod is very distinct. They have tracking systems, which are very effective to coordinate attacks with [[MAC]] rounds. They can be used effectively against [[Covenant]] single-ships; i.e., dropships and [[Seraphs]];  however, CIWS's are still necessary due to the inherent inaccuracy of large missiles at extremely close ranges. Each Archer pod carries a complement of 30 missiles.
'''Archer Missiles''' are ship-to-ship missiles carried by [[UNSC]] capital ships 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 shield technology, though unprotected ships are able to be destroyed by Archer missile strikes to the hull and superstructure.


Unfortunately, [[Covenant]] point-defense technology can eliminate up to half of the missiles before they reach a target. There are only two known instances in which the Covenant disabled Archer missiles: The first occurred during the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]], when a Covenant spy ship that was orbiting [[Sigma Octanus IV]] disabled the Archer Missiles, essentially forcing Captain Jacob Keyes to ram the spy ship; the second occurred during the [[Battle of Onyx]], when the [[UNSC]] fired their first salvo and the Covenant used pinpoint lasers to disable them. Even those missiles that do manage to impact the shields or hull of a Covenant ship generally fail to do any significant damage. It takes hundreds of missiles, and usually an existing hull breach created by a [[MAC]] round to make these missiles truly effective.
Prior to the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC found the missiles to be effective against combatant ships, likely Insurrectionist-controlled ships.<ref>''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''</ref> Against the Covenant, however, they realised that the defensive measures employed by the enemy ships such as energy shields and point defence lasers suddenly rendered Archer missiles 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 [[Stealth Corvette]], possesses jamming measures that interfere with the guidance systems. Tactics were developed to counter this, using the more devastating but slower-firing Magnetic Accelerator Cannons to break through the shields, rendering the hulls vulnerable, but on the whole Archers proved ineffective weapons against the Covenant. Smaller ships, such as 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>


Vessels, such as the [[UNSC Frigate]] ''[[UNSC Commonwealth]],'' employ racks of 180 Archer missiles, while the [[Destroyer]] ''[[UNSC Iroquois|Iroquois]]'' and the [[UNSC Cruiser]] ''[[UNSC Pillar of Autumn|Pillar of Autumn]]'' use oversized Archer missile pods, which can launch up to a thousand missiles.
Archer missiles are usually stored in pods of thirty, although Destroyers and Cruisers employ oversized missile pods to carry a larger payload. Both [[UNSC Frigate|Frigates]] and [[UNSC Destroyer|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==
==Trivia==
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*When the [[UNSC In Amber Clad]] arrived at [[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."
*When the [[UNSC In Amber Clad]] arrived at [[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."
*Archer missiles are usually ineffective against Covenant shields, needing a MAC to punch through first.  
*Archer missiles are usually ineffective against Covenant shields, needing a MAC to punch through first.  
*During the battle of Reach, there was an enormous and deadly [[Covenant]] ship, who Captain [[Jacob Keyes|Keyes]] tried to stop. The Archer missiles only "scratched" the armor. He later destroyed it with a [[nuke]].
*During the [[Battle of Reach]], there was an enormous and deadly [[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]].
 
==References==
<references/>


==See Also==
==See Also==

Revision as of 07:01, May 6, 2009

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Archer Missiles are ship-to-ship missiles carried by UNSC capital ships 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 shield technology, though unprotected ships are able to be destroyed by Archer missile strikes to the hull and superstructure.

Prior to the Human-Covenant War, the UNSC found the missiles to be effective against combatant ships, likely Insurrectionist-controlled ships.[1] Against the Covenant, however, they realised that the defensive measures employed by the enemy ships such as energy shields and point defence lasers suddenly rendered Archer missiles 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.[2][3] At least one Covenant ship class, the Stealth Corvette, possesses jamming measures that interfere with the guidance systems. Tactics were developed to counter this, using the more devastating but slower-firing Magnetic Accelerator Cannons to break through the shields, rendering the hulls vulnerable, but on the whole Archers proved ineffective weapons against the Covenant. Smaller ships, such as boarding craft or fighters, are much easier targets[4], and Archers may be used in support of ground forces, launched from orbit to strike a ground-based target.[5]

Archer missiles are usually stored in pods of thirty, although Destroyers and Cruisers employ oversized missile pods to carry a larger payload. Both Frigates and Destroyers carry twenty six pods, though as mentioned, Destroyers carry a larger number per pod. The Halcyon-class Cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn may have possessed as many as 300 missile pods.

Trivia

  • An Archer missile can disable all but the most heavily-armored UNSC ships.
  • When the UNSC In Amber Clad arrived at 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."
  • Archer missiles are usually ineffective against Covenant shields, needing a MAC to punch through first.
  • During the Battle of Reach, there was an enormous and deadly Covenant ship that Captain Keyes tried to stop. The Archer missiles only "scratched" the armor. He later destroyed it with a Shiva nuclear warhead.

References

See Also

Template:UNSC Heavy Weapons