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(CAS-class assault carrier has been moved. It was automatically updated and now it redirects to Kerel-pattern assault carrier.)
 
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{{Era|HCW|Post}}
#REDIRECT [[Kerel-pattern assault carrier]]
{{Ratings}}
{{Ship
|name            = Covenant Assault Carrier
|image          = [[File:Assault Carrier 2.jpg|300px]]
|manufacturer    = [[Covenant Empire]]
|line            =
|model          =
|class          = [[Carrier]]
|length          = {{Convert|5.346|km|ft}}<ref name="HBO">[[:File:CapitalShips-scale.gif|HBO image that demonstrates the size and scale of starships in the Halo Universe]]</ref><ref name="ENC">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', page 264</ref>
|width          = Greater than {{Convert|862|m|ft}}<ref name="ENC"/>
|height          = Greater than {{Convert|700|m|ft}}<ref name="HBO"/>
|mass            =
|max accel      =
|max speed space =
|max speed air  =
|engine          = [[Repulsor Engines]]
|slipspace drive = Equipped
|poweroutput    =
|power          =
|shield gen      = Yes
|hull            = Unknown Covenant material
|sensor          =
|target          =
|navigation      =
|avionics        =
|countermeasures =
|armament        =
*[[Pulse laser]] turrets
*[[Energy Projector]]s
*[[Plasma Torpedo]]s
|complement      = *[[Seraph-class Starfighter|''Seraph'']]-class starfighters
*[[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]]
*[[Type-25 Troop Carrier|Spirits]]
*[[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantoms]]
*[[Orbital Insertion Pod]]s
*[[Covenant Boarding Craft|Boarding craft]]
*[[Shadow]]s
*[[Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform|Scarabs]]
|crew            =Several thousand
|skeleton        =
|passengers      =Several thousand troops
|capacity        = A few hundred vehicles/two [[UNSC Frigate|UNSC frigates]]
|launch bays    = At least two bays with measurements
*length          = At least {{Convert|500|m|ft}}
*width          = At least {{Convert|320|m|ft}}
*height          = At least {{Convert|120|m|ft}}
|consumables    =
|othersystems    =
|firstuse        =
|role            =*Carrier
*Troop transport
*Flagship
*Heavy warship
|era            = *[[Human-Covenant War]]
*[[Covenant Civil War]]
|affiliation    =*[[Covenant Empire]]
*[[Covenant Separatists]]
}}
 
{{Quote|Look at the size of that thing!|[[Edward Buck]] after an Assault Carrier arrives over New Mombasa.}}
 
 
The '''Covenant Assault Carrier''' <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNuSuqTCIaU Youtube video at 1:05]</ref> is a [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] [[Capital Ship|capital ship]] classification of the [[Covenant Navy]].
 
== Function ==
Covenant Assualt Carriers possess an expansive hangar bay, capable of transporting large numbers of [[Seraph-class Starfighter|Seraph]] fighters, [[Type-52 Troop Carrier|Phantom]] dropships, boarding craft, and large fleets of [[Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle|Ghosts]] and [[Type-25 Assault Gun Carriage|Wraiths]], along with one to two Scarabs, and - later - the UNSC frigates ''[[UNSC Forward Unto Dawn|Forward Unto Dawn]]'' and ''[[UNSC Aegis Fate|Aegis Fate]]'' would dock inside the vessel's launch bay, which shows the vastness of the ships.<ref name="Floodgate">'''[[Halo 3]]''', level ''[[Floodgate (Level)|Floodgate]]''</ref>
 
Assault Carriers are also used as [[Flagship]]s, leading [[Covenant Fleet]]s into battle. Though designed for planetary combat, they also excel at ship-to-ship combat, possessing multiple [[pulse laser]] batteries, [[plasma torpedo]] launchers and at least one [[energy projector]].<ref name="Cairo">'''[[Halo 2]]''', level ''[[Cairo Station (Level)|Cairo Station]]''</ref>
 
== Background ==
[[File:AC Cargobay.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The massive launch bay of the Assault Carrier.]]
 
Covenant Assault Carriers are larger than {{Class|CCS|Battlecruiser}}s and even standard [[Covenant Carrier|Carriers]]; they are more rare and more heavily armed than either of them. They are armed with at least two [[Energy Projector]]s<ref name="Cairo"/><ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', level ''[[Coastal Highway (Level)|Coastal Highway]]''</ref>, as well as plasma torpedo launchers<ref>'''Halo 3''', level ''[[The Covenant (Level)|The Covenant]]''</ref> and pulse-lasers.<ref>'''Halo 3''', level ''[[The Ark (Level)|The Ark]]''</ref> They also possess [[gravity lifts]],<ref name="Metropolis">'''Halo 2''', level ''[[Metropolis (Level)|Metropolis]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 3: ODST''', level ''[[Uplift Reserve (Level)|Uplift Reserve]]''</ref> used for ferrying supplies, personnel, and vehicles from the ship and to the planet's surface. From their name, and actions in Halo 2, it would appear that an Assault Carrier is designed to fight through an enemy world's defenses and head right into the planet's atmosphere and drop off troops.
 
[[File:SOEIV Interface.png|thumb|left|200px|Regret's carrier over New Mombasa as seen from the Rookie's [[SOEIV]].]]
 
Two such crafts led the [[Prophet of Regret]]'s [[Fleet]] to [[Earth]], where they engaged the [[UNSC Navy|UNSC]] [[Home Fleet]] in orbit above [[Africa]]. The first one, carrying the Prophet himself, managed to penetrate Earth's orbital defenses. The second attempted to follow, but was subsequently destroyed by the [[Master Chief]].
 
The Prophet's Assault Carrier fled to slipspace, as the UNSC forces were likely to recapture the city of [[New Mombasa]],&nbsp;with the {{UNSCShip|In Amber Clad}} following close behind in its slipspace wake, leading Human Forces to the [[Installation 05]]
 
Another Assault Carrier was later repossessed by [[Rtas 'Vadum]] and the [[Sangheili]], and became the flagship of the [[Fleet of Retribution]], leading it to Earth in pursuit of a surviving [[Flood Ship]], arriving in time to [[Glassing|glass]] the infected area of the planet. The ''[[Shadow of Intent]]'' and its escorting Cruisers joined forces with the remnants of the [[UNSC Navy]] to launch a joint attack on the [[Covenant]] remnant at the [[Ark]], destroying their Fleet and providing a distraction while ground forces engaged the [[Loyalists]] that had landed. It later evacuated the UNSC and [[Sangheili]] personnel and returned to Earth for a short time before returning to [[Sanghelios]]. Only in Halo 2 is the destruction of this kind of ship witnessed; in the Cutscene "Return to the Sender" when Spartan-117 destroyed one of the two Assault Carriers of Prophet of Regret's Fleet with a Covenant Bomb.
 
== Armament ==
[[File:Mombasa Glassing.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A Carrier glassing [[New Mombasa]].]]
 
As some of the larger ships in the Covenant Fleets are often used as fleet flagships, it is necessary for them to be heavily armed. Assault Carriers possess  [[energy projector]]s which are powerful enough to cut through UNSC capital ships<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''', page ''??''</ref><ref name="Cairo"/> on its ventral and dorsal surfaces. They also possess multiple pulse-laser turrets<ref name="Ark">''Halo 3'', level ''[[The Ark (Level)|The Ark]]''</ref> used for intercepting enemy missiles and fighters, and plasma torpedoes for engaging in ship-to-ship combat and assaulting planetary defenses.
 
Assault Carriers are also equipped with at least one gravity lift, capable of dispatching troops, personnel, vehicles and equipment to the surface of a planet rather quickly. They also possess a large main hangar, capable of carrying multiple [[Seraph]]s<ref name="Metropolis"/> and [[Banshee]] fighter crafts, [[Phantom]] dropships and boarding crafts, or a UNSC Frigate.<ref name="Ark"/> In addition, Assault Carriers possess the ability to launch [[Covenant Drop Pod|Drop Pods]], tactically delivering Sangheili warriors into areas without resorting to bulky and obvious dropships.<ref name="Floodgate"/> These ships also carry the dreaded [[Scarab]] walkers in their holds for quick deployment. Thanks to these innovations, a single Assault Carrier can easily launch large-scale invasions quickly and effectively.
 
== Characteristics ==
[[File:1207838135 Bridge.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The bridge of an Assault Carrier.]]
Assault Carriers, like the vast majority of other [[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]] fusion reactors, housed in cavernous chambers,<ref name="Cairo"/> 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 the [[Battle of the Unnamed Star System]]. 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 [[Unnamed Fleet Master (The Package)|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]] is small enough to fit into the Shadow of Intent's Hangar. Therefore, it would be plausible that the Assault Carrier could easily carry small Covenant ships, such as a [[Covenant light cruiser|light Cruiser]] although the advantages of this would be few.
 
== Known Assault Carriers ==
*''[[Clarity of Faith]]''
*''[[Shadow of Intent]]''
*[[Prophet of Regret]]'s [[Regret's Carrier|Carrier]]
*A second Carrier, possibly escorting Regret's Carrier, survived the Human defense when attacking Earth, but was destroyed by Master Chief using a Covenant bomb intended to destroy the [[Orbital Defense Platform]] [[Cairo Station (Platform)|Cairo]].
*The flagship from the Fleet of Particular Justice
*The Assault Carrier at the [[Battle of the Unnamed Star System]].
 
==Trivia==
[[File:Carrier Hanger.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The supposed second hangar bay of an Assault Carrier.]]
*In an earlier plan of ''[[Halo 2]]'', there was supposed to be a level where the [[Master Chief]] boards an Assault Carrier and destroys it from the inside called [[Covenant ship]]. This level was also supposed to be the real introduction of Miranda Keyes. <ref>'''Halo 3''' - ''[[Halo 3 Legendary Edition|Legendary Edition]]'', confirmed by Joseph Staten in commentary</ref>
*In the [[Wikipedia:United States Navy|current US Navy]], the term "Assault Carrier" refers to the [[Wikipedia:Amphibious assault ship|Amphibious Assault Ship]], used to transport troops via water and offload them via hovercraft or helicopter.
*There appeared to be over 500 Assault Carriers and CCS-Class Battlecruisers seen jumping in over [[Delta Halo]] along with ''[[High Charity]]'' just before [[Spartan-117]] killed the [[Prophet of Regret]].
*Near the ship's midsection is a symbol similar to the large hologram found on the Halo 3 Multiplayer map [[Epitaph]].
* On the level [[The Storm (Level)|The Storm]], if you look out towards the [[Portal]], you will see Assault Carriers and [[CCS-class Battlecruiser]]s using their primary plasma weapons to unearth the Portal.
*Although never confirmed, it is possible that the flagship ''Ascendant Justice'' was too an assault carrier leading the fleet investigating the destruction of [[Installation 04]].
*One of the few noticeable changes between the carriers in [[Halo 2]] and [[Halo 3]] would be that Regret's carrier had visible structures that could be seen on the surface above the engines. However, in Halo 3, the structures are not visible but rather hidden or replaced with what seems to be a second hangar bay.
*In the final level of [[Halo 3: ODST]], it is possible to see an Assault Carrier preparing to fire its [[Energy Projector]]s at the [[New Mombasa]] skyline. In addition, this is probably the closest players will get to see a Covenant ship [[Glassing]] an area due to the Carrier being closer than the [[CCS-class Battlecruiser]]s seen on [[The Storm (Level)|The Storm]] in [[Halo 3]].
 
==Gallery==
<gallery widths="160" orientation="landscape" captionalign="left">
File:Covenant Assault Carrier FanArt.jpg|An Assault Carrier entering slipspace.
File:Assault carrier.jpg|The Prophet of Regret's own Assault Carrier hangs ominously in the clouds over [[New Mombasa]].
File:AssaultCarrierOverNewMombasa.jpg|Numerous Assault Carriers are seen above the skies around the [[portal]] to the [[Ark]] in the [[Halo 3 Announcement Trailer]].
File:Image-Acuc.JPG|The ''Shadow of Intent'' seen from the front.
File:ACFrigate.jpg|A UNSC Frigate flying under an Assault Carrier. Note the size of the Assault Carrier and its hangar.
File:Assault-Carrier-Side upload.jpg|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.
File:Assault-Carrier-Top upload.jpg|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.
File:CapitalShips-scale.gif|Assault Carrier scale.
Clarity of Faith.png|The ''[[Clarity of Faith]]'' seen from the front.
File:Ark Secret Room.jpg|The bridge of the ''Shadow of Intent''.
File:Ark Secret Room3.jpg|Another image of an Assault Carrier's interior.
</gallery>
 
==List of appearances==
{{Appearances|Halo 2|Halo: Ghosts of Onyx|Halo: Uprising|Halo 3|Halo Wars|Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe|Halo 3: ODST|Halo: Reach}}
 
==Sources==
<references/>
 
{{CovenantShips}}
 
[[Category:Halo: Reach Vehicles]]

Latest revision as of 08:26, January 25, 2023