Orbital bombardment: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:11, January 17, 2011

Orbital bombardment refers to the act of bombarding targets on a planetary surface from orbit.

Covenant

Main article: Glassing

While the Covenant sometimes perform glassing from close range near the surface, the most common practice is to fire lances of magnetically contained plasma to the planet surface from orbit. As the plasma bolt impacts the ground, the magnetic field collapses and everything in the impact zone is vaporized instantly. Most commonly, this is performed by Covenant warships covering the entire planet in crisscrossing orbits until the entire surface has been destroyed.^[1]

UNSC

While humanity lacks the ship-borne plasma weapons the Covenant possess, the kinetic energy released by a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon round impacting a planetary surface can deal equally devastating damage within an extremely localized radius. However, instances of the UNSC using MACs to bombard a planet are rare; only the UNSC Spirit of Fire is known to have engaged in such practice.^[2] Judging by its effects, the Spirit of Fire's MAC is seemingly less powerful than the MAC guns on most UNSC ships, as the damage done by a normal MAC round would be immensely greater.^[3]

The UNSC may also use nuclear weapons as a form of bombardment. While the UNSC often uses nuclear weapons during ground and orbital engagements, the use of such armaments to bombard a planet's surface from orbit is rare. The only widely known instance of this occurring is during the rebellion on the Far Isle colony in 2492.^[4] It should be noted that both conventional and nuclear bombardments are far less effective at neutralizing a planet than either glassing or the use of a NOVA Bomb.

A UNSC piece of equipment referred to as the Target Locator is a laser pointer that can be used by ground forces to identify targets for small-scale orbital bombardment from an orbiting ship.^[5]

Improvised weapons

In addition to using weapons specifically designed for the task, orbital bombardment can be performed by de-orbiting or dropping asteroids or other objects to a planetary target. Such was the case in the concluding moments of the Battle of Metisette, when the AI Juliana de-orbited The Rubble so that Hesiod's moon Metisette would collide with the Rubble's former asteroid habitats, making them rain down on The Redoubt.^[6]

Gallery

MAC - Bombardment.jpg

A MAC round from the Spirit of Fire impacts the ground.
An orbital strike hitting a Phantom.
Covenant destroyers glassing Harvest from orbit.

Sources

^ Halo: First Strike, "chapter 11", page 105
^ Halo Wars
^ Halo Fanon Forum: Armor and Implausibility
^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 183
^ YouTube: Halo Reach Firefight 2.0 Gameplay Footage
^ Halo: The Cole Protocol, page 311

External Links

"Space weapon" article on Wikipedia

[1] Halo: First Strike, "chapter 11", page 105

[2] Halo Wars

[3] Halo Fanon Forum: Armor and Implausibility

[4] Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 183

[5] YouTube: Halo Reach Firefight 2.0 Gameplay Footage

[6] Halo: The Cole Protocol, page 311

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 ==Covenant==
 {{Main|Glassing}}
-While the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] sometimes perform glassing from close range near the surface, the most common practice is to fire lances of magnetically contained [[plasma]] to the planet surface from orbit. As the plasma bolt impacts the ground, the magnetic field collapses and everything in the impact zone is vaporized instantly. Most commonly, this is performed by Covenant warships covering the entire planet in crisscrossing orbits until the entire surface has been destroyed.<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''chapter 11'', page 105</ref>
+While the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] sometimes perform glassing from close range near the surface, the most common practice is to fire lances of magnetically contained [[plasma]] to the planet surface from orbit. As the plasma bolt impacts the ground, the magnetic field collapses and everything in the impact zone is vaporized instantly. Most commonly, this is performed by Covenant warships covering the entire planet in crisscrossing orbits until the entire surface has been destroyed.<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', "chapter 11", ''page 105''</ref>
 ==UNSC==
 While [[human]]ity lacks the ship-borne plasma weapons the Covenant possess, the kinetic energy released by a [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]] round impacting a planetary surface can deal equally devastating damage within an extremely localized radius. However, instances of the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] using MACs to bombard a planet are rare; only the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} is known to have engaged in such practice.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]'''</ref> Judging by its effects, the ''Spirit of Fire'''s MAC is seemingly less powerful than the MAC guns on most UNSC ships, as the damage done by a normal MAC round would be immensely greater.<ref>[http://halofanon.wikia.com/wiki/Forum:Armor_and_Implausibility '''Halo Fanon Forum''': ''Armor and Implausibility'']</ref>
-The UNSC may also use [[nuclear weapon]]s as a form of bombardment. While the UNSC often uses nuclear weapons during ground and orbital engagements, the use of such armaments to bombard a planet's surface from orbit is rare. The only widely known instance of this occurring is during the rebellion on the [[Far Isle]] colony in [[2492]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', page 183</ref> It should be noted that both conventional and nuclear bombardments are far less effective at neutralizing a planet than either glassing or the use of a [[NOVA Bomb]].
+The UNSC may also use [[nuclear weapon]]s as a form of bombardment. While the UNSC often uses nuclear weapons during ground and orbital engagements, the use of such armaments to bombard a planet's surface from orbit is rare. The only widely known instance of this occurring is during the rebellion on the [[Far Isle]] colony in [[2492]].<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 183''</ref> It should be noted that both conventional and nuclear bombardments are far less effective at neutralizing a planet than either glassing or the use of a [[NOVA Bomb]].
 A UNSC piece of equipment referred to as the [[Target Locator]] is a [[Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation|laser]] pointer that can be used by ground forces to identify targets for small-scale orbital bombardment from an orbiting ship.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyWmnbni02U&feature=player_embedded '''YouTube''': ''Halo Reach Firefight 2.0 Gameplay Footage'']</ref>
 ==Improvised weapons==
-In addition to using weapons specifically designed for the task, orbital bombardment can be performed by de-orbiting or dropping asteroids or other objects to a planetary target. Such was the case in the concluding moments of the [[Battle of Metisette]], when the [[Artificial Intelligence|AI]] [[Juliana]] de-orbited [[The Rubble]] so that [[Hesiod]]'s moon [[Metisette]] would collide with the Rubble's former asteroid habitats, making them rain down on [[The Redoubt]].<ref>'''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''', page 311</ref>
+In addition to using weapons specifically designed for the task, orbital bombardment can be performed by de-orbiting or dropping asteroids or other objects to a planetary target. Such was the case in the concluding moments of the [[Battle of Metisette]], when the [[Artificial Intelligence|AI]] [[Juliana]] de-orbited [[The Rubble]] so that [[Hesiod]]'s moon [[Metisette]] would collide with the Rubble's former asteroid habitats, making them rain down on [[The Redoubt]].<ref>'''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''', ''page 311''</ref>
 ==Gallery==