Fuel rod cannon

Fuel rod cannon
	An Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith firing its rapid-fire fuel rod cannon
Production overview
Manufacturer:	Varies; presumably depends on vehicle Human-Covenant War Assembly Forges; Post-war Forge of Raansek; Gethrog Armory; Lodam Armory;
Type:	Anti-personnel, anti-armor, anti-vehicle, anti-aircraft
Specifications
Length:	130.2 centimetres (51.26 in)
Weight:	23 kilograms (51 lb)
Ammunition type:	Class-3 fuel rod
Effective range:	168 metres (550 ft)
Service history
In service:	Human-Covenant War ; Great Schism ; Post-Covenant War conflicts

This article is about the vehicle-mounted weapon. For the infantry-portable, shoulder-mounted weapon, see fuel rod gun. For the weapon used by the Mgalekgolo, see Assault cannon.

The fuel rod cannon, sometimes known as plasma flak cannon,^[11] is a vehicle-mounted projectile weapon typically used by the Covenant and its remnants on a variety of their vehicles, notably including Skyhunter Wraiths,^[7] Banshees,^[1]^[8] and Seraphs.^[2] As its name suggests, the fuel rod cannon fires Class-3 fuel rods, which have a greater range and a capability to track heat signatures when compared to their Class-2 counterparts, which are typically loaded in the infantry-portable fuel rod gun.^[10]

The United Nations Space Command's Office of Naval Intelligence has typically type-classified the Banshee's fuel rod cannon under the designations of Heavy Anti-Armor Weapon/Mounted, Heavy Fuel Rod (Class-3) or Type-26 Heavy Anti-Armor Weapon/Mounted (T-26 HAAW/M).^[12]^[13]^[14] Nicknames for the fuel rod cannon include Big Green Death and Green Death.^[9]

Overview[edit]

Design details[edit]

Fuel rod cannons, though sharing many properties with the Mgalekgolo's assault cannon,^[15] fire Class-3 fuel rod caseless projectiles, which contain radioactive, highly explosive material encased in a transparent shell.^[16] The Class-3 fuel rods fired by the cannon are larger and more destructive than their Class-2 counterparts, which are intended for armor and infantry on short ranges. For long range or anti-air combat, however, the Class-3 fuel rods are more powerful, have a greater range, and are capable of tracking the heat signatures of vehicles.^[10] They are marginally weaker than a plasma mortar, but travel at a higher velocity with a higher accuracy.^[9] Variants exist within the fuel rod cannon classification: for example, whereas the Banshee employs a forward-firing, semi-automatic single cannon, the Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith employs triple-rack rapid-fire fuel rod cannons that fire a barrage of fuel rods.^[2]^[17]

Usage[edit]

Fuel rod cannons

'Ahtulai Workshop Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[6]
Drailaac-pattern Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[8]
D'nomlhe-pattern Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[8]
Elsedda-pattern Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[1]
Irdnekt-pattern Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[1]
Is'belox-pattern Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[1]
Kaelum Workshop Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[5]
Oghal-pattern Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[8]
Te'ved-pattern Banshee - 1x fuel rod cannon^[1]
Kewu Umppi'pa'-pattern citadel turret - 2x fuel rod cannons, as part of an optional modular anti-vehicle upgrade package^[3]
Preksheda-pattern Shade - 1x fuel rod cannon, on fuel rod variant^[3]
Spike turret - 1x fuel rod cannon, as part of an optional modular anti-vehicle upgrade package^[18]^[19]

Rapid-fire/heavy fuel rod cannons^[10]

Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith - 6x rapid-fire fuel rod cannons^[7]
Muv'te-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith - 2x rapid-fire fuel rod cannons^[7]

Novox-pattern fuel rod cannons

Kai-pattern Seraph - 2x Novox-pattern fuel rod cannons^[2]
Morsam-pattern Seraph - 4x Novox-pattern fuel rod cannons^[2]

Production notes[edit]

In Halo 2, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, Halo 4, Halo 2: Anniversary multiplayer, and Halo 5: Guardians, fuel rod guns are erroneously called fuel rod cannons. Similarly, the Phoenix Log entry for Heavy Grunt in Halo Wars 2 also mistakes the Korva-pattern fuel rod gun for a fuel rod cannon. Furthermore, the Halo Waypoint article for the fuel rod gun incorrectly named the weapon as the fuel rod cannon,^[20], though the article on Wraiths correctly stated that the anti-air Wraith employs fuel rod cannons.^[17] The distinction between the two fuel rod weapons was deliberately established in Halo: The Essential Visual Guide and the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition).
According to the Halo 3 manual, the Banshee fires Class-2 fuel rods, though this was later seemingly retconned by Halo Waypoint's article on Banshees.^[12]
In Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST, in a similar case to the fuel rod gun, fuel rods fired from an NPC’s fuel rod cannon have an enhanced lock-on ability, which players are unable to access. However, in Halo: Reach and Halo 5: Guardians, it is possible for the player to use this feature.
The fuel rod cannon on Banshees have been nicknamed "Banshee bomb" by the developers and the community.^[21]

Gallery[edit]

An explosion from a Banshee's fuel rod cannon in Halo: Landfall.
A Banshee prepares to fire its fuel rod cannon in Halo: Legends's Prototype.
An Ogab'd-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith fires a barrage of fuel rods in Halo 3.
An Irdnekt-pattern Banshee fires its fuel rod cannon in Halo 3.
An anti-aircraft Wraith and a Banshee fire their fuel rod cannons in Halo 3.
A Banshee's fuel rod displaying tracking capabilities in Halo 3.
A Banshee's fuel rod curving to hit an AV-14 Hornet in Halo 3.
A Banshee's fuel rod displaying tracking capabilities in Halo 3.
The anti-vehicle variants of the Kewu Umppi'pa'-pattern turrets with mounted fuel rod cannons in Halo Wars.
Two Is'belox-pattern Banshees firing their fuel rod cannons in Halo: Reach.
A Preksheda-pattern Shade fires its fuel rod cannon at a Falcon in Halo: Reach.
A Morsam-pattern Seraph fires its Novox-pattern fuel rod cannons in Halo: Reach.
An anti-aircraft Wraith firing fuel rod cannons in Halo: Spartan Assault.
A D'nomlhe-pattern Banshee fires its fuel rod cannon at a Phaeton in Halo 5: Guardians.
A Muv'te-pattern anti-aircraft Wraith fires its fuel rod cannon at a Kemu-pattern Wraith in Halo 5: Guardians.
A Kaelum Workshop Banshee fires its fuel rod cannon in Halo Infinite.